Videogame Ratings Bill Reintroduced

Republican Sen. Sam Brownback has reintroduced the Truth in Video Game Ratings Act, which would force videogame producers to rate games after playing them "in their entirety," Brownback said.

"The current videogame ratings system is [now] not as accurate as it could be, because reviewers do not see the full content of games and do not even play the games they rate," the senator added.

The bill would punish game publishers that do not reveal a game's entire content to the Entertainment Software Ratings Board.

The proposed act developed out of reaction to the videogame Grand Theft Auto, wherein sexually explicit content was hidden in the game's code—causing the ESRB "to grossly mischaracterize" the game's content, Brownback said. The board soon changed Grand Theft Auto's rating from "mature" to "adults only."

"Censorship is censorship—the point is that we don't get to pick and choose what someone else should watch, read, or play," commented Diane Duke, executive director of the Free Speech Coalition. "That being said, it is up to the gaming industry, as it is with our industry, to self-regulate utilizing its own industry rating systems that allow for the ultimate goal: responsible consumer decision-making."

The act also would put forth a Government Accountability Office study, allowing the effectiveness of the industry's ratings system to be ascertained.

Brownback's bill suggests a conflict of interest in the current voluntary, industry-run ratings system—one that warrants the creation of an independent ratings group, a decision the videogame industry opposes.