If
we look at the origins of cinema, academics have played
an important role in educating the public; they helped
to provide a buffer against social criticism that rocked
the film industry in its early age; and they provided
a gateway between the public and the industry, helping
them to develop the knowledge and the skills to do well
in the industry. And I think the same thing can happen
here in the video game industry.
Professor Geoffrey Goldstein, University
of Utrecht
The video game industry is an organic one, stimulating
and reacting with its environment.
This dynamism helps to fuel the need for companies
to push at the boundaries of innovation, but this
dynamism needs regulation to insure fair play among
companies and countries and also to protect the consumer.
This section focuses on these issues, breaking them
into two subgroups: Politics and Public Relations.
In the Politics section you learn how governments
in cooperation with groups specified for this particular
industry, work towards a set of standards that intend
to create a level playing field for competitors. You
will also learn of the possible environmental effects
from different stages of production and what is being
done about these potentially hazardous aspects.
The Public Relations section discusses the concerns
of the violence and/or sexual content of certain video
games and their effects on children of an inappropriate
age. This section will teach you about how the industry
as a whole is dealing with these concerns along with
the individual reactions of the major companies. Are
there ratings on games like in the movie industry?
What standards are some companies setting for the
industry to react to? This section will answer these
questions.
