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ANIMATION WORLD MAGAZINE - ISSUE 5.8 - NOVEMBER 2000
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Video Games: Not Just For Males Ages 12-24 Anymore While it may seem that the teen and mature rated titles for these next generation consoles outweigh those rated for "everyone," there is a reason for that and only looking at those initial launch games provides a skewed view of the entire industry. In fact, sales of video and computer games with a mature rating fell from 2.6 million units in 1998 to 1.2 million units in 1999 (NPD Group).
More Family Titles Dominating 1999 sales was the hit Pokémon franchise with at least 18 game titles selling more than 12 million copies. The single biggest selling title, however, was Donkey Kong 64, for the Nintendo 64, selling more than 1.4 million copies for more than $86 million in retail sales. The most popular M rated title for that period, Half Life, developed by Havas Interactive for the Sega Dreamcast, sold just under 500,000 copies. In comparison, Walt Disney's summer 1999 animated hit, Tarzan, realized a total adjusted gross of less than $175 million. In response to that summer movie hit, the video game industry released seven Tarzan games, three for Gameboy color and two each for Nintendo 64 and PlayStation.
The answer to the question of what is spawning this greater number of "family" gaming titles depends on the person answering it. Is it increased awareness of the ESRB rating system, established in 1994, or just that there are more game players from a wider demographic coming to the medium? According to the Media Family report "Whoever Tells the Stories Defines the Culture," by Dr. David Walsh, "Ninety percent of teens say their parents never check the rating before allowing them to rent or buy video games, with only one percent stating that their parent kept them from buying or renting a game based on its ESRB rating."
"I am not sure that parents are aware of or understand the ESRB rating system or that they recognize its value," explains Jeanne Funk, Ph.D., Department of Psychology for the University of Toledo. "But it can be invaluable for parents who are not going to play games, particularly to the deeper and more difficult levels. The system makes it easier for parents to buy with confidence." Another reality impacting the development of video games is that for every PlayStation 2 or Sega Dreamcast being sold, there is the possibility that the first generation PlayStation or Sega console is being wired to the family room television set, passed on for younger sibling and parent play. Kids and Gaming
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