Video and Computer Game Report Card

Each year, the National Institute on Media and the Family, an independent, non-partisan, non-sectarian, non-profit organisation based in the United States, releases a MediaWise Video and Computer Game Report Card. The resource, updated annually, provides a snapshot of the interactive gaming industry, with a focus on issues related to child welfare.

For example, the tenth report card, issued in 2005, was based on a survey of 657 American 4th-grade through 12th-grade students, and their parents and gaming retailers. A game content and ratings accuracy evaluation was also carried out. The National Institute on Media and the Family found that "[t]he industry's efforts to be good corporate citizens have not kept pace with its explosive growth. The industry that generated 25 billion dollars in worldwide sales last year (nearly 10 billion in the U.S. alone) seems increasingly focused on the bottom line, at the expense of its customers, especially children and teenagers. Killographic and sexually explicit games are still finding their way into the hands of millions of underage players."

The motto at the centre of this organisation's efforts is one that is envisioned to be simple: "Watch what your kids watch." However, half of the parents who participated in this survey said they do not allow their children to play games rated "M" for "mature, but nearly two-thirds of surveyed students said they owned their own M-rated games. In short, "when it comes to video games, parents do not seem to be paying attention. Some of the blame must be laid at the feet of an industry which rubber stamps ultra-violent games and refuses to make the proper effort to enforce responsible retail policies. But parents must bear some of the responsibility too."

Detailed data from several specific components of the survey are included here - namely, from the following: the Student Survey, Parent Survey, Retailers, Ratings Education, Retailers' Policies and Enforcement, Game Content and Ratings Accuracy, and the Arcade Survey. Recommendations follow; among the communication-centred suggestions is this one: "We call upon the video game industry to join us in educating parents about the need to supervise their children's game play. The industry's efforts so far have educated parents about how to use the ratings but not why the ratings and the new electronic tools built into game consoles are important for children's health." These suggested ways forward are followed by a list of recommended games for kids and a list of games for parents to avoid. (The recommended games have been "parent-approved" and then "kid-tested" by young gamers).

Legislative and research updates are outlined. One highlight from the latter section is that, in 2005, "every new study and all the latest research pointed to the same fact: video games are excellent teachers. Just as activity simulators can help train players for real-world tasks, violent video games coax players into actual aggression and antagonistic attitudes. If there was ever any doubt about the impact of video games on children it has finally been laid to rest. Everyone in the scientific community agrees, whether an ally of the industry or a critic of its practices...that video games are powerful in potential and effect, for good and for ill. It is this fact that should compel parents, educators, and policy-makers to pay attention to video games."

Click here to access the tenth (2005) publication. Editor's note: For previous and/or subsequent publications of this resource, visit the National Institute on Media and the Family website and click on the desired link.