Moderating user-created content can be tricky business. That's exactly why executives from Sony, Microsoft and the ESRB decided to discuss the matter at the recent 2008 MI6 Conference. Fortunately, they managed to come up with a couple of solutions to the problem. Find out what these are in the full article, right after the jump.

What goes on inside the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB)? You'll get a few ideas from the former employee who shared his woes while working with the ESRB. However, the rating board's head honcho was quick on tagging his statements as misleading. More on this after the jump!

Contrary to popular belief, there really aren't enough violent games out there to justify all the flak the video game industry's been getting recently. According to the ratings chart for 2007 released by the ESRB, only 6% of all titles released last year was tagged with a Mature rating. Find out more about this in the full article.

In an earlier post, we reported that the Entertainment Software Rating Board (d sESRB) "requested" that the Dark Sector trailers be removed from the internet. Destructoid, one of the websites that got curious about ESRB's request, got in touch with ESRB to get further explanation how Dark Sector's trailer - which had an age gate - merited a recall. AO-rated trailers with age gates can be posted on the web, so what did D3 Publisher's video game do to earn the ire of ESRB?

Here is part of the email that Destructoid received, which is one of Patricia Vance's statements handpicked by a press relations personnel in the ESRB:

Since 2005, ARC guidelines have required that trailers for M-rated games on publisher websites be displayed behind an age gate to help restrict viewing to those visitors who are 17 and older.

Then the next paragraph continues with:

The mere presence of an age gate does not permit a publisher to simply put whatever content it wishes into the trailer. All trailers must still conform to ARC's Principles and Guidelines, which prohibit the display of excessively violent content or any content likely to cause serious offense to the average consumer.

The rest of the email is simply an extrapolation of the above statements. What's strange is that the email is not a direct answer to the question why Dark Sector got a trailer recall. We can't help but think that the email response was a bit vague at best.

Destructoid tried to make heads or tails regarding ESRB's statement. They checked out ESRB's guidelines, where it is stated that graphic displays of weapon use as well as gratuitous violence should be avoided, but there is also the disclaimer in the same set guidelines that:

These Guidelines are not intended to restrict or impede creative and/or innovative advertising. Rather, the following areas merely highlight certain types of content that publishers should avoid when creating advertisements.

Sure, Dark Sector did kind of hit the graphic display of weapon use as well as gore, but there are also a number of video game trailers that got away with it. It is also worth mentioning that trailers for AO-rated games are permitted.

If the ESRB won't give any comprehensive reason why it requested Dark Sector's trailers to be removed, this may confuse game developers won't know exactly what's acceptable and what isn't in game trailers as they'll only have a vague set of rules to chew on.

Destructoid is convinced that something strange is going on, and is determined to get concrete answers regarding this issue.

Read the ESRB's entire email in the Full Article.

It was reported a while earlier that the ESRB was conducting a more active crackdown on offensive content in trailers and gameplay movies. And consequently, two gameplay trailers of D3 Publisher and Take-Two Interactive's Dark Sector was pulled out of Game Trailers.

  

A statement by D3 Publisher penned the reason why the two trailers were retracted from the site: the two trailers contained offensive content and have been deemed not safe to distribute, view or download. Although the two trailers were age-gated as required by the ESRB, it was found that the two gameplay movies were rated based on standards set by the Advertising Review Council - a different rating from the ESRB's on games themselves.

"The ESRB has requested that the two Dark Sector gameplay montages be pulled immediately upon receipt of this notice and no longer made available for view by consumers," concluded Take-Two's official statement. GameVideos later made it known that Microsoft also requested that a Gears of War developer walkthrough video be pulled out of their archives last week, after it was found that the media content violated ESRB rules.

Patricia Vance of the ESRB soon sent in their official stand on the matter, stating that the board's regulation of media content was nothing new or spectacular. They have enforced such rules based on the Advertising Review Council Principles and Guidelines since 2005 and will continue to remind and educate the respective parties of the board's rulings.

And they have maintained that trailer ratings cannot come from the game's final rating while it's in development, so the ESRB uses the standards set forth by the Advertising Review Council to rate trailers that obviously speak out for the game. And they pin the responsibility and initiative upon the publisher to make the necessary actions based on the ARC's Principles and Guidelines.

A nation-wide research headed by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) noted that parents are becoming more restrictive when it comes to game selection. In fact, the report showed that 60% of parents with children under 18 do not allow their children to play M (Mature) rated games.

In consistency with the trade industry report by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the report also found that 34% of the parents sampled sometimes restrict their children from playing M-rated games. In addition, it has been reported that nearly 90% of parents across the U.S. are aware that games come with ESRB ratings, while 85% use the ratings regularly when purchasing games.

Around 75% of parents have claimed to also inspect ESRB ratings prior to game selection and purchase, which the report identifies as 10% jump from last year's findings. Patricia Vance, president of the ESRB, commented that the findings of the report were "encouraging," after having promised that the ESRB will do their best to inform parents of the ratings.

