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 (AP) - A chainsaw-wielding killer and
blood-splattered shooting rampages are featured in some of the 10
video games that a media watchdog group says should be avoided by
kids and teens.
    
  With the holiday shopping season under way, the Minneapolis-based National
Institute on Media and the Family released its 11th annual video
game report card Wednesday. The group urged parents to take a
stronger role in safeguarding their children from games that
glamorize sex and violence.

      "Pay attention to the games your kids, our kids, are playing,"
said Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., who joined institute officials at
a news conference. "It's really time to focus on the parents and
urge parents to pay attention."

      In past years, the institute has challenged the video game
industry and retailers to do more. This year the group said it is
focusing more on what parents and others can do.

The group found that the amount of time parents reported their kids playing
video games was half the amount of time their children said they
played.

      Douglas Lowenstein, president of Entertainment Software
Association, said his video game trade group was pleased this
year's report card was more "balanced and measured" than previous
years. But he said his group wants to empower parents, not blame
them.

      "Like rock 'n' roll, video games will never die," Lowenstein
said in a written statement. "Finger-pointing and demonizing a
form of entertainment that is embraced by the millennial generation
is fruitless. Partnering with parents to help them help their kids
pays off."

      The institute showed video clips of graphic scenes of sex and
violence from several newly released video games. Advocates said
they wanted to make parents and kids aware of some of the games
they should avoid on store shelves this holiday season.

      A scene from "Scarface: The World is Yours" showed a man
attacking victims with a chainsaw as blood splatters across the
screen. A man clubbed several victims in a bloody scene from "Dead
Rising." Characters spew obscenities in "Saints Row."

      The institute also cited "Gangs of London," "The Sopranos,"
"Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories," "Reservoir Dogs,"
"Mortal Kombat: Unchained," "The Godfather: Mob Wars" and
"Just Cause."

      All of the games were M-rated, intended for those aged 17 and
over.

      Institute president David Walsh praised major retailers Target,
Wal-Mart and Best Buy for helping to make sure kids could not buy
games intended for older players. No children were able to buy
M-rated games in the institute's secret shopper survey this year,
Walsh said. The group had criticized some retailers in the past for
not doing enough to safeguard kids.

      "This is very, very significant progress," he said.

      However, problems persist with kids being able to buy
mature-themed games at specialty game stores, Walsh said.

      The institute hailed game console manufacturers Microsoft, Sony
and Nintendo for developing effective parental controls on their
products.

      "The good news is, they really work," said Walsh.

      Educating parents on how to use the controls and to spend time
with their children to learn about the games they are playing is
vital, Walsh said. A good start is to limit game time for kids and
to keep them away from M-rated games, he added.

      "We have to put our kids on a media diet," Walsh said.

      The group's list of "games to avoid" is on its Web site,
      


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Lifestyle

But the National Institute on Media and the Family also
found that the amount of time parents reported their kids playing
video games was half the amount of time their children said they
played.


Video game ratings having impact, watchdog group says

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