ESA Funds Inflammatory Anti-ESRB Group

The Electronic Software Association, the trade association lobbying for the video games industry, has given a substantial grant to the National Institute on Media and the Family, the controversial media watchdog non-profit known for inflammatory statements towards the games industry and its ratings board in particular.

The NIMF will use the money--an unspecified piece of $1 million divided among nine recipients--to "develop an on-line e-learning zone for using the latest interactive technologies to help kids and adults understand the issues and potential areas of concern with the Internet," according to a press release from the ESA.

Late last year the NIMF made headlines by slamming the Entertainment Software Ratings Board as complacent, blaming the game-rating organization for allowing the violence in Rockstar's Manhunt 2 for reaching game shelves. It was only the latest in a long fight in which the NIMF and ESRB have repeatedly criticized one another.

The NIMF also published a report in 2001 claiming a causal link between exposure to violent entertainment and violent behavior.