An enjoyable op ed letter to Senator Clinton on the "problem" of video games.

http://tinyurl.com/babao

"I'd like to draw your attention to another game whose nonstop violence and hostility has captured the attention of millions of kids — a game that instills aggressive thoughts in the minds of its players, some of whom have gone on to commit real-world acts of violence and sexual assault after playing.

I'm talking, of course, about high school football."

No, that's not what the article is about. But it's a nice point.

Madison Avenue is more invasive than the KGB:

http://tinyurl.com/cs8a8

"For the past few weeks, Massive Inc., a New York company that distributes ads in videogames, has been testing an ad with full motion and sound in a science-fiction game called Anarchy Online. Today, Massive will roll out the full-motion ad capability to advertisers generally."

One comment on the recent Illonois law concerning game ratings --

"The ESA noted that in 2004, the average game buyer was 37 years old and the average game player was 30. In addition, of all games sold in 2004, only 16% were rated Mature. "

The legislature should not, and cannot, take the place of parents. Laws that pretend otherwise are not merely bound to fail, but must necessarily be invasive, restrictive, and probably unconstitutional.

http://www.theesa.com/archives/2005/07/video_game_indu_1.php