To cut to the chase, the game industry got its first ever "failing grade" from the institute.
Of note, the institute expressed concern over games that depict graphic violence against women -- citing
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City as a culprit. David Walsh, PhD, president and founder of the National Institute on Media and the Family, presented the 2002 MediaWise Video Game Report Card with Senator Joseph Lieberman (D - Connecticut) and Representative Betty McCollum (D - Minnesota). It's expected that Lieberman will take up his crusade against the game industry with new vigor if he makes a run for the US presidency in 2004.
The MediaWise report card also called attention to growing levels of videogame "addiction", "inaccuracy of ratings", "parental lack of awareness regarding content", and the "failure of many retailers to restrict children from Mature-rated games".
The top-10 games the institute recommends avoiding for children are:
1.
BMX XXX
2.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
3.
Dead to Rights
4.
BloodRayne
5.
Run Like Hell
6.
Hunter the Reckoning
7.
Hitman 2
8.
Resident Evil 0
9.
Time Splitters
10.
Wacked!
The report can be found at
http://www.mediafamily.org/research/report_vgrc_2002-2.shtml.
