WASHINGTON -- A rating system proposed by a group of major video game manufacturers has earned the approval of two U.S. senators who had earlier threatened to regulate the game industry. In a hearing held here on July 29, the Interactive Digital Software Association, also here, detailed a rating system that will be put into effect in September, in time for fourth-quarter sales and rentals. While the senators praised the IDSA system, they were more critical of another rating system proposed for computer software games by the Software Publishers Association, also based in Washington. "Today is a turning point in the battle to protect our kids and re-establish some standards," said Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, D-Conn. "Today, the video game industry is announcing the establishment of an independent rating system that promises to give parents, for the first time, a clear idea about which video games are good for their children and which should stay out of their homes." Lieberman and Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., had proposed regulatory legislation and held hearings to force the game industry into action. As a result, 12 major game manufacturers, including Sega and Nintendo, formed the IDSA and developed the rating system. The senators will drop their legislative proposals when the ratings are implemented, said Lieberman. Sega of America, Redwood City, Calif., will convert its existing game ratings to the IDSA's system, IDSA reported. Chuck Kerby, divisional merchandise manager for Wal-Mart Stores, Bentonville, Ark., testified that the retailer will promote the game ratings. "I believe this [IDSA's] rating system, although not yet finalized, would provide sufficient information to parents to make an informed decision and still be user-friendly to both the consumer and the retailer," he said. To carry out the program, IDSA has formed the Entertainment Software Rating Board and named Dr. Arthur Pober its executive director. Pober developed the five rating categories: "Early Childhood (ages 3+)," "Kids to Adults (ages 6+)," "Teen (ages 13+)," "Mature (ages 17+)" and "Adults Only." The rating icons of the program will be supplemented by short phrases describing the content. The phrases will be drawn from four categories: violent content, sexual themes, profanity and other, such as gambling. The icons and descriptive phrases will appear on packaging and promotional materials. The ratings will be determined by a three-person board that will review story boards or video tapes of the games. The system will be monitored by representatives of child advocacy groups, the academic community, industry and retailers, said Jack Heistand, senior vice president of Electronic Arts, San Mateo, Calif., who chairs IDSA's board of directors. "These advisory boards will help ensure that this rating system serves the public interest
first," said Heistand. The work of rating games will get under way in September for products that will reach retail shelves in mid-November, he said. "We still have a lot of work in front of us to get the system up and running," said Doug Lowenstein, IDSA's president. The senators and others at the hearing were not pleased that the SPA is developing a separate rating system for computer software games, some of which are the same as those sold for video game platforms. "With multiple rating systems, we run the risk of confusing the customer," said Wal-Mart's Kerby. "With two systems, it would be possible for a video game and a computer software game with the same title and with the same game play to have different ratings."
The SPA's system is based on a detailed questionnaire filled out by the program developers, said Glen Ochsenreiter, special projects director. The questionnaires will be reviewed by a new group being formed by SPA -- the Recreational Software Advisory Council, which will assign the ratings and operate independently of SPA, he said. Products with the ratings will be available at retail in November, he added. At the hearing, SPA unveiled four icons that describe its ratings:
· A bomb to indicate violence and the "destruction of living things."
· A hand covering a peeping eye to indicate nudity, sex or revealing attire.
· An exclamation point for strong language or mild expletives.
· The word "All" to indicate that the product is "suitable for all audiences." "The preliminary proposed rating symbols of the SPA are confusing," said Sloan Walker, investigative counsel for Lieberman. "They don't include a lot of the helpful information that we would hope to see in a rating system, like age recommendations. It is still a rough draft at this point," he said. The senators were disappointed that the two industry groups couldn't work together, said Walker. "They feel it is going to be a burden on retailers to deal with two systems. They look at it from the consumer perspective and they don't see an overwhelming need for two different systems," he said. While IDSA represents 60% to 80% of the game business, SPA only represents 6%, he said. "The senators also feel that if there is a single system, it should look a lot like the IDSA system," he said. SPA had set up its rating system because it did not want its member companies' products subject to an organization controlled by companies with competing platforms, said Ochsenreiter.
