nimf
Latest
Violent game-opposed National Institute on Media and the Family shuts down
If you've ever read a story we've written where some organization touts a piece of research "proving" the overwhelmingly negative effects video games have on youngsters, you've probably heard about the National Institute on Media and the Family. They're infamous for issuing typically low-scoring report cards to the ESRB and other entities in the gaming industry, and for propagating the values of the group's founder, psychologist David Walsh. However, it seems NIMF has executed its final evaluation -- according to the St. Paul-based Star Tribune, the organization will shutter its doors on Dec. 31. We bet some of you are overjoyed that the immeasurably critical group is shutting down -- however, without their constant panning, we expect violence in video games to grow unchecked within the next few months. Soon, every title, from Peggle to Viva Piñata, will be bogged down by excessive amounts of gore. All games will be federally required to contain guns. Titles from previous console generations which don't adhere to this rule will be destroyed, Fahrenheit 451 style. The industry will crash like a sack of lead bricks -- all because NIMF wasn't there to keep it in line. To quote Joni Mitchell, "Don't it always seem to go/ That you don't know what you got 'til it's gone."
ABC News polling guy rips apart game addiction figures
ABC News' Director of Polling, Gary Langer, has a little beef with a study we heard about a couple days ago, in which we learned that 8.5 percent of America's youth are addicted to video games. Langer has several problems with the study, one issue being that it was an opt-in online panel -- a "self-selected 'convenience sample'" -- rather than a probability sample (random sampling). It gets technical, but Langer's issue is that he's yet to hear a "reasonable theoretical justification for the calculation of sampling error with a convenience sample."In the end, the author of the addiction study, Prof. Douglas Gentile (who is also the director of research for the National Institute of Media and the Family), wrote to Langer saying that he was unaware the data came from a convenience sampling. So, good news, everyone: either 8.5 percent of youths are addicted to video games ... or they just think they are. Yay, statistics! [Image]
8.5 percent of U.S. youth addicted to video games, study finds
Douglas Gentile, a research psychologist from Iowa State University (and director of research for the National Institute of Media and the Family), recently conducted a study that found 8.5 percent of Americans between the ages of 8 and 18 (that's roughly 3 million people) are addicted to video games. During his research, Gentile polled 1,178 youths to see whether they possessed symptoms of pathological gaming -- symptoms which include spending increasing time behind a controller, irritability when playtime is reduced, "escaping problems through play," skipping homework in favor of gaming, and stealing money with which to purchase additional games.Using these criteria, we've been addicted to the following at some point in our lives: Pokémon cards, Pogs, Skittles, Spelling Bees, laser tag, gardening, dating, Lego bricks, Frisbee golf and blogging. Yet somehow, despite our multitude of unshakable, soul-crushing dependencies, we turned out just fine. You can check out the Entertainment Software Association's response to the study after the jump. [Via Edge] [Image]
NIMF gives games industry 'C' in 12th report card
Poor video games. It seems that you will not, as you had hoped, be receiving a complimentary personal pan from Pizza Hut, the true prize of any straight-A student. Their pizza-free afternoon is the fault of the National Institute on Media and the Family, which gave the industry a "C," saying it was in an "ominous backslide" since the 2006 edition of the report. Most troubling is the NIMF's finding that 50% of underaged kids are still able to buy M-rated games, up from 32% last year. Parents also get slapped on the wrist with a "C" for not understanding the rating's system.The ESRB (which itself received a "B-" for its education efforts) lept to the industry's defense, saying the report card "contradicts recent Federal Trade Commission (FTC) findings related to parents' awareness, use and satisfaction with ESRB ratings." Wow, looks like the NIMF just got a "B" ... "B" for "burned," that is. Also included in the report is the NIMF's list of games to avoid this holiday season, which we've included after the break.
Secret child shoppers wanted to check retailers
The National Institute on Media and the Family (NIMF) is looking for underage kids to secretly shop for Mature and AO rated video games. You know, like many departments of public health do with cigarettes. Just ignore the irony of putting a kid through the paces of purchasing something they aren't supposed to. The final report is expected in December to scare the jeepers out of parents right before Christmas. Also, expect reports on toys with chocking hazards and deadly Doctor Who-style killer Christmas trees.Previously the NIMF said the industry and retailers were doing a better job, while many parents started breeding before learning concepts like responsibility. The NIMF also discovered that the 58% of parents who play video games, more than half the time is spent is playing with their children. The NIMF report will be interesting to watch over the years as more gamer parents start popping up that know better than to let their 8-year-old play GTA -- well, at least we hope so.[Via GamePolitics]
NIMF hails Manhunt 2 rating as 'victory' for parents
The National Institute on Media and Family, an advocacy group that tasks itself with monitoring media for content they deem dangerous to children, is pleased with the ESRB's decision to rate Manhunt 2 as AO. They have previously criticized the ESRB for their lack of use of the Adults Only rating in their 2005 Video Game Report Card.In their statement, the NIMF said "Hopefully Take-Two has learned from its Manhunt 2 experience and will undertake preventive measures to ensure its future games, including Grand Theft Auto IV, are appropriate for families and gamers." Does that sound like a threat to anyone else?The fact that the AO rating basically bans the game isn't directly mentioned, but we think that might have something to do with their advocacy of its use. But since the game can no longer be released in its original form, the only "victory" here is for censors, which the NIMF explicitly claims not to be.
NIMF report card lauds retailers, chastises parents
Most people know the National Institute on Media and the Family's annual video game report card for its list of ten games for children to avoid during the holidays. But the full report offers some interesting research and opinions on the industry as a whole.Most of NIMF's scorn this year is directed at parents, who "do not seem to exercise enough control" over their children's game-playing habits, according to the report. NIMF's surveys found a large discrepancy between the gaming limits parents say they enforce and the limits their children report.For example, 68 percent of parents said their family had rules about when video games can be played, while only 36 percent of children said the same. NIMF suggests that parents are eager to give the more socially acceptable answers in these surveys, a factor that might skew similar statistics by the ESA.While parents got a rap on the fingers, retailers got generally good marks from NIMF this year. NIMF reported increases in employee training, in-store parent education, and retailer ratings enforcement in the stores they surveyed. The improvement led the group to give an A rating to big box retailers -- a bit of a shock since retailers as a whole received a D- in last year's report card, which described the ratings system as a whole as "beyond repair." Specialty retailers lagged behind, though, getting an F because "it is still far too easy for kids to purchase inappropriate games at such stores."
