Video game trend becomes family-oriented

As president of Activision Publishing, Kathy Vrabeck helps promote and develop games like "Doom 3," "Tony Hawk's Underground 2" and "Call of Duty."\nBut she might think twice before buying those top-sellers for her 7-year-old son. In a gaming world where violence reigns, parents like Vrabeck are searching for family-friendly titles bearing a rating of "E" for everyone.\n"As a parent myself, trying to figure out what your kids want is always troublesome," Vrabeck said.\nWith kid-friendly movie tie-ins like "Shrek 2," "Shark Tale," and "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events," Vrabeck and her Activision team have created several titles for children young and old.\nAlthough most games target an older audience, companies like Activision Publishing Inc., Electronic Arts Inc. and Nintendo Co. have alternatives that are universally accepted as family-friendly. And LeapFrog Enterprises Inc. has ventured into the gaming industry with a handheld edu-tainment system, Leapster.\nSteve Martin of New York City was initially hesitant about buying his daughter Morgan a game system at all. He said he wasn't sure whether there were enough games he was willing to let into his house.\n"I am looking for things where we can play together, like golf and tennis, where we aren't shooting and killing people," Martin said. "There's more stuff for boys, teenagers and adults than for kids."\n"Dance Dance Revolution," a game in which players dance on a large game pad to keep up with directional cues given on screen, sealed the deal. Morgan is getting a PlayStation 2 system for her 8th birthday this month, and she has added games to her Hanukkah list in anticipation.\nSince 1994, the Entertainment Software Rating Board, a self-regulatory body set up by the gaming industry, has rated more than 10,000 video games. Using the ESRB seal and rating is voluntary, though virtually all games do so.\nAccording to the ESRB, 57 percent of all games rated in 2003 were "E," compared with a combined 42 percent for teen "T" and mature "M" games. Few of the games use "EC" for early childhood or "AO" for adults only.\n"There are definitely a lot of titles that are great for parents," said David Tokheim, senior director of marketing intelligence for GamerMetrics and IGN.com, a leader in trend-tracking for the game industry.\nNonetheless, teen and mature games are bigger sellers.\nData analyzed by GamerMetrics and IGN.com show that 46 percent of all games sold in 2004 were rated "E," whereas "T" and "M" sales accounted for 54 percent of overall sales.\nAlthough the ESRB considers "E"-rated titles suitable for children ages 6 and older, the games still might contain "minimal violence, some comic mischief and/or mild language." "T"-rated titles are considered suitable for ages 13 and older, and "M"-rated games are targeted at ages 17 and up.\nNintendo characters like Mario, Luigi, Donkey Kong and the gang have been popping up on Nintendo game systems since the late 1980s and remain prominent franchises for Nintendo's GameCube, GameBoy Advance and the new Nintendo DS.\nSixty-five percent of GameCube games are "E"-rated, said Nintendo of America spokeswoman Beth Llewelyn.\nGames aimed at the younger set are also smart business, Tokheim said.\n"The game industry should continue to milk proven franchises," Tokheim said. "With new consoles come new opportunities to create brand new titles. Many of the most successful games ever sold on PS2, Xbox or GC are 'E'-rated"