America Online to Require Ratings for All Games Played on AOL; AOL Endorses Leading ESRB Ratings System for Online Games With Support of Key Partners eToys and Beyond.com.DULLES, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 18, 1999-- Games Without Ratings Will Not Be Promoted on AOL-Controlled Screens As part of the Company's commitment to provide parents with the information they need to guide their children's online experience, America Online See AOL. today announced it will require all games played Games played (most often abbreviated as G or GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. on the AOL (A division of Time Warner, Inc., New York, NY, www.aol.com) The world's largest online information service with access to the Internet, e-mail, chat rooms and a variety of databases and services. service to be rated by the nation's leading video and computer game rating system, the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB ESRB Entertainment Software Rating Board ESRB Estrogen Receptor Beta ESRB Explosive Safety Review Board ), and will work with others in the industry to press for wide adoption of game ratings across the Internet. Joining AOL in this announcement are its commerce partners eToys and Beyond.com, both of which have been industry leaders in helping to highlight game ratings by displaying them on their sites. With the introduction of this new policy, all of AOL's game partners with games in their inventory which have been rated by the ESRB will display the ESRB rating prominently wherever the games are sold. ESRB rating designations range from "Early Childhood," to "Everyone," "Teen," "Mature," and "Adults Only." A fact sheet on the ESRB/ESRBi ratings system is attached. Highlights of AOL's initiative on game ratings: -- All games available for play on the AOL service will be rated by the ESRB and those ratings will be prominently displayed. Games which are rated adults-only or which are not rated will not be available for play on the AOL service. -- AOL and AOL.COM commerce partners with games for sale online which have been rated by the ESRB will prominently display ESRB ratings at the point where they are sold. Games which have not been rated, or which are rated adults-only, will not be available on AOL-controlled screens. -- AOL and ESRB will take the lead in forming an industry task force to campaign for industry-wide adoption of ratings for all online games, demos and games editorial sites, and to address the issue of shareware. -- AOL expects that it and its partners will be fully compliant with this new policy by no later than March 1, 2000. Steve Case Steve Case (born August 21, 1958) is a businessman best known as the co-founder and former chief executive officer and chairman of America Online (AOL). He reached his highest profile when he played an instrumental role in AOL's merger with Time Warner in 2000. , Chairman and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of America Online, Inc., said: "Parents need good information in order to help their children make the right decisions about what they do both online and in their everyday lives. With our adoption of ESRB ratings for games on our service, and our campaign to encourage the rest of the online industry to support game ratings, we hope that parents everywhere will have easier access to the information they need to make smart decisions about what games to allow their children to play." Said Jon Sacks, Sr. Vice President and General Manager, AOL Interactive Services: "Electronic games Electronic Games was the first video game magazine published in the United States and ran from 1981 to 1985. Co-founded by Arnie Katz, Joyce Worley and Bill Kunkel, it is unrelated to the subsequent Electronic Gaming Monthly. can be a great source of enjoyment for our kids. We want to congratulate our gaming and commerce partners for their important support for the ESRB system, and we look forward to working with the rest of the industry to ensure the widest possible adoption of this valuable resource for parents." Said Arthur Pober, ESRB Executive Director: "Parents need help from business to make sure their kids are playing only those games that are right for them. Today's announcement by AOL is an extremely important contribution to our efforts." The ESRB is an independent rating system established in September, 1994 by the Interactive Digital Software Association (IDSA IDSA Infectious Diseases Society of America IDSA Industrial Designers Society of America IDSA Interactive Digital Software Association IDSA Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses (India) IDSA International Dark Sky Association ) to give parents and all consumers information about the content of video and computer games so they can make informed purchase and rental decisions. Praised by Peggy Charren Peggy Charren (born 1928) founded Action for Children's Television (ACT) in 1968 in an effort to improve the quality of children's television programming. In 1989, the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences awarded her its Trustees' Award. , founder of Action for Children's Television Action for Children's Television (ACT) was founded by Peggy Charren in Newton, Massachusetts in 1968 as a grassroots organization dedicated to improving the quality of television programming offered to children. and one of the country's leading child advocates, as well as by the nation's foremost consumer group, the Consumer Federation of America The Consumer Federation of America (CFA) is a non-profit organization founded in 1968 to advance the consumer interest through research, education and advocacy. According to CFA's website, its members are approximately 300 consumer-oriented non-profits, which themselves have , ESRB ratings inform consumers about the age appropriateness of a given game, taking into account both violent and sexual content. Offline retail games are rated by the ESRB, while an ESRB subdivision, ESRBi, rates online games and online editorial game Web sites. With today's announcement, AOL and AOL.COM have each launched an online consumer education area with information about this new policy, a link to the ESRB home page and other resources for parents. (These areas are available: on AOL at Keyword: Games Policy, and on AOL.COM at www.aol.com/webcenters/games). In addition to displaying the ratings for all games available for play on the AOL service, AOL is developing new Parental Controls This article is about computer options. For the television show, see Parental Control (TV series). Parental controls are options, typically included in digital television services, computer and video games, or computer software used to access the Internet, that functions that will allow parents to block their children's access to any or all categories of games on AOL based on ESRB ratings. Said Trinka Dyer, Vice President and General Manager of the Beyond.com Consumer Division: "Beyond.com is committed to helping our customers make informed decisions on the types of games Major categories: Sports
Said Douglas Lowenstein, President of the Interactive Digital Software Association, the trade group which represents the nation's PC and video game software industry: "As the popularity of online games continues to build, it's critical that parents have the access to the same ESRB age and content ratings that are on the video and PC games sold in traditional retail outlets. AOL's announcement is a landmark breakthrough for game ratings on the Internet and will serve as a catalyst to make ESRB ratings as ubiquitous online as they are on packaged software See software package. today." For more information about the ESRB, please contact Alison Chase at 310-394-1222 or visit the ESRB web site at www.esrb.com. About America Online, Inc. Founded in 1985, America Online, Inc., based in Dulles, Virginia, is the world's leader in interactive services, web brands, Internet technologies and e-commerce services. America Online, Inc. operates: two worldwide Internet services, America Online, with more than 19 million members, and CompuServe, with more than 2.2 million members; several leading Internet brands including ICQ ("I Seek You") A conferencing program for the Internet from Mirabilis, Tel Aviv, Israel (www.icq.com). It provides interactive chat, e-mail and file transfer and can alert you when someone on your predefined list has also come online. , AOL Instant Messenger See AIM. , Digital City Inc.; the Netscape Netcenter and AOL.COM portals; Netscape Navigator and Communicator browsers; AOL MovieFone; Spinner.com, Winamp and SHOUTcast. Through its strategic alliance with Sun Microsystems, the company develops and offers easy-to-deploy, end-to-end e-commerce and enterprise solutions for companies operating in the Net Economy. |
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