TY  - JOUR
T1  - COntent and ratings of mature-rated video games
AU  - Thompson KM, Tepichin K, Haninger K
Y1  - 2006/04/01
N1  - 10.1001/archpedi.160.4.402
JO  - Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine
SP  - 402
EP  - 410
VL  - 160
IS  - 4
N2  - Objectives 
    To quantify the depiction of violence, blood, sexual themes, profanity, substances, and gambling in video games rated M (for “mature”) and to measure agreement between the content observed and the rating information provided to consumers on the game box by the Entertainment Software Rating Board.Design 
    We created a database of M-rated video game titles, selected a random sample, recorded at least 1 hour of game play, quantitatively assessed the content, performed statistical analyses to describe the content, and compared our observations with the Entertainment Software Rating Board content descriptors and results of our prior studies.Setting 
    Harvard University, Boston, Mass.Participants 
    Authors and 1 hired game player.Main Exposure 
    M-rated video games.Main Outcome Measures 
    Percentages of game play depicting violence, blood, sexual themes, gambling, alcohol, tobacco, or other drugs; use of profanity in dialogue, song lyrics, or gestures.Results 
    Although the Entertainment Software Rating Board content descriptors for violence and blood provide a good indication of such content in the game, we identified 45 observations of content that could warrant a content descriptor in 29 games (81%) that lacked these content descriptors. M-rated video games are significantly more likely to contain blood, profanity, and substances; depict more severe injuries to human and nonhuman characters; and have a higher rate of human deaths than video games rated T (for “teen”).Conclusion 
    Parents and physicians should recognize that popular M-rated video games contain a wide range of unlabeled content and may expose children and adolescents to messages that may negatively influence their perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors.
SN  - 1072-4710
M3  - doi: 10.1001/archpedi.160.4.402
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archpedi.160.4.402
ER  -