Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, December 2, 1993 TAG: 9312020161
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The cartoon characters on the video screen chop off opponents' heads or bite them to pieces. The game is Mortal Kombat. Critics, such as Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., say parents should be warned.
Lieberman proposed a bill Wednesday that would give the video-game industry one year to come up with a warning-label system. If it did not, a five-member council appointed by the president would.
The movement to label video games comes as parents begin filling shopping carts with holiday gifts for children.
Could the warnings help curb juvenile violence?
Yes, say Lieberman and Bob Keeshan, better known as Captain Kangaroo.
Wednesday, the senator and the former television kiddie-show host showed excerpts from Mortal Kombat and Night Trap, a video game that shows three men chasing a young woman and trying to suck the blood from her neck.
"As television sometimes teaches young children that violence is an appropriate solution to problem-solving in real life, violence-based video games carry that lesson a step further," Keeshan said. "Violence is the option that makes points and wins the game - the video game or the game of life."
Representatives from Sega, one of the largest makers of video games, said the industry should regulate itself.
Sega said 40 percent of its software users are older than 18. "The adult market today wants something more than just playing Pac-Man," said Bill White, vice president of marketing.
Nintendo, the other video-game giant, does not rate its videos. Sega has a ratings system, but the warning is on the disc itself, not on the box.
Sega distributes Mortal Kombat and Night Trap, while Nintendo markets a less violent version of Mortal Kombat. The games cost between $40 and $80, but can be rented at video stores and are available in video arcades.
by CNB