| Abstract: |
Objective: To quantify and characterize the depiction of violence, alcohol, tobacco, drugs, and sex in E-rated video games.
Design: Quantitative content analysis of a convenience sample of E-rated video games. Games played for 90 minutes or to their conclusion.
Subjects and Setting: 55 E-rated video games available for rent/sale by April 1, 2001 including all of the games from The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario Bros. series.
Interventions: N/A
Outcome Measure(s): Game genre (action, adventure, casino, fighting, puzzle, racing, role-playing, shooting, simulation, sports, and strategy); duration of violence; number of fatalities; types of weapons used; rewarding violence/destruction; depiction of alcohol/tobacco/drugs; and sexual content. Violence defined as intended physical harm excluding normal sports play.
Results: 64% of the games featured intentional violence, with an average of 30.7% of playing time featuring an act of violence. Awards were given in 60% of the games for injuring other characters and in 53% of the games for destruction. Those with violent content descriptors contained significantly more violence than those without (t = 2.59), however, 44% of those with no content descriptors contained violence. Almost half (49%) of the games played depicted deaths from violence. Within The Legend of Zelda series, each progressive game in the series features less violence. The most common weapons used were the body and projectiles (in 55% and 49% of games, respectively). Use of alcohol/tobacco/sexual content was limited in the sample, but mention was rarely given in content descriptors.
Conclusions: Many E-rated games involve violence, killing, and the use of weapons in the course of normal play and content descriptors provide limited information about violent content. Suggest development of a violence scale in content descriptions and that ESRB raters play the finished game prior to assigning a rating. Recommend greater parental awareness of game ratings and content and greater participation in game selection. © Center on Media and Child Health |
