When 1UP group mastermind John Davison and executive vice president of the Game Group, Ira Becker,
bailed out of Ziff Davis Media in August, it was with the intention of starting up a new family entertainment website geared towards parents. "
What They Play" is now accessible via the magnificent power of the internets and, as the succinct name suggests, aims to inform parents what interactive filth their kids are currently rolling their brains in. With an online
video game glossary (or "videogame," as they seemingly prefer) and explanation of the ESRB rating system, the site aims to demystify some of the game industry's intricacies and back-of-the-box descriptors to an audience less versed in our M-rated 60fps FPS world.
Most helpful is an objective analysis of a given game's activities, violent content and
colorful language, presented in a concise and straightforward manner. You won't find reviews here, only a desire to better equip parents for deciding whether their kids should be playing
Zack & Wiki or
Manhunt 2. (Bad example, nobody in their mind should play Manhunt 2.)[Thanks, Jared]
{ Nov 12th 2007 at 5:55PM } 
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
generic @ Nov 12th 2007 6:11PM
They have one hell of an up-hill battle. Parents hardly know the ESRB ratings even exist.
Of course, with the ESRB's track record, I'm not sure I could really blame someone else for wanting to take a crack at it.
zuburi @ Nov 12th 2007 6:14PM
Seriously. Are enough people going to use this to make it worthwhile?
RDX @ Nov 12th 2007 6:17PM
While I too question the impact that this site may have, I really hope it takes off. John Davison is one of my favorite video game personalites and I sincerely wish him the best.
I wonder how they plan to mass market the site to parents?
Preston Parrish @ Nov 12th 2007 6:28PM
Here's an idea: Monitor what little Timmy is playing WHEN he's playing it. I'm so damned tired of hearinf all the controversy over these games. I'm a mature adult, and I play mature games. I could give 2 sh*ts what the neighbor kid is playing. That's his parent's job. His parent's job also includes making sure the neighbor kid know the difference between the gaming world and the real world, so he doesn't decide one day to shoot me while I'm taking my garbage out to the curb.
My point is simple: Stop blaming the games, movies and other forms of media for your kid being a little violent bastard. My parents believed in spanking. Grow a pair and spank your brats when they act up. Be the damn parent and keep the "bad things" out of your kid's hands. If you fail to do so, I don't want to hear you gripe when the next violent game comes out.
Liquid @ Nov 12th 2007 7:32PM
That's kinda the point. This site gives parents the tools they need in a free, easily accessible way. The ESRB has been looked at by many as inadequate. This can give it a much needed boost and possibly a break from all the money wasting legislation.
KHCloud @ Nov 12th 2007 8:30PM
The ESRB is inadequate it's far too conservative IMO.
Robobagins @ Nov 13th 2007 12:07PM
The parents that do care about what their children play already do this. The parents that don't, well they're just hoping little timmy and julie will be happy with their new Wii babysitter.
Silent Xenocide @ Nov 12th 2007 6:31PM
This guide is bloody ridiculous. And why are they spelling video game as one word?
Preston Parrish @ Nov 12th 2007 6:43PM
I love what this site had to say about Halo 3's online gaming:
"But note that if you play online, you'll almost definitely hear a lot worse. The Halo community is notoriously infected with foul-mouthed, abusive players, a fact parents should be aware of. Luckily the game does allow players to mute voice chat altogether -- and there's nothing a foul-mouthed attention-seeker hates more than being ignored."
I almost fell out of my chair laughing.
Nick the Hero of Canton @ Nov 12th 2007 6:43PM
I took a quick read on that Call of Duty 4 thing...what's wrong with it? It seems to me that it serves to explain whats in the game for parents, moreso than the ESRB system
Nick the Hero of Canton @ Nov 12th 2007 6:45PM
Preston...uhm...seems accurate to me...there are a lot of n00bs who do nothing but swear, flame, and slur just to get a rise out of people. It's trolling and it's all over online gaming...
