parents

SOE Assures Parents It’s Okay To Play Free Realms

4:20AM Mike Fahey | In advance of the release of their family-friendly online multiplayer game Free Realms, Sony Online Entertainment has released a booklet explaining the benefits that games like Free Realms offer children. More »

Wrestling Video Game Blamed For Child’s Parachuting Death

11:40PM Mike Fahey | Friends of 9-year-old Damori Miles of Brooklyn, New York, claim the boy was imitating moves from WWE SmackDown vs Raw when he jumped off of his apartment rooftop to his death wearing a makeshift parachute. More »

Obama Talks Gaming During Congressional Address

2:40AM Mike Fahey | Just because President Barack Obama is a verified gamer doesn’t mean he supports irresponsible gaming. During last night’s Congressional address, the President re-iterated his firm stance on parenting over gaming. More »

AOL Schools Parents On Gaming At PlaySavvy

3:40AM Mike Fahey | AOL has officially launched PlaySavvy.com, a new website aimed at informing curious parents about the games their children play and generating revenue from ads aimed at this lucrative demographic. More »

MediaWise’s 2008 Game Buying Guide – To Buy, Or Not To Buy?

10:20AM Mike Fahey | Along with the NIMF Annual Video Game Report Card comes the annual MediaWise Video Game Buying Guide, which instructs parents on which games to buy for their children and which to avoid like the plague. Basically it is a list of video games split into two categories: “Great Games for Kids” and “Games to Avoid.” They’ve enhanced the guide this year by adding descriptive paragraphs after each title, along with further splitting the recommended games up by ratings. The list reads as you’d expect. High School the Musical is good, Nancy Drew, Hasbro Game Night, and some sports games. They’ve included LittleBigPlanet, which they’ve obviously never played with me on the headset. The “Games To Avoid” section is totally off though. Gears 2? Resistance 2? Those are great titles! I agree that everyone should avoid Legendary and Blitz the League II, but otherwise completely inaccurate. Hit the jump for the full list, but beware – major spoiler in the Silent Hill: Homecoming listing. More »

NIMF’s 2008 Report Card Praises Industry, Scolds Parents

3:40AM Mike Fahey | The US National Institute on Media and Family have issued their annual Media Wise Video Game report card on how parents and the industry deal with game ratings, and once again the industry wins.

Parents.Com’s Kid-Friendly Holiday Games List

1:00AM Mike Fahey | Babblebaby told us their votes for the best kid friendly music games, now the folks at Parents.com have just issued their list of the Best Kid-Friendly Video Games of 2008, a quick and dirty guide to games that aren’t…quick and dirty. More »