Two U.S. senators, Joseph
Lieberman (D., Conn.) and Herb
Kohl (D., Wis.) and an
antiviolence lobbying group, the
National Institute on Media and
the Family, released an annual
report on video game violence that
takes the game makers to task
for creating violent games with no socially redeeming
value. In particular, the critics singled out Interplay
Entertainment Corp.'s (Nasdaq: IPLY) "Kingpin: Life of
Crime," in which players portray heavily armed street
criminals.
Violence issue back on front burner
"Computer and video games are in the spotlight like never
before" because of school shootings earlier in the year in
which the perpetrators allegedly were fans of violent video
games, said David Walsh, director of the Minneapolis
institute. "But we don't need another tragedy to raise the
issue again."
A spokesman for Interplay of Irvine, Calif., couldn't be
reached for comment.
Meanwhile, the state
legislature in New York held
hearings on video-game
violence, featuring such
witnesses as David
Grossman, a former U.S.
Army ranger who has written a
book attacking game violence.
The issue appears to be
heating up again because
various state legislatures from
Washington to Pennsylvania have begun debating bills
aimed at curbing game violence.
Coincidentally, Id Software Inc. of Mesquite, Texas, has
just finished work on its newest first-person shooting
game, "Quake III." Games such as "Quake III" and GT
Interactive Corp.'s (Nasdaq: GTIS) "Unreal Tournament"
are expected to be hot sellers this holiday season. Such
games involve multiple Internet players who use rockets,
machine guns and other fanciful weaponry to hunt down
other players wandering through castle-like mazes.
Inappropriate marketing
While praising the game industry for making concessions
on how video games are sold, Walsh cited numerous
examples of what he called inappropriate marketing of
violence to children. He noted that action figures for the
game "Metal Gear Solid" were rated "five-year-olds and
up" even though the game has a "mature," adults-only
rating. Doug Lowenstein, president of the game-industry
lobby group, the Interactive Digital Software Association
in Washington, D.C., said it is a huge leap from making
action figures available to children and allowing them to
play violent video games.
Todd Hollenshead, CEO of
Id Software, earlier this
week said "We make it
clear that the game has
violent subject matter. If a
parent is going to buy the
game, they should know
that from the rating that is
on the box."
John Carmack, the chief programmer at Id, adds, "We're
the poster child for people saying these games are
terrible. But our violence is cartoonish and we are clearly
dealing with fantasy characters, and we're not the most
violent."
To some degree, the game industry is responding to its
critics. Lowenstein said his group has begun running ads
featuring TV spots with golf star Tiger Woods to educate
parents and store clerks about the ratings system. The
IDSA has also formed an advertising-review council to
screen advertisements for inappropriate messages aimed
at young children. Walsh noted one improvement: About
75 percent of store clerks were aware of the video-game
ratings system this year, in contrast to only 43 percent
last year.
See also: GameSpot Australia
