MediaWise recently released their 2005 Video Game Report Card, in which they lambast the ESRB for their ratings system. What a bunch of hooey. They argue that the video game industry keeps getting stronger, while underage children continue to get violent or sexually explicit games.

Let’s take a deep breath, and look at their report:

• Ratings Education: C+
• Retailers’ Policies: B
• Retailers’ Enforcement: D-
• Ratings Accuracy: F
• Arcade Survey: B-

Some thoughts on this. First, they conclude that Ratings Education is passable — a C+. They even say that retailer policies are decent, at a B. However, they say retailers have issues when it comes to enforcement. Why? This is a retailer problem, not an industry problem. Why aren’t the retailers enforcing this? That’s more an indictment of retailers than the gaming industry.

The next point, Ratings Accuracy, is very strange. What is so wrong with the ratings accuracy? Presumably, this is a reflection of this year’s Hot Coffee issue. Aside from this, from what I can see, the ESRB has been doing a great job of tagging their games. They keep developers in line, rate games fairly, dealt with the Hot Coffee issue appropriately, and otherwise provided a way to quickly and easily determine the appropriateness of a game. Considering their eleven year history of doing this, with only one notable issue, I would say they’re doing a quite acceptable job with ratings.

As to the Arcade Survey, who cares. Arcades are dying. MediaWise is correct in that home gaming has grown extensively, and as such, arcades are fading into history. Why go to an arcade when you have a perfectly good video game experience, right from the comfort of home?

One of the more interesting yet disturbing results from the MediaWise report is the bit about how only 40% of respondents understand the game rating symbols. I’m wondering how this survey actually worked, because I’m looking at an M-rated label right now. It says right on it: Mature 17+. What’s not to understand? What’s more, if I flip the game over, I see the same symbol, along with an explanation of what this symbol means (in this case, Blood and Gore, Mature Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Violence). Apparently, by “not understanding”, what we mean is “can’t read”.

Interestingly enough, MediaWise presented a list of games that they said to avoid, and those to buy. All of the buy list games were rated E, while all but one of the avoid list games were rated M. That seems like an effective rating system to me. (The one game that didn’t rate an M, Urban Reign, is a scrolling fighter, a la Double Dragon back in the day. I’d avoid this one too, and not because it’s on this list. It just sucks.)

Let’s be clear about this: this furor is all about how a group of parents do not like violent or sexually explicit games, but aren’t able to monitor it for themselves. That, and folks who wish to use this as a political platform to present a “family-friendly” view. The ratings system is pretty straightforward. Even if they overhaul the system, people are still not going to read what’s presented to them. Retailers are reluctant to go overboard on the enforcement, because this means less sales for them. Game companies are unlikely to change their model, because the average age of a gamer today is thirty years old.

The only real issue here is this: parents need to monitor what they buy for their children. That’s the entire deal. No need for revised ratings, panels, and focus groups. No need for governmental intervention. No need to sanction video game companies. Parents just need to take an active role in what their child sees. Period.

I’ve recently been getting a lot of enjoyment out of watching The.Scene, a fictional tale of a movie pirating group. The “scene” is basically the underground online group dedicated to getting movies released out to the Internet before they are publically available. Their quick description:

NYU student Brian Sandro has a secret: he and his friends pirate hundreds of millions of dollars of illicit Hollywood movies in their spare time. They are revered, reviled, hunted, and admired. No one knows who they are — at least, not as far as they know.

This is the work of Jun Group Entertainment, a group dedicated to providing free content to file trading services. That is, original legal free content.

Fast-paced action sequences are not to be found here. Each fifteen minute episode basically shows a constant picture of a desktop, with a little video window of the typist in the upper left. You’ll spend most of your time just watching someone type on a computer. It’s hard to imagine that any series where there is in fact no physical action could be so entrancing, yet for the tech geek in me, it is.

The show centers around Brian Sandro, a fictional member of the scene under the online moniker of Drosan. What’s fascinating about the action, since it all takes place in computer windows, is that the action is a series of events that transpire out of keystrokes — with rather disastrous consequences sometimes. Throw in some convoluted plot lines involving the FBI and the Asian mob, and you have a tale that just gets more sordid and complex over time. I quickly became glad I wasn’t in Brian’s shoes, as he generates one complication after the other.

What’s also fascinating is the way The.Scene appeals to your voyeuristic tendencies. You’re entranced with watching Brian do what he does, but get what he does through reading what he types. It’s a bit like looking over someone’s shoulder while they use the computer, without them knowing it. Somehow, that makes for a bit more intimate of an approach than just acting out the plot.

His computer habits also are fascinating. I find that these days, I multitask as much as possible. I tend to do four or five things at once when I use the computer. Brian is no different, and you’ll find yourself following two or three different plot points at the same time. While this might be confusing to someone who never uses a computer, it’s eminently familiar to anyone who does.

While I’m not sure how much broad appeal this series has (you probably wouldn’t be seeing this in a theater any time soon), the tech savvy crowd would probably find this series entertaining, especially if they have a fascination for the underground world of movie pirating. Considering this is primarily for distribution across P2P networks, I think it matches their target pretty closely. Be warned, though: every episode ends in a cliff hanger, so you’ll be left in the lurch for about three weeks until the next episode comes out.