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The National Institute on Media and the Family, the nation's leading resource on the effects of media and video games on children, today released its 10th Annual MediaWise Video Game Report Card and a Ten Year Overview on the Past and Future of the Video Game industry today in Washington, D.C. This year's MediaWise Video Game Report Card highlights serious issues with the ratings system; lack of parental involvement; and commends the responsible retailers and game console makers.

David Walsh, Ph.D., president and founder of the National Institute on Media and the Family, presented the 10th Annual MediaWise Video Game Report Card and was joined by Senator Joe Lieberman to unveil the report card. Nationally syndicated columnist Steven Kent also spoke on the trends of 2005. After a decade of research and monitoring, the Institute gave the video game industry a cumulative grade of "D+."

"There has been significant industry progress and reforms over the last decade, but ever more violent and sadistic games are still ending up in the hands of children," Dr. Walsh said. "We feel the ESRB, which is owned and operated by the video game industry, needs to be overhauled. Retailers need to stop selling violent video games to children, and lead all entertainment sectors by embracing a universal independent ratings system."

"Two years ago, the Interactive Entertainment Merchant's Association promised the public they would enforce policies preventing the sale of M-rated video games to children under 17," said Dr. Walsh. "Unfortunately, they're not making good on that promise. Retailers would rather appear as if they care about children instead of actually taking small steps to protect them."

Other areas of special concern in the 10th Annual MediaWise Video Game Report Card include: a student survey that shows M-rated video games are more popular than ever; the widening gap between what kids do and what parents know; and an update on the arcade industry's development, implementation and enforcement of its rating system. Similar to previous years, the Annual MediaWise Video Game Report Card provides parents a list of recommended video games and games to avoid.

The National Institute on Media and the Family is an independent, non-partisan, non-sectarian, nonprofit organization. The Institute's mission is to maximize the benefits and minimize the harm mass media have on children through research and education. For more information, visit www.mediafamily.org on the Web or call 1-888-672-5437.

Highlights of the Report Card and 10 Year Report Include:

• Call for a Ratings Summit
  Despite 10 years of alert and repeated calls for improvement, the Institute has concluded the ESRB system is beyond repair. The Institute will convene a Ratings Summit in 2006 to be held with leading parent, health and child welfare groups. The Institute is also calling for an Independent Universal Ratings System to replace the ESRB.
  
• Retail Enforcement
  This years' Institute's survey of retailers found that retailers were actually more lenient in their selling practices this year compared to last. The number of young girls able to buy M-rated video games without adult supervision skyrocketed. The secret shopper survey found that boys as young as 9 were able to buy M-rated video games 42 percent of the time and girls were able to purchase M-rated games 46 percent of the time. Last year, girls were only able to purchase games 8 percent of the time. One exception is Best Buy Corporation, which implemented its policy in 2005 and scored a perfect 100 percent in clerk enforcement in all of our sting efforts.
  
• Parents Need to "Watch What Their Kids Watch"
  Parents and children are on different planets when it comes to what parents think their children are playing, and the games they are actually playing. To this effort, we will renew our "Watch What Your Kids Watch" PSA campaign in 2006, and expand beyond the 20 markets we targeted in 2005.

Ratings Education - C+
Retailers' Policies - B
Retailers' Enforcement - D-
Ratings Accuracy - F
Arcade Survey - B-
Industry's 10-year cumulative grade - D+