Violence & Militarism in Society

Mission: We seek to foster a global environment of peace and sustainability.

Since 2004, concerned by the content of some video games and the ease with which children under 17 have access to them, religious investors have pressed for greater accountability within the industry.

ICCR members met with the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), the industry’s self-regulating association for video games, to discuss the rating system and protective guidelines for children.

We recognize that the marketing and sale of age-appropriate video games to children requires the cooperation of the entire video game industry, as well as consumers and parents. We believe that retailers have a critical role to play by adopting and enforcing industry guidelines.

Religious investors have been instrumental in moving retailers to adopt and monitor video game sales policies, including:

• display signage about the ESRB rating system
• restrict access to M-rated games
• establish a system to identify the age of the purchaser
• conduct employee training programs and ongoing education
• monitor employee compliance with policies

NWCRI members have worked with Best Buy and Target, both of whom have publicly disclosed their video game sales policies.

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