The Guardian article on political aspect of regulating video games

This article from the Guardian looks at regulating video games and the fact that in America, politicians have vowed to advocate the regulation of content in violent video games, as the content may have an effect on a youngner audience.

Important quotes from the article

Hillary Clinton has never been a fan of computer games.

In response to a Common Sense Media poll of the attitudes of the candidates to video game entertainment, Clinton argued,

"When I am President, I will work to protect children from inappropriate video game content"

Barack Obama has suggested on several occasions that gamers are slackers. "It's time to turn off your Game Boys," he said at an Austin, Texas event last February. He's also returned a donation made by the Electronic Software Association's Doug Lowenstein and has repeatedly argued that working harder means playing fewer games.

In the CSM poll, Obama promoted industry self-regulation:

I would call upon the video game industry to give parents better information about programs and video games by improving the voluntary rating system we currently have. Broadcasters and video game producers should take it upon themselves to improve this system to include easier to find and easier to understand descriptions of exactly what kind of content is included. But if the industry fails to act, then my administration would.

So it's unsurprising that when the question was posed, point blank, in the CSM poll, he (and his policy-writers) played a cautious, hands-off game; he applauds the work of the internal ratings boards, but suggests that there's much more to do to keep inappropriate content away from kids:

If the industry does not continue to make progress in keeping video games with intense violence and adult content away from children, we will need to consider further steps to ensure that parents' decisions about their children's exposure to these games are not being undermined by retailers, advertisers and manufacturers.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/gamesblog/2008/jan/09/gamesgetpolitical?INTCMP=SRCH