ESRB Gives NIMF an F

Last week the National Institute for Media and Family gave the games industry its 10th annual report card, awarding it an overall grade of D-, as well as an D- for Retailers' Enforcement of ratings policy and an F for for Ratings Accuracy. Well, the Entertainment Software Ratings Board, which is the North American organization that assigns content ratings to games, has responded with its own report card for the NIMF. Calling the NIMF card an attempt to "undermine parental confidence" in a system that more than 80% of parents believe assigns accurate ratings, the ESRB graded NIMF on Full Disclosure of Pertinent Facts, Research and Analysis, Documentation of Presentation and Evidence, and Working Well with Others. Each category was assigned an F grade. Unsurprisingly, NIMF received an F overall, with additional Demerit for Neglecting Parents' and Childrens' Best Interests. ESRB president Patricia Vance explained the justification for the grades in a public statement.

"In recent years, the report card concept has become increasingly arbitrary, simple-minded, and silly, more of a headline-grabbing tool than a parent-helping tool, and NIMF's 2005 report card continues that disappointing tradition. For years, ESRB respected the work of NIMF, recognizing it as a serious-minded watchdog group sincerely interested in helping parents make smart media decisions, and for this reason we have previously sought to engage them in a cooperative and productive dialogue. But this year NIMF made clear that its real agenda is to undermine parent trust in the ESRB. We will not allow NIMF to mislead parents about the accuracy and effectiveness of ESRB ratings. Accordingly, and reluctantly, we have little choice but to publicly challenge NIMF's numerous inaccurate and misleading claims."