Parents and family advocacy groups are claiming that the once-trusted rating system is no longer effective and fails to adequately warn parents of the true nature of the content being viewed. In one instance, an 85-year-old grandmother filed a lawsuit in New York City against “Grand Theft” game maker Rockstar Games for false advertising, consumer deception and unfair business practices. The plaintiff, Florence Cohen, is seeking class-action status.
Rockstar Games is a subsidiary of New York-based Take-Two Interactive Software.
“Grand Theft Auto” was originally rated M for Mature, but after the presence of sexual content was revealed through a software modification download, its rating was changed to “Adults Only” and it cannot be sold to anyone under 18. The Parents Television Council requested that all versions of the game be recalled, and in a likeminded move, the game is no longer being sold or advertised in Australia.
The National Institute on Media is saying that the rating system is too lenient and inconsistent, that ratings are confusing and misleading, and that game makers and entertainment companies are not doing their fair share to prevent overly violent or explicit content from falling into the hands of underage viewers.
Rockstar reportedly is working on a new version of the game that would qualify for the original "M" for mature rating.
As the systems stands, the Entertainment Software Ratings Board gives each game a letter rating based on content. Each product is assessed by three independent, trained raters that represent a range of backgrounds, races and ages and that have no ties to the interactive entertainment industry, ESRB claims.
A rating symbol such as E or M on the front of a game’s box suggests age-appropriateness. Descriptors, such as “blood and gore,” appear on the back of the game’s box and explain why the game was given the rating it received.
In the case of “Grand Theft Auto,” defenders of ESRB are saying that no ratings system could have caught the adult content in “San Andreas,” but lawmakers are increasingly hearing the demand that the ratings system get a dramatic overhaul.
Patricia Vance, president of ESRB, said in defense of its system, that it is "working effectively now," and that nothing is “broken.” Although ESRB is currently investigating whether Rockstar Games failed to provide full disclosure of the game’s content to consumers. If ESRB determines that Rockstar is in error, the game will be recalled, wielding a potential deadly blow to the company that has profited handsomely off the line of “Grand Theft Auto”-themed games.
Several days ago, Take-Two Interactive/Rockstar announced that the Federal Trade Commission’s Division of Advertising Practices launched an inquiry into advertising claims made for “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.”
Take-Two said that it intends to fully cooperate with the FTC inquiry and believes that it acted in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations.
