HR 5912, "Truth in Video Game Rating Act"

First, we shall re-post the article in question. It was found over at http://gamepolitics.livejournal.com/333899.html#cutid1
It's reprinted without permission. Please don't sue!

Congressman Sponsors "Truth in Video Game Rating Act"

Readers of GamePolitics will not soon forget the contentious June 14th video game hearing of the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection. The ESRB and its president, Patricia Vance, came under heavy fire during the proceedings. Ultimately, several members of Congress would be lampooned by Jon Stewart, host of The Daily Show, for clueless comments made during the videotaped session.Now, Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL, seen at left) has formalized his issues with the ESRB by introducing HR 5912, the so-called "Truth in Video Game Rating Act."Among its provisions, Stearns' legislation directs the Federal Trade Commission "to prescribe rules to prohibit deceptive conduct in the rating of video and computer games." Under terms of the proposed bill, the following would be defined as unlawful:- Rating games on only partial content: Unlike the present system, the ESRB would be forced to play games in their entirety- Withholding content: Publishers would be on the hook for failing to completely reveal content to the ESRB. - Gross mischaracterization of content: Although not specifically named, the ESRB would be barred from "grossly mischaracterizing" (as defined by the FTC) game contentPerhaps more significantly, Rep. Stearns' legislation would also compel the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a study in order to determine the effectiveness of the ESRB system; whether content ratings systems should be peered-reviewed; whether an independent ratings system would be better; how commonly underaged buyers can purchase M-rated games; as well as the possibilities for a universal ratings system.Co-sponsoring Stearns' bill are Rep. Jim Matheson (D-UT) and Rep. Mike McIntyre (D-NC). Matheson is also the sponsor of HR 5345, retail-oriented video game legislation introduced during the week of E3 2006. Perhaps not surprisingly, Stearns, Matheson, and McIntyre are all running for re-election in November.


First off, this hits a really sensitive spot for me. I am a gamer, and that fact alone makes me a bit prejudiced. So with that in mind, here I go.

What the hell? Why are our Senators wasting their precious time trying to regulate video games when we've got much bigger fish to fry?! What about the war in Iraq?! What about creating better schools and ensuring higher education for our children?! What about incentives towards cleaner burning, more abundant fuels?! What about subsidizing large corporations and giving bigger tax-cuts to those in the upper income brackets? Do my tax dollars really need to go to work by burdening the GAO with duties outside it's parameters of operation that parents should be performing instead? Shouldn't you be off pork-barreling?

My points of contention...

First: The video game industry is capable of regulating itself just as the movie industry is. Yea, it's had a few fiascos, and it's still finding it's feet. It's only recently that the medium has been recognized as being something other than 'just for children', and it needs some time to work out the kinks. Peer review is by far and large an accepted practice in many fields, such as accounting, law, and the movie industry. Granted, it's highly publicized incidents such as the Grand Theft Auto sex-scenes that inspire the industry to properly regulate itself, but for god's sake... Spend the money to send some inner-city kids to college.

Second: The clause "Rating games on only partial content: Unlike the present system, the ESRB would be forced to play games in their entirety." This is simply unrealistic in many cases. Take Oblivion , for example, or any RPG in general. I know people who've sunk 50 hours into the game and not even come close to completing it. While I like the idea, it would take so long for games to get to market that for many games, it would prove to be impractical.

Third: You don't set the GAO on non-governmental agencies. The Government Accountability Office was set up to determine that spending programs followed the intent of Congress and to perform operational audits to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of selected government programs. Get it right, stupid. Use the FTC.

Fourth: The ESRB already fines developers that withhold content in order to recieve a certain rating. They fined Rockstar Games for the hotcoffee incident. Add to this, the ESRB has yet to intentionally "grossly mischaracterize" a game yet. Even GTA: San Andreas wasn't grossly misleading, even with the hotcoffee hack. The game sticker claimed that it had realistic portrayals of violence and depicted sexual situations and drug abuse.

Fifth: Even if you did get the FTC to investigate the ESRB, they'd find that it's working fine.

Sixth: If the government did decide to regulate the game rating systems, it'd more than likely come up with its own rating system, then have to spend boo coo bucks re-educating the public on them. Why switch something they're already mostly familiar with?

In short, this action would be a colossal waste of federal agency time and taxpayer dollars. The fact that the bill is being introduced is a huge waste of time that could be better spent debating bills that have a greater impact on our nation as a whole.

All that said, I do agree with the spirit of the bill. It is important that games be accurately rated. It's important that rated M games not get in the hands of minors.

But this is stupid.

This is not the way to go about it. It's not the ESRB's fault that EB and Game'O'Rama will sell the game to any knee-biter without checking their ID. If your dead-set on regulating the industry, instead of re-invinting the wheel, perhaps a better solution would be to create an organization akin to the SEC that would take the ESRB's recommendations and give some teeth to them. For instance, the ESRB makes a recommendation that any retailer selling M rated games to minors be fined, the Videogame and Electronic Media Commision sets up the regulation.

So what can you do about it? Well, for starters, write your Representatives using the link on the right, and let them know that this is a waste of time, and that you resent it.

Secondly, if you happen to be in the district of Gainsville, Flordia, write Rep. Cliff Stearns and let him know exactly how you feel. If he doesn't listen, talk with your vote.