Mortal Kombat - cont.

A Mortal Kombat II arcade cabinet

Kent believes the ESRB is "skittish" to assign the AO rating and said what's the point of having it if it isn't used, citing Manhunt as an example of a game that he felt should have been rated Adults Only. Kent also defended the games industry for doing all that it can to prevent games from crossing the wrong set of eyes. "The real problem for me is the parents. And this is speaking as a parent, not a gamer. I can't tell you how many parents I know, especially here in Microsoft country, whose elementary-aged child is playing Halo every night. You have to say, 'What the hell is that?' What could the ESRB possibly do when intelligent, educated, thinking parents are letting their kids play Halo every night? These are 5- and 10-year-old kids playing Halo. That's a real problem."

Greeson said that while the ESRB may have formed out of necessity, "it was one of the smartest moves the industry has made. Not only did it avoid government regulation of its content, it finally brought forth the image that games aren't just for kids and that all games are not appropriate for everyone. It also gives parents a valuable tool for understanding the content of games and enables them to make a decision on whether [or not] the material is appropriate."

The ESRB, in Kent's opinion, is about 90 to 95 percent effective, while Greeson said the lack of enforcement at the retail level damages the ESRB's effectiveness. "This is no fault of the ESA or the ESRB, but of the major retailers who do not have policies [in place to] enforce the sales of M-rated and T-rated games to children under the age of the rating. This problem has been brought up what almost seems to be annually since the creating of the ESRB. While the retailers are in the business of making money, they do have a responsibility to the communities that they serve." Greeson suggested that large monetary fines, such as those that convenient-mart owners succumb to for selling cigarettes to minors, are a possible way to monitor the situation more closely, hence removing pressure and liability from game developers. The Federal Trade Commission reported in December 2001 that nearly 80 percent of retail stores let minors buy M-rated games, according to its "undercover" study.

Congressman Joe Baca (D-Calif)

In May 2002, US Representative Joe Baca (D-Calif.) worked to change that by proposing a bill to Congress that would make selling or renting video games to minors a federal crime. The bill was aptly named the Protect Children from Video Game Sex and Violence Act of 2003. The fines would run about $1,000 the first time and up to $5,000 and jail time for repeated offences. Baca's office produced a press release, in which he pleaded for parental support--the hard way: "Do you really want your kids assuming the role of a mass murderer or a carjacker while you are away at work?"

Washington introduced a similar law, which would fine retailers about $500 for selling violent games to minors. Economist, Web blogger, and Washington state spokesman on issues of violence and youth, Amitai Etzioni wrote on August 5, 2003, in his blog:

"Three cheers for the Washington State Legislature. They just passed a law that bans retailers from selling video games depicting violence against police and children. ... Video game industry executives claim that the industry's rating system already serves to keep violent games from being sold to children. The rating system designates some video games 'M' for mature; retailers are not supposed to sell 'M' rated games to unaccompanied minors. However, an undercover shopping survey sponsored by the Federal Trade Commission in 2000 found that 85% of the time, retailers did sell M-rated games to the underage customers."

On December 8, 2003, the Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association (IEMA) published a press release that announced a new initiative to help prevent the sales of M-rated games to minors and to also increase awareness of the ESRB. In the release, IEMA President Hal Halpin said, "A national carding system will help ensure that games that are not appropriate for children will stay out of their hands."

The carding system will purportedly be in place for the 2004 holiday season and will include the following retailers: Best Buy, Blockbuster, Circuit City, CompUSA, Game Source, Electronics Boutique, Hastings Entertainment, Hollywood Video, KB Toys, Kmart, Meijer, Movie Gallery, Music Land, Shopco Stores, Target, Toys "R" Us, Transworld Entertainment, and Wal-Mart, the release stated.

Halpin said that he believes these changes will make a difference and added, "but retailer enforcement is only part of the equation. Parents need to be actively involved in their children's entertainment choices, and retail enforcement cannot replace sound parenting."

ESRB President Patricia Vance credited the ESRB with taking "the parents' guesswork out of game purchase decisions. Consumers today can learn about a game's content before setting foot in a store, and parents can decide what's right for their children based on their own personal views and values. It's a huge advance for parents, and I believe it has benefited both families and the computer and video game industry," she said.

Did the controversy help Mortal Kombat's sales? Not necessarily. Mortal Kombat was a good game to start with, not a Night Trap or Custer's Revenge, destined for obscurity without the controversy to hold it up. "Mortal Kombat, at the foundation, was a great game with great value," said Greeson. "Without all of the media attention and the scrutiny, I believe Mortal Kombat would still be the hit game it is today, but it would have never have reached the heights of popularity it did without all of the attention it received."