Game Politics

GamePolitics Report Forces University to Come Clean on Game Ratings

An April 14th GamePolitics exclusive report exposed glaring inaccuracies in a press release issued by Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. Based on GamePolitics' investigation, Appalachian State has withdrawn the inaccurate press release, issuing a revised version earlier today.

The original press release relied heavily on the work of Dr. Mary Ballard, an Appalachian State faculty member, who claims a dozen years of study in the field. Among other items, the release contained the following passage:

"Parents should not rely only on ratings provided by the video game industry when monitoring their children's activities. Games are rated by the manufacturers, so ratings are inconsistent from company to company,, Ballard explained," ...and...."Ballard advocates a combination of parental oversight, and creation of an external rating board, as a way to mitigate any negative effects. Video games are rated by the manufacturer."

Dr. Ballard (at left), who claims a dozen years' experience researching the effects of media on children, was apparently unaware of the work of the Entertainment Software Rating Board, admitting as much in an interview with GamePolitics. The ESRB is an independent body that rates 100% of the video games sold at retail in the United States. Despite Dr. Ballard's comments, manufacturers do not rate the games themselves. In fact, they are completely excluded from the game rating process.

Dr. Ballard's misstatements come at a time when the North Carolina Assembly is considering game legislation proposed by Democratic Senator Julia Boseman. In the midst of the political debate, Dr. Ballard's inaccurate comments appeared in the influential Charlotte Observer.

Appalachian State Re-issues Press Release

Earlier today, GamePolitics received an e-mail from Dr. Ballard, indicating that she asked a staffer "to modify the press release to say that the ESRB was set up to be an independent rating board."

The revised Appalachian State press release is available on the University's web site.

The well-established video game ratings of the ESRB can be seen below: