The ESA Unveils Video Game Rally App For Facebook

[Andy Chalk]

The ESA Unveils Video Game Rally App For Facebook

The Video Game Voters Network has put together a new Facebook [http://www.facebook.com] app called the Video Game Rally which lets people sign a petition to defend videogames, encourage their fellow gamers to join in and even win a prize in the process.

Users who join the Video Game Rally will be prompted to sign the "Petition to Defend Video Games," which notes that efforts to regulate videogame sales are unconstitutional and wasteful, and that inappropriate games would be better kept out of the hands of children through a focus on parental education instead. Users can earn points by signing the petition and then following up with other actions like recruiting friends to join the effort; whoever has the highest point total as of April 16 will be awarded his or her choice of an Wii [http://www.xbox.com] console.

"We believe all public officials should oppose the government regulation of video game sales and/or content, and we urge them to consider supporting effective self-regulatory programs to educate parents about the ESRB [http://www.esrb.org] game ratings and parental control tools," the petition says. "Just like movies, books, and music, video games must remain an entertainment medium that is self-regulated, without government intrusion."

Founded in 2006 by the Entertainment Software Association, the Video Game Voters Network is "a movement of American gamers of voting age who are protecting free speech and defending video games from intrusive legislation and regulation." The group currently boasts over 150,000 members and has been involved in numerous grass-roots efforts to combat unconstitutional restrictions on videogame sales.

Click videogamevoters.org [http://apps.facebook.com/videogamevoters].


Permalink

 

[Alone Disciple]

I hate to seem like a dour sourpuss...but is it my understanding the ESA or VGVN wants me to badger my Facebook friends into signing something they probably have no idea or care about to begin with, on the off chance they may reward me with $199 XBox.

It's bad enough when I'm accosted by every other cause under the sun on FB and I already can't hit delete fast enough on all the other cryptic movements.

Seems like they want us to do all the dirty work (countless emalis, recruitment, etc.) for a single prize? I don't thnk I can muster up the motivation. I can't even think of one thing they've actually accomplished....doesn't mean they didn't...I just know anything about them to take them seriously.

 

[Andy Chalk]

I think they actually want you to do the "dirty work" (petitions, recruitment, emails, etc.) to support the effort against unconstitutional legislation against the sale of videogames. The contest is secondary, or at least it should be, a bit of tacked-on fun for doing the right thing.

As for what they've accomplished, the VGVN is mostly an awareness campaign to keep gamers in the loop regarding the political side of the industry. Direct political lobbying is done by the ESA (which also sponsors the VGVN) and although a lot of their work tends to be of the "behind the scene" sort, they're also the people who launch all the lawsuits against unconstitutional videogame legislation. Heard about the recent Appeals Court decision that ruled the 2005 videogame law enacted in California couldn't be enforced? That's the ESA at work.