Next Generation, CA
09-07-06
Summit to Focus on Family Gaming
By Kris Graft
In time to head off the holiday videogame retail rush, the National Institute on
Media and the Family (NIMF) has announced the National Videogame Summit.
ImageThe summit, which will be held October 20-21 this year, will focus on
family-related issues regarding game ratings and "children's access to violent
and sexually explicit games."
During the course of the summit, attendees will review the Entertainment
Software Rating Board's videogame rating system, trends in game ratings,
government regulation and rating accuracy. The group will also recommend a
"10-year action agenda based on the summit's conclusions."
The National Videogame Summit will be held in coordination with Iowa State
University, but will take place at The University of Minnesota Continuing
Education and Conference Center. NIMF president Dr. David Walsh and Doug
Gentile with the Iowa State University-Center for the Study of Violence will
be heading up the summit. Attendees will include "more than 20 nationally
renowned scholars, educators and experts on media violence and child behavior
issues," according to NIMF.
NIMF is known for issuing the annual MediaWise Video Game Report Card,
which has proven to be a controversial means of industry criticism. Last year,
NIMF handed the industry an "F" in ratings accuracy. ESRB president Patricia
Vance responded to the grade, calling the report card "increasingly arbitrary,
simple-minded, and silly, more of a headline-grabbing tool than a parent-helping
tool."