Senate version of game ratings act introduced

Last month, Rep. Cliff Sterns (R-FL) introduced the Truth in Video Game Rating Act in the US House of Representatives. Yesterday, Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) introduced its counterpart in the Senate. While the text of the bill has yet to be released by the Government Printing Office, Brownback's announcement about the introduction suggests it is functionally similar to Stearns' own legislation.

In a statement, Brownback said the Entertainment Software Ratings Board needed improvement, in part because they don't even play the games they rate. He said his bill would "direct the Federal Trade Commission to require that reviewers consider the full content of a video game before issuing a rating."

Currently, the ESRB rates games based on a video tape of each game's most objectionable content, as determined and compiled by the publisher submitting it for review.

"For video game ratings to be meaningful and worthy of a parent's trust, the game ratings must be more objective and accurate," Brownback said in a statement.

Brownback's bill would also prohibit publishers from withholding or hiding the content of a game to the ratings board and charge the FTC with defining parameters for describing game content and what constitute a mischaracterization of it.

The bill would require the US General Accounting Office to study the efficacy of the ESRB, as well as possible alternative systems, including a universal ratings system that would also cover movies and TV.

Entertainment Software Association president Douglas Lowenstein went on the record about Stearns' bill last month, saying it wouldn't accomplish its goal. He said it would make hardcore gaming skills a prerequisite for raters, and that those people would not be representative of average American parents.