Controversy about Videogame's

Controversy about Videogame's 

December 1993 joint congressional hearing took place on the growing concern that the game industry was marketing violent videogames to minors. the hearing was on the popular fighting game Mortal Kombat.

The game uses actors and bloody violent "Fatality" moves that would rip peoples heads off there body. The game appeared first in arcades in 1992 then appeared on Super Nintendo in 1993. Now those violent bloody games were in your home. Mortal Kombat was the hottest and most grossing game on the market. So Super Nintendo and SEGA Genesis 16 wanted the game. Both systems responded different with the violence. Nintendo took the blood and fatalities out and SEGA left the gore in and just rated it violent.

Congress had a joint hearing, asking videogame publishers if they were trying to sell Mature games to children. This brought up good questions are violent games "Training early killers".   Maybe not just violence but videogames are making "Sexist and Racist" children. 

Eventually a compromise was made and the IDSA created the Entertainment Software Ratings Board, which we know as today is ESRB. This is on all the cover of any videogames. 

The rating System is:

* (E): Early Childhood- Suitable for ages 3 and over, educational in nature

* (K-A): Kids to Adults- May be unsuitable for players under 6

* (T): Teen- May be Unsuitable for players under 13

* (M): Mature- May be unsuitable for players under 17

* (AO): Adults Only- Content considered unsuitable for minors

Congress was satisfied with the proposal and the ESRB began Rating games in September 1, 1994. But still to this day we have controversy over violent games and rating continues today. Will this ever end? Is videogames "training early killers" or just away to escape reality?