"The ratings continue to be a very important, if not the most important tool to help parents make an informed decision, and it's clear that parents are using and relying on them in growing numbers," Vance added. While the results continue to show that the ratings are increasingly being used, there are indications also that more parents are now assertive in the game selection process.

Click on Full Article to find out other findings of the report.

As President of the ESRB, Patricia Vance said in an official statement that the ESRB appreciates that the Federal Trade Commission "recognizes the effectiveness of ESRB's self-regulatory activities." The report recently submitted by the FTC to Congress described in detail the marketing practices and compliance with retail regulations. She had this to say:

We’re pleased that today’s Federal Trade Commission (FTC) report affirms what other consumer research has previously shown to be true, namely that the overwhelming majority of parents are aware of the ratings, understand what they mean, agree with them, find them helpful and are actively using them to choose appropriate video games for their children.

Vance responded further, saying, "The report also details the significant improvement among retailers in enforcing their store policies with respect to the sale of M-rated games, which we support and applaud." The report reflected that the amount of M-rated games sold to gamers 17 and below were reduced, due to point-of-sale policing.

While the report did praise the game industry for having successfully reinstated a stricter compliance with the ratings system, the report did point out other areas where the industry could improve its content regulation, including online policing of content and broadening ratings coverage to mobile games.

Vance answered that call, stating that the ESRB will do their best to inform parents of the content ratings and how they can effectively be used to judge game content, in order for them to make more informed decisions on part of the game selection process.

If the GamerDad online ad is any indication, the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is taking more stringent measures to improve its ratings for any upcoming video game under its watch. In relation to this previous news, ESRB head Patricia Vance is announcing another major step by discussing plans for the board to hire full-time raters by this April. As she explained:

Having full-time raters will allow for each [rater] to have greater experience actually reviewing content and recommending ratings, given the increased amount of time each one would spend doing it. This would provide each rater with a greater sense of historical parity for ratings, not to mention helping them to be more attuned to pertinent content and how it should be considered from a ratings standpoint.

Vance further detailed that these full-time raters would be assigned to play-test final versions of the game from start to end. This in turn would allow the ESRB to play-test a larger amount of games with the rest of its part-time testers, most of whom would be the volunteers from sites like GamerDad.

It will be remembered that game retailer GameStop is taking up similar cudgels with its "Respect the Ratings" campaign, which promotes heightened game rating awareness among parents. On the other hand, could the ESRB be simply jumping the gun on Senator Sam Brownback's recently re-introduced "Truth in Video Game Ratings" Act? Then again, while the notion of such campaigns does leave some with a sour taste, it seems to be the better half of some of the heavier penalties being cooked up in congress...

There are many lists out there. A list of leaked questions from a videogame company. A list of top selling titles for the month of November. And so on. You can ask me now who I think is the best person in the world and the answer I will give you is my girlfriend. While you may not agree with me, the point here is that everything is just a matter of perspective.

So for today, we'd like to share with you the perspective being held gaming site NextGen regarding the top 25 people of the year. According to them,

This list is not a ranking of the best, most powerful, most talented, most amazing people in the industry. It is a ranking of the people who, we at Next-Gen feel, have made positive, significant and noteworthy contributions to gaming and the game industry through 2006.

 

Among the personalities who made it in the list, there are a couple of faces that made me think twice. Take for example the case of Patricia Vance of ESRB. According to NextGen, Vance has helped the industry keep control of a system that is proven to be effective. While I have no issues with that, I can't help but remember some of your comments regarding this organization. Again, at the end of it all, everything is just a matter of perspective.

Of course, the gaming site provided a few explanations about their list. It's quite a long read but if you are interested, you can access it via the read link below. But if you just want to know who made it in the said list, here's the short version. Please feel free to speak your mind.

See the list after the jump!

It is human nature to find strength in numbers. When faced with great adversity, people stand side by side to meet the common enemy head on. With that said, it seems that various segments of the society have been viewing the gaming industry as the common foe. And not only that, it looks like they are so keen on trampling these "evil weed."

Accordingly, a new alliance has been formed to combat ill effects of videogames to kids, beginning with educating parents about game ratings. The alliance, if we might add, is looking formidable indeed. It is composed of Senators Hillary Clinton, Joe Lieberman and ESRB President Patricia Vance. Surprisingly enough, Best Buy President Brian Dunn and GameStop President Steve Morgan complete the "Power Rangers."

Senator Clinton maintained that the renewed movement is in light of the coming Holiday season. It is needless to say that sales for gaming software and hardware will skyrocket during this time of the year. Clinton explained:

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.

The group's first action included sending public service announcements to 800 TV stations nationwide, as well as radio and print ads. The PSAs are intended for parents, instructing them to regulate the games their children play. Senator Lieberman seconded:

I have long said that the ESRB ratings are the most comprehensive in the media industry. There are many age-appropriate games that are clever and entertaining. Parents should understand and use the ratings to help them decide which video games to buy for their families.

Over the past few weeks, ESRB was able to come up with various announcements regarding their plans to intensify enforcement of ratings for videogames. In the meanwhile, a big contrast is happening overseas, with some countries considering self regulation for the industry.