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  • Mother's campaign to bring video game seizure concerns to British Parliament a success

    by 
    Griffin McElroy
    Griffin McElroy
    06.15.2008

    By now, you've probably noticed the seizure warnings interjected into the start-up screens of many games, giving the .02 percent of the population that suffers from photosensitive epilepsy (PSE) a heads-up that the following game may not be entirely safe for them to play. However, Gaye Herford, a mother residing in England, has brought her concerns over game-related seizures to British Parliament after her 10-year-old son suffered a seizure following a round of Rayman: Raving Rabbids on the Nintendo DS.Parliament has agreed to debate whether or not rigorous testing for seizure-inducing material in video games should be required by their developers on a heretofore undecided date. Television and films are already tested in this manner, but no countries require similar checks for games. Ubisoft has independently agreed to begin performing these tests on all their future titles, though we find it difficult to imagine how one makes a mini-game compilation featuring hyperactive, mutant rabbits without using some PSE-sensitive material.