Another meeting of stuffy old men in suits talking about things they've never used has come to pass. Congress held a meeting yesterday to discuss what can be done about these darn video games, with representatives from the FTC, Wal-Mart, the ESA, the ESRB, and the National Institute on Media and the Family weighing in.

It's the typical mishmash of crap, with the subcommittee chairman calling games like GTA "cultural pollution," and saying, "this sort of twisted, homicidal imagery is more akin to hate speech, not free speech." Meanwhile Rep. Marsha Blackburn focused on the sex side of the "destroying children" coin:

She mentioned that an alarming number of teens are exploited by sexual predators over the Internet, adding that there's a generation of kids being desensitized to "aberrant sexual behavior" and the subcommittee "would be remiss to not discuss how games are contributing to that problem." Blackburn said there should be no sexual content in M-rated games and expressed interest in the industry's position on requiring age verification only for games with sexually explicit content.

I really don't know what sexual predators on the Internet have to do with video games. Nor can I think of any examples of "aberrant sexual behavior" in video games. But hey, it's nice to know sexual content should be limited to AO-rated porn titles, that's the best way to mature the industry.

Entertainment Software Association president Doug Lowenstein tried to defend the industry as best he could.

"Defining this industry based on its most controversial titles would be like defining the film industry based on Kill Bill, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Natural Born Killers," Lowenstein noted, "or the music industry based on Eminem, 50 Cent, and The Dixie Chicks."

I was with him on it until... the Dixie Chicks? Eminem.. and the Dixie Chicks? Man, I really must be missing out on some heavy stuff by not listening to country. That, or going to a different country and saying George Bush sucks really does make you public enemy #1 for life.

For the ESRB's part, they announced they're increasing their penalties such that a publisher could be fined up to one million dollars for nondisclosure of game content. David Walsh of the National Institute on Media and the Family suggested a universal rating system for all media to make it easier for parents to understand. It's not a horrible idea, but somehow I doubt it will really make that much of a difference. I just grabbed a copy of Oblivion and looked at the back, which says "Blood and gore, language, sexual themes, use of alcohol, violence." How much clearer can that be made for parents? You can't make a rating system that forces lazy parents to pay attention, whether it's universal or not.

Walsh's idea of a universal ratings system resounded with the subcommittee members, who asked panel members to address the idea. As the game-industry representatives, Vance and Lowenstein both acknowledged the idea as a potential solution, but held out reservations. Vance said she wouldn't have a problem with a universal rating system but wanted to make sure the ESRB's system didn't get watered down in the process. Lowenstein said such a system was a wonderful goal, but "the devil is in the details."

Source: Gamespot