The Sinking of the ESA and the Future of the ESRB...

[Cross Posted from IStC]

For those not in the know, the ESA, or Entertainment Software Association is a U.S. based lobbying and representative group with membership largely compromised of videogame companies. They have done quite a bit of research related to market demographics of gamers in the U.S. More recently they have turned to "educational" programs aimed at school children to teach them the dangers of copyright violation and piracy. Their educational programs contain no mention of "fair use," however.

The ESA is also the parent organization of the ESRB or Entertainment Software Ratings Board. The ESRB is the organization which all console manufacturers require licensees to acquire ratings through prior to distribution. Most computer game software goes through this process as well, primarily because most distributors (WalMart) will not distributed un-rated entertainment software.

Recently, numerous large organizations have begun pulling their ESA memberships. This means that they will not be paying their rather large membership dues which keep the ESA in operations.

Here is a sample of those who have officially dropped their support from the ESA:

• LucasArts (Going to E3, but no longer ESA member)
• Ativision/Blizzard
• Vivendi

Other companies though not dropping out of the ESA entirely have said that they will not be attending E3, the ESA's major industry expo. These companies include those above and:

• Id Software
• NCSoft
• D3Publisher
• Her Interactive
• Majesco
• Bethesda

Perhaps more tellingly, Gamecock (a videogame publishing company) recently released the following video clip:

And EA, or Electronic Arts, has said that this massive set of departures shows a "lack of leadership" at the companies who are leaving, but I think that doesn't quite capture what's going on here.

What this seems to indicate is growing industry dissatisfaction with the ESA. Ultimately, I wonder what ramifications this will have on ratings, because the ESA and ESRB are closely related entities. Have these publishing companies made further decisions about the future of game ratings as well?

Casey O'Donnell

Thinking Through the ESRB's AO Rating

A couple of very interesting articles have emerged regarding the AO rating for Manhunt 2 on the Nintendo Wii and Sony PS3. Besides the abnormal amount of attention being given to the rating decision, I was actually most interested in a little Joystiq article about Thrill Kill and the sexual content of most AO games.

It has also forefronted Sony and Nintendo's licencing limitations of AO content. I bet most people didn't know that. I'm also interested in what counts as AO in other markets, like Japan.

Joystiq - Remembering Thrill Kill, the 'other' violent AO-rated game

Searching the Entertainment Software Rating Board website by the Adults Only rating yields only two games without strong sexual content or mature sexual themes: Peak Entertainment Casinos for featuring "gambling" and Thrill Kill for Animated Blood and Gore, Animated Violence.

GameDaily - Official: No Manhunt 2 on Wii

Regarding the AO rating for the title, a Nintendo spokesperson told GameDaily BIZ, "Games made for Nintendo systems enjoy a broad variety of styles, genres and ratings. These are some of the reasons our Wii and Nintendo DS systems appeal to such a broad range of people. But as with books, television and movies, different content is meant for different audiences. That's why the ESRB provides ratings to help consumers understand the content of a game before they purchase it. As stated on Nintendo.com, Nintendo does not allow any AO-rated content on its systems."
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[UPDATE] It would appear that Sony is taking very much the same stance as Nintendo when it comes to Manhunt 2. A spokesperson told GameSpot, "It's currently our policy not to allow the playback of AO-rated content on our systems."

GamePolitics.com - More Bad News for Manhunt 2

In Nintendo’s own Nintendo Buyer’s Guide the company clearly states, "Please note that Nintendo does not sell or license games that carry the ESRB rating 'AO' (Adults Only)."
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Currently it’s SCE’s policy not to allow the playback of AO rated content on our systems.

Note to Politicians... Being stupid costs the taxpayers...

Yet another example of the hoped utility of my research rears its head. It seems like the NY Bill for ESRB oversight is an interesting one, and if handled well might actually mean something.

On the other hand if they're stupid about it, it is just going to end up costing lots of regular people lots of money, just like in Illinois right now. I think they should take the money out of Governor Rod Blagojevich's personal finances.

Gamasutra - NY Senate Passes ESRB Oversight Bill

The bill, S.5888, sponsored by Republican state senator Andrew Lanza would if passed into law establish an 'Advisory Council on Interactive Media and Youth Violence' targeted with recommending steps above and beyond the ESRB's rating system to limit access to 'adult only' game material.

According to the senate press release, the bill also calls for fines and penalties for all New York retailers and internet sellers who do not clearly display ratings on the game cover or website.

Finally, it hopes to establish a "Parent-Teacher Anti-Violence Awareness Program," which it says will "empower parents and teachers to work with students and children on issues related to violence in video games," including the ratings system and parental supervision, funded by fees collected from retailers who break the above rule.

Said Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno, "Everywhere we look, violence surrounds us and it is unfortunate that our children are exposed to this explicit material, whether found in video games, movies or on television. Our children our spending too much time watching television and playing video games without any adult supervision, and we cannot sit back and allow them to be exposed to this senseless violence anymore. I applaud Senator Lanza for his leadership and we will continue to push the Assembly to take action against these issues."

GameDaily.Biz - Defeated Illinois Game Law Costs Taxpayers $1 Million

Remember Gov. Rod Blagojevich's attempt to ban the sale or rental of mature video games in Illinois? His unconstitutional law was quickly shot down in court and the state was ordered to pay the Entertainment Software Association more than $500,000.

Now a new report from Quad-Cities Online has revealed that Gov. Blagojevich spent nearly $1 million in taxpayer money to appeal the 2005 federal court ruling that his state was unconstitutional. Apparently, a House committee discovered the amount that was spent to pay lawyers just this week.

As reporter Mitzie Stelte wrote, for all the concern about violence in video games, "Gov. Rod Blagojevich's efforts to ban certain video games has done significant violence to Illinois' budget." In fact, the report exposed that the governor took money out of the public health department, the state's welfare agency and even the economic development department just to pay for this unconstitutional law.

"We had a strong suspicion that the governor was using funds appropriated by the General Assembly as his own personal piggy bank," Rep. Jack Franks, D-Woodstock, chairman of the State Government committee, said.

"It's unfortunate that the state of Illinois spent taxpayer money defending this statute. This is precisely what we told them would happen," added David Vite, president of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association.