May 2008

The Entertainment Software Association

GRAND THEFT CHILDHOOD

Drs. Lawrence Kutner and Cheryl K. Olson, co-founders and directors of the Harvard Medical School Center for Mental Health and Media, have written "the most thoroughly balanced and refreshingly open-minded book about video games ever penned," according to a review by Adam Thierer, a Senior Fellow with the Progress & Freedom Foundation and director of the Foundation's Center for Digital Media Freedom.

Thierer, whose review of "Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth About Violent Video Games and What Parents Can Do," appeared on TechLiberation.com, said the book "cut through the stereotypes and fear-mongering that have thus far pervaded the debate over the impact of video games and offers parents and policymakers common-sense advice about how to approach these issues in a more level-headed fashion."

Kutner and Olson acknowledge that most critics of violent video games have good intentions and are genuine in their effort to protect children from negative influences.  However, they note that many of the claims presented by these critics have been unfounded or based on inadequate evidence, false assumptions, or pseudoscience.   

Thierer discussed Kutner and Olson's research on the various roles video games play in the lives of children. "They argue that most kids play games- including violent games- for perfectly rational, healthy reasons: to engage in escapism or role-playing, for example.  Other times, violent themes can be used to convey messages or morals." 

Thierer highlighted Kutner and Olson's point that violent themes are woven into children's play and literature at a very young age, whether it's a lullaby with a falling cradle or a storybook in which talking wolf devours a girl's grandmother.  Traditional children's books are riddled with violence and danger, and Kutner and Olson contend that children are in fact drawn to these violent themes because listening to and playing with frightening images helps them safely master the experience of being frightened.  "This is an important skill, perhaps even a life-saving one," wrote Kutner and Olson.

Thierer compared this argument with the work of Gerald Jones who presented in his book "Killing Monsters: Why Children Need Fantasy, Super-Heroes, and Make-Believe Violence," the rationale that a function of stories and games is to enable children to explore danger or violence in a safe controlled environment, in order to understand and accept the limits of reality.  Jones explained that the rationale, allowing for destruction or violence in a virtual or imaginary world, is "a vital compensation for the wildness we all have to surrender on our way to being good people."

"How is it, then, that so many people- including many other psychologists- could think otherwise and make sweeping, outlandish claims about the negative impact of video games on children?" wrote Thierer.  "Kutner and Olson provide detailed answers in their brilliant chapter on 'Science, Nonsense, and Common Sense.'  I wish I could reprint the whole thing here and make every politician and gaming critic read every word of it because it provides the definitive deconstruction of much of the modern 'science' surrounding the impact of violent media on kids and society."

"I highly recommend Kutner and Olson's 'Grand Theft Childhood.'  It is must-reading for anyone who is serious about studying the debate over video games, child development and the public policy surrounding them. It is the most sensible thing ever penned on the subject."


COLLEGE GRADS CELEBRATE DEGREES IN VIDEO GAME DEVELOPMENT

Next month, members of the class of 2008 will graduate from colleges, universities and technical schools across America.  This year's class includes graduates with a new and increasingly popular field of study stamped on their diplomas – video games.

The 2008 graduating class was born more than 15 years after the introduction of the video game and almost a decade after IBM sold its first personal computer.  More steeped in technology than their parents, these young men and women are primed to further expand the impact that entertainment software has on our society.  They are the video game designers and developers who will help shape the future of this dynamic and growing industry.

More than 200 domestic universities and technical schools, including New York University, the University of Southern California and DePaul University, offer programs in the academic study of video games.  Carnegie Mellon University and the Georgia Institute of Technology offer master's degrees in game development, while the University of Southern California offers a graduate degree in interactive media and an undergraduate degree in video game development.

This growth in the study of games parallels the overall growth of the medium.  Seemingly overnight, the video game industry has evolved into an $18 billion economic powerhouse.  In barely more than a generation, video games have expanded from a diversion for the few into a mainstream entertainment medium, helping people of all ages, live, learn, work and, of course, play.  Nationally, the industry's annual growth rate from 2003 to 2006 exceeded 17 percent, four times the growth rate of the U.S. economy.  And culturally, the industry's impact now rivals that of movies, television and music. 

The students who pursue a video game-related major can expect to reap the benefits.  According to the seventh annual Game Developer Salary Survey, the average American game industry salary in 2007 was $73,600, making a job in video games very lucrative for recent grads.    

Students don't have to be computer programmers to make it in the video game industry. In fact, according to the Game Developer Salary Survey, business and marketing jobs were the highest compensated group in game development, with an average salary of $101,848 in 2007.  Programmers made an average salary of $83,383 and producers pulled in an average $78,716.  The video game industry also employs sound designers, art and animation talent, game designers, managers, and game testers for quality assurance. 

For recent graduates, the video game industry provides a bright new career path in a variety of fields.  And as the generation that grew up with video games reaches adulthood, the entertainment value, serious applications and economic impact of video games is certain expand.  So, expect to see more framed video game diplomas on the walls of corner offices in the years to come.


ESRB AND PTA LAUNCH NEW EDUCATION CAMPAIGN FOR PARENTS

For nearly two years, the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) and the national Parent Teacher Association (PTA) have worked together to provide parents with easily accessible educational resources about video game content.  The partnership enables and encourages individual PTAs across the nation to educate their members and communities about choosing appropriate video games for their families.  Beginning with the launch of a nationwide ratings education program in fall 2006, the ESRB and the PTA have distributed more than 1.3 million brochures to parents throughout the country.  Now these two organizations are expanding their collaboration with a new campaign that educates parents about game console parental controls and online safety.

The nationwide education campaign includes a new booklet developed and distributed by the ESRB and PTA called "A Parent's Guide to Video Games, Parental Controls and Online Safety." The booklet offers information about computer and video game ratings; a step-by-step guide to setting up the parental controls available on all new video game platforms; as well as information about playing video games online.  This booklet is available to download for free in English and Spanish by visiting http://www.esrb.org/about/pta_partnership.jsp

The campaign also introduces the ESRB's new ratings search "widget," which allows parents to search for ESRB ratings on specific games from a portable mini application that can be placed on their desktops, embedded in social networking pages or other web sites, and can even be shared with friends via email.  The widget makes available ratings information for more than 15,000 video games in the ESRB's database.  The widget can be downloaded and shared at no cost through http://www.esrb.org/about/widget/widget-consumer.jsp

This expanded ESRB-PTA partnership was the subject of an April 29 webcast that featured remarks by PTA President Jan Harp Domene, ESRB President Patricia Vance and GamerDad.com's Andrew Bub.  A webcast of this online event can be viewed at www.esrb.org.


NATIONAL CONFERENCE MAKES GAMERS THE NEW PEACEMAKERS

In April, The Entertainment Technology Center held its first annual conference on using conscious-raising technologies as tools to promote peace. The conference, hosted at Carnegie Mellon University, explored how interactive technology such as gaming is now considered a tool that helps address conflict resolution, diplomacy and international affairs.  The two-day forum, entitled "The Future of Interactive Technology for Peace," discussed video games that challenge players to solve conflicts through virtual worlds.

Examples of this type of virtual diplomacy already exist.  For example, in "Peacemaker" by Impact Games, players assume the role of the Israeli prime minister or Palestinian president in simulated negotiations between the two nations.  Inspired by the real events in the Middle East, the game requires players to assume leadership positions and bring peace to their territories before their term in office ends or face the consequences of a world in conflict.  Impact Games is preparing to launch its second game to the general public, "Play the News," where players choose roles and participate in real-world events.

Government and non-profit organizations have also created video games to bring awareness to humanitarian issues.  The United Nations World Food Programme created "Food Force" to educate children about world hunger.  In the game, players become humanitarian workers stationed on a fictional famine-stricken island.  One year after its launch,"Food Force" had garnered more than four million players worldwide. 

It was so popular that Suzanne Seggerman, president and co-founder of the non-governmental organization Game for Change, participated in the October 2007 Daesung Global Contents Forum to persuade entertainment software firms to make more games that address social issues.

The conference was made possible by a grant from the Richard Lounsbery Foundation, an organization that aims to enhance national strengths in science and technology and promote peace and diplomacy. 

In the News

Quote of the Month

"The simplistic belief that exposure to media violence will lead directly to individual violence is clearly wrong."

— From the recently published "Game Theft Childhood," written by Drs. Lawrence Kutner and Cheryl K. Olson.

Statistic of the Month

U.S. sales of video game hardware and software rose 57 percent this March when compared to last year's sales, according to a report by the NPD group

 Did You KNOW??

Did you know that ratings information for more than 15,000 video games is now available through a free search "widget" by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board?

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