Clinton! Stop it!
Senators Hillary Clinton and Joe Lieberman have joined the ESRB in a US television campaign to educate parents about the ESRB rating system. The campaign will take the form of a Public Service Announcement which has been distributed to 800 television stations across the US.
Joining the Senators and ESRB president Patricia Vance will be Best Buy president Brian Dunn and GameStop president Steve Morgan. In the PSA they will affirm their commitment to not selling mature rated games to under-17s without their parents' permission.
"We all share in the responsibility of making sure our children play age-appropriate video games, and I'm pleased that the ESRB and retailers are working together to educate parents about the video game ratings and make sure they are enforced," said Senator Clinton. "As we enter the holiday shopping season, it is important that parents have the information they need to make informed choices that are right for their families."
When the gaming community sees the names "Clinton" and "Lieberman" next to the word "games" it tends to immediately start (justifiably) chomping at the bit. After a second glance, however, it becomes apparent that this whole campaign is fairly harmless PR froth.
Clinton and Lieberman get to be seen on telly alledgedly protecting America's little darlings while the ESRB gets to raise its profile. Best Buy and GameStop, of course, set themselves up to better dodge the bullet next time violence in games raises its head as a political issue in earnest. The only people really suffering are the poor buggers who have to sit through the PSA and the tax-payers whose cash is being spent on it.
Let us know what you think about this latest campaign and the ugly monster that is the games censorship issue in the Forum.
Joining the Senators and ESRB president Patricia Vance will be Best Buy president Brian Dunn and GameStop president Steve Morgan. In the PSA they will affirm their commitment to not selling mature rated games to under-17s without their parents' permission.
"We all share in the responsibility of making sure our children play age-appropriate video games, and I'm pleased that the ESRB and retailers are working together to educate parents about the video game ratings and make sure they are enforced," said Senator Clinton. "As we enter the holiday shopping season, it is important that parents have the information they need to make informed choices that are right for their families."
When the gaming community sees the names "Clinton" and "Lieberman" next to the word "games" it tends to immediately start (justifiably) chomping at the bit. After a second glance, however, it becomes apparent that this whole campaign is fairly harmless PR froth.
Clinton and Lieberman get to be seen on telly alledgedly protecting America's little darlings while the ESRB gets to raise its profile. Best Buy and GameStop, of course, set themselves up to better dodge the bullet next time violence in games raises its head as a political issue in earnest. The only people really suffering are the poor buggers who have to sit through the PSA and the tax-payers whose cash is being spent on it.
Let us know what you think about this latest campaign and the ugly monster that is the games censorship issue in the Forum.
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Comments
SPInGSPOnG 9 Dec 2006 08:44
1/2
It's unlikely to be taxpayer cash funding this advert. America's not nearly so socialist as the UK. It's far more likely to be ESRB revenues that fundit, with Clinton and Leibermann giving their time for free as a profile exercise.
Taxpayer's money is saved for much more important things like waging illegal wars and bunging to the President's friends companies in fat contracts and tax cuts.
Taxpayer's money is saved for much more important things like waging illegal wars and bunging to the President's friends companies in fat contracts and tax cuts.
SCiARA 9 Dec 2006 11:49
2/2
I think it’s a good idea, maybe if more of this happened then the nay saying t**ts that blame games for world destruction won’t get as much backing from your average American parent