Parent Television Council targeting mature game ads

As revealed by a report on GameDaily, the censorship wars just extended its battlefields to include game advertisements. The Parents Television Council previously started an anti-game ad campaign in Denver against those ads of mature nature posted in the public rail transit system. Although it heavily backfired, the PTC has succeeded in similar campaigns over in Boston and Portland.

Censorship extends to mature game ads - Image 1 

PTC director Gavin McKiernan said that they were targeting mature game ads on video games and not those on TV or cinema (at the moment) because it is difficult for inappropriately aged viewers to enter a theater sporting an R-rated movie. Unfortunately for the gaming side, it’s pretty easy to spot a game poster ad with M-ratings and remember the game’s name.

Nowadays that shouldn’t be a problem, as the Federal Trade Commission noticed the climbing trend of point-of-sale restrictions with inappropriately aged buyers of games. But it seems that the PTC wants more than a couple of huge retail chains complying with the restrictions.

In fact, it appears they want absolute barring of Mature content, even if it comes in the form of just ads. McKiernan also said:

It’s marketing [mature games] to kids, that’s our main issue. There’s a reason why the [game companies] buy these ads; they’re effective. Billions of dollars are spent each year so they can get the message out to every member of the buying population.

With the Video Game Decency Act and several other regulations closing in, the game industry might just end backed up into a corner. It’s future: can you say, “Alamo?”

Via GameDaily Biz

As revealed by a report on GameDaily, the censorship wars just extended its battlefields to include game advertisements. The Parents Television Council previously started an anti-game ad campaign in Denver against those ads of mature nature posted in the public rail transit system. Although it heavily backfired, the PTC has succeeded in similar campaigns over in Boston and Portland.

Censorship extends to mature game ads - Image 1 

PTC director Gavin McKiernan said that they were targeting mature game ads on video games and not those on TV or cinema (at the moment) because it is difficult for inappropriately aged viewers to enter a theater sporting an R-rated movie. Unfortunately for the gaming side, it’s pretty easy to spot a game poster ad with M-ratings and remember the game’s name.

Nowadays that shouldn’t be a problem, as the Federal Trade Commission noticed the climbing trend of point-of-sale restrictions with inappropriately aged buyers of games. But it seems that the PTC wants more than a couple of huge retail chains complying with the restrictions.

In fact, it appears they want absolute barring of Mature content, even if it comes in the form of just ads. McKiernan also said:

It’s marketing [mature games] to kids, that’s our main issue. There’s a reason why the [game companies] buy these ads; they’re effective. Billions of dollars are spent each year so they can get the message out to every member of the buying population.

With the Video Game Decency Act and several other regulations closing in, the game industry might just end backed up into a corner. It’s future: can you say, “Alamo?”

Via GameDaily Biz

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