The closure is apparently tied to the end of funding from a primary NIMF source, Fairview Health Services, which had committed $US750,000 annually to the Institute. WCCO-TV of Minneapolis reported that Fairview Health Services knew back in the summer that, in light of the current economy, “We can’t continue” supporting NIMF.

NIMF was known for its annual Video Game Report Card, released around this time of year. The 2008 report gave an A grade to the ESRB, for its new game rating summaries; a B+ to retailers, for following rating and sales policies, and an “incomplete” to parents for not availing themselves of parental controls or closely following what their kids play.

While NIMF occasionally blasted the odd violent video game here or there, at least it wasn’t part of the tinhorn orchestra that obligated the ESRB and retailers to do all the parenting by themselves. Game Politics notes that the Entertainment Software Association gave NIMF a $US50,000 grant last year.

In a statement, NIMF said it hopes to continue its programs and research through other non-profit organizations.

NIMF to Close at Year End [Game Politics]

Speaking at the Montreal International Game Summit, Rémi Racine of A2M said:

As a developer who has worked with a lot of different publishers, we’re aware of many that have tried to cheat the rating. They say to the ERSB that it’s a Teen rating [13+] rather than an Mature [17+] to try and sell more; you can do this just by sending them a video that doesn’t show the most violent stuff and then you’ll get the rating that you want rather than the rating you should get.

Edge Online, which quoted Racine at the Summit, then published this reply from the ESRB’s Eliot Mizrachi:

ESRB takes full disclosure of content during the rating process extremely seriously, and companies that submit their games to ESRB know this very well. We regularly check games post-release to verify that submissions were complete, and it’s very likely that if a game contains undisclosed content that would have affected the rating assigned, we’ll find out about it. In such cases ESRB can actually impose fines up to $US1 million as well as require corrective actions like re-labeling or even recalling product, both of which can obviously be very costly. There’s no incentive whatsoever for publishers to withhold content from ESRB in an effort to receive a lower rating, and those that would do so risk significant penalties.

I can’t think of any titles which exemplify Racine’s accusation; of course, my radar is largely fixated on upcoming AAA releases, and games of such a high profile are almost definitely M-rated or not, in the public’s mind, before the ESRB gets hold of them. When was the last M-versus-T controversy anyway? Does it even matter? That said, there might be a few marginal titles out there. But which ones?

MIGS: Publishers “Cheat” Age Ratings [Edge Online]

There are some minor spoilers in the writeup, I suppose, so I’ll let you venture over there if you’re interested in what the awesome displays of violence entail, as they most directly pertain to capabilities or plot points in the story.

“The violence and the profanity account for the Mature rating,” the ESRB said, so let’s look at the other half of that equation.

The game includes frequent use of strong profanity (e.g., “f**k,” “motherf**ker,” and “c*nt”) and some lesser four-letter words (e.g., “sh*t” and “tw*t”); in one instance, an enemy attacks [Subject] Delta [that's you] while screaming, “F**king sodomites everywhere!”

Sodomites? F— yeah! Oh there’s also some stuff about hookin’ and red-light districts. Frankly, in a laissez-faire capitalist society I’d be astonished if those weren’t encountered, so maybe this should be rated O for Objectivism.

BioShock 2 [ESRB via Hot Blooded Gaming]

The Entertainment Software Ratings Board has issued the Assassin’s Creed sequel a “Mature” rating, pointing out the potentially offensive “blood, intense violence, sexual content, and strong language” featured in the game.

The ESRB goes into great detail about the “sexual content” players may experience in Assassin’s Creed II, including an interactive mini-game in which “players are able to press buttons to kiss a woman and remove her dress; with the woman’s back facing the camera, the two characters lower to bed and blow out a candle.” Oh my!

Oh and it gets so much more unsavoury, at least from a dialogue standpoint, as references to S&M, page-boy diddling, rape and other deviant acts not fit for print in this publication are made throughout the game. Plus, there’s naughty language in both English and Italian!

Will someone please think of the children? Preferably not while reading this snippet of the ESRB’s description, pasted below, but afterward.

The game contains strong sexual overtones. During one “seduction mini-game,” players are able to press buttons to kiss a woman and remove her dress; with the woman’s back facing the camera, the two characters lower to bed and blow out a candle. Some scenes take place inside brothels, though no nudity or sexual acts are depicted. The dialogue contains the following sexual references: “So the whip or the paddle today?” and “Does your wife know about your page-boy fantasies, Captain?” Character backstories, narrated through still-frame vignettes, explain how villains and historical figures achieved their notoriety; some biographies include references to adultery, sodomy, prostitution, and rape (e.g., “Caterina was captured and sent to Rodrigo Borgia . . . who kept her imprisoned for a year and is rumoured to have raped her alongside his son.”).

One cutscene depicts a man and a woman wearing translucent, flesh-toned bodysuits as they flee from danger. The digitized lighting effects, the glow from their futuristic suits, obscure most of the details, though outlines of breasts and buttocks are partially discernable (i.e., not definitively nudity).

Consumers may also wish to know that the game contains strong profanity, both in English and Italian (e.g., “f**k,” “sh*t,” c*zzo,” and “m*rda”); the most explicit instance occurs when a man frantically describes a “vision”-”I’m at the opera . . . the soprano is so beautiful . . . I’m in bed with her, she cries as I f**k her.”

Ack! My eyes!!

Assassin’s Creed II [ESRB]

Manhunt 2, as an M-rated game on the PSP, PS2 and Wii, was very poorly received when it went out in 2007. While Rockstar hasn’t specified what’s going out in the super-duper adult version, it’s my hunch that “adult” here doesn’t mean what it means on pay-per-view. But there will be plenty of bodies.

AO-Rated Version of Manhunt 2 PC Coming Next Week via Download [Big Download via Joystiq]

ESRB spokesman Eliot Mizrachi contacted Kotaku, saying that the ratings authority has a different rate schedule for smaller games. “The ESRB has a reduced fee of $US800 for games that have development costs under $US250,000,” Mizrachi said, “which would likely apply to virtually all PSP Minis.”

But the ESRB may have a new, non-sterile policy for game rating summaries. That, or Left 4 Dead 2 writer Chet Faliszek is responsible for said summary. Oh, it starts off normal enough, noting that “the ‘Boomer’-Infected explode in a shower of blood and bile when shot, which clouds players’ view of the impending zombie swarm.” Then it switches things up. With italics.

Here’s the second half of the description, with emphasis retained.

Bladed melee weapons and direct hits from rifles, shotguns, etc., cause decapitation or dismemberment; intense depictions include: piles of the Infected in a pool of blood along the roadside; intestines spilling out of abdominal wounds; zombie jibs shooting in all directions; charred innards; and skeletal bits and unclaimed torsos. While the litany of somewhat “gruesome” depictions attests to the Mature rating, the over-the-top onslaught is, in some ways, mitigated by the exaggerated menacing evil (camp?) of the drone-like zombie horde; the genre homage (horror, zombies, . . . cricket paddle) is palpable. Consumers might also wish to know that the game includes profanity, such as “sh*t,” “as*hole,” and “b*tch”; however, it is the intense violence, the blood and gore that are the primary factors for the Mature rating.

Interestingly, it almost reads like a justification of Left 4 Dead 2’s violent display of zombie thrashing.

Now, for the Kamen Rider Dragon Knight official description, unaltered and italicised per the ESRB.

“It’ll end fast,” declares a “Kamen Rider” moments before holding his defeated opponent in the air and showering him with explosions. Players control these robotic humanoid fighters in one-on-one or one-on-multiple combat with alien robotic creatures from another planet, or in this case, the Kamen Rider Dragon Knight TV series. Players constantly punch, kick, and use weapons (swords, axes, spears, spiked gloves) to deplete their opponents’ health meter. Explosions, slashes, and hit effects can be seen and heard throughout battle. “Final Vents” (i.e., finishing attacks) can be used to defeat opponents, and range from melee attacks (e.g., jump kicks and pile drivers) to elaborate projectile attacks; for example, a motorcycle can be summoned to shoot fireballs and run over the opponent amid . . . more explosions.

The ellipsis may have been the best thing to ever happen to ESRB copy writers.

Quoting the Progress and Freedom Foundation, the report, published Aug. 31, says ESRB ratings are “in many ways the most sophisticated, descriptive, and effective ratings system devised by any major media sector in America.” The parental control functions of the three current-gen consoles, plus Windows PCs, are also highlighted. The report mentions that game ratings are highly recognised and useful to parents (58 percent find them helpful, according to a third-party survey), and the percentage of kids buying M-rated games dropped dramatically from 2006 to 2008, according to the FTC.

Significantly, the report also says that the FCC considers “that video game players and video games are not the focus of the Child Safe Viewing Act,” the piece of legislation that started this universal-rating discussion. “Video game players are not included among the devices specifically identified in Section 2(b)(2) of the Act, and video games are not mentioned in the Senate Report and were not discussed in the Senate hearing on the Act.”

But the FCC inquiry did include video games when it sought comment on universal regulation, in light of their popularity with kids and concerns about their content. The majority of comments, the FCC noted, “take the position that video games should not be reviewed in this proceeding.”

Final score: The ESRB gets a thumbs-up to Congress, and the legislation in question does not even concern video game consoles in the first place. If you like, you may download a pdf of the entire report and read it yourself.

FCC Cites Success of VIdeo Game Rating System [CNET]

No, not from the two Bad Dudes seen above, but from Magical Drop III, one of the titles included in the arcade game collection. Other titles outed by the ESRB include Bad Dudes vs. Dragon Ninja, Burger Time, Caveman Ninja, Street Slam, and Secret Agent.

In addition to pumping out re-ratings for titles like Tomb Raider and Bloody Roar, PSone Classics already released, there are also new appearances from PlayStation era highlights like Um Jammer Lammy and Oddworld: Abe’s Exodus. Good news, especially for the nostalgic PSPgo owner.

Here’s the latest list of new PSone Classics candidates. Watch for them on a PlayStation Store update near you.

• Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain
• Cool Boarders 3
• International Track & Field
• Oddworld: Abe’s Exodus
• Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee
• Pandemonium!
• Syphon Filter 2
• Um Jammer Lammy