ESRB and Grassroots Parent Outreach

GamePolitics reports on a back-and-forth between longtime industry writer Jayson Hill and Patricia Vance, head of the Entertainment Software Ratings Board.

Hill says that, if you really care about protecting games from the government, you should get active in your community. Hill has been presenting to parents at Rotary and Kiwanis clubs in his area as well as at schools, giving them the lowdown on game ratings and getting them more involved:

Reaching the parents at the grassroots level, as I have been trying to do, is exactly the same thing the industry must do on an organized basis. If we are to end this costly and counterproductive conflict we must take the time and invest the resources in a campaign to properly arm parents with the information they need to overcome their apprehensions about their kids and their diet of interactive entertainment. In so doing we can deprive the politicians of their primary weapon -- fear of the unknown.

Vance says that this is an excellent idea.

I actually know Jayson from way back in the day; he was one of the first people I met in the industry. I've got a good story about that, which you can and should ask me about if you ever see me at a party, or wherever.