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Video Game Maker will Change Beer Pong Name |
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Wednesday, 09 July 2008 |
A Las Vegas video game company should not be allowed to market to teenagers Beer Pong, a new title for the Nintendo Wