Georgia to educate parents on game ratings

Problem: Children are getting their hands on violent video games.

Potential government solutions: You can propose unconstitutional laws preventing the games from being sold to minors. You can propose big-brother style federal oversight of a private, self-regulatory body. Or, if you're smart like the state of Georgia, you can work to educate the parents that make an overwhelming majority of game purchases.

Gamasutra is reporting that the ESRB has partnered with Georgia State Attorney General Thurbert Baker to create public service announcements explaining the game rating system to parents and reminding them to check the rating before making a purchase. The ads, which will appear on TV and radio, are bound to be more effective than the ESRB's annoying in-store video ads where Derek Jeter and Tiger Woods remind you that they are sports stars and you are not. Here's hoping this ushers in a new era of cooperation over combativeness between the industry and the government.