Preston Parrish @ Nov 12th 2007 6:51PM
Nick the Hero:
I wasn't disagreeing. I laughed because it's true. But the guilty party are the children of the people this guide is for. My parents, mainly my father, had a pretty narrow view of things. I hated him for it, but I'm glad he acted the way he did. My dad would've said to hell with the guide, and just of pulled the plug on my gaming altogether or whipped my ass for being a "foul-mouthed Halo 3 player".
Your Ad here 555-1923 @ Nov 12th 2007 6:56PM
You can notice immediately this was made by the 1up group because the damn site is barely working and for the most part is incomplete (No GTA SA review, BS).
If this site was fully operational can you imagine the amount of lawlz it could offer?
ThornedVenom @ Nov 12th 2007 7:32PM
Sounds like a good initiative, because informing is good, just afraid that it might end up being more biased than anything.
Like any info outlet.
gonk @ Nov 12th 2007 7:37PM
there's still a major problem
parents have to care enough to actually read the website
most don't care that much
umm....hello??? @ Nov 12th 2007 7:45PM
agreed....but here's to hoping more parents will find out about this site and less 16 and younger kids playing Halo3 or WarHawk.
Chris @ Nov 12th 2007 8:39PM
If you want to get info like this in front of parents, then you can't start your own site and hope they come. You have to go where the parents are. Places like Parents magazine are a good place to start.
dsub @ Nov 13th 2007 12:10AM
Dr. Phil and Oprah would be at the top of my marketing list.
dsub @ Nov 13th 2007 12:14AM
I retract that statement. Based on what I see, this audience already keeps tabs on what they're kids do. I think a better marketing stance would be to go on Jerry Springer, BET, MTV or Court TV. Those networks seem to have the demographic that lets their kids play games like Manhunt and GTA because, and I quote "He's seen worse". I wish I could slap every parent that says that when I advise them that GTA has an M rating, and probably isn't a good game for their 6 year old child to be playing. Of course, the ones that buy these games for their kids are usually to busy keeping track of all their little welfare checks running around destroying my store to pay attention to what I'm saying.
dsub @ Nov 13th 2007 12:09AM
This site is great in my opinion. It does what the ESRB doesn't do. First of all, ESRB ratings are way to subjective, and the content descriptors aren't nearly detailed enough. To be honest, they sort of make alot of games sound alot worse than they really are, and I find myself constantly getting asked what particular curse words are found in games, or what types of "sexual" or "suggestive" themes are in certain games.
For instance, you could say that both Grand Theft Auto and Ratchet & Clank have "Suggestive Themes" and "Violence" yet they are both very different games in terms of being appropriate for younger children. This website goes in depth as even tells you exactly which curse words are used in games, and exactly what caused the game to get a "sexual themes" content description. The ESRB ratings just aren't cutting it, it's that simple.
First of all, there isn't a uniform code of standards that they follow like the MPAA does with movie ratings. Everything is rated by a "non-gaming" audience of random volunteers who only get to see small glimpses of gameplay footage. These guys actually play through the entire game and give you a top to bottom description on it.
I will be recommending this site to parents on a regular basis.
PhydeWice @ Nov 13th 2007 12:47AM
So just what are your kids playing? You should know. You bought it for them.
p-diddy @ Nov 13th 2007 1:10PM
1) It is such a shame I was too lazy to do this. I've had this idea since Columbine. Seriously - I purchased EducatedParents.com a long time ago and then just did nothing with it, finally letting it lapse. Now some family uses it for forums. My laziness and regret aside...
2) Check out http://www.commonsensemedia.org/. Similar goals, applies to movies and other media too and is geared towards helping parents. It's too bad that even with what common sense media has set up, people still don't know about it (bad marketing?). If I were them, I'd buy ad time before movies and put a banner up along with local restaurants. But that's just me.
-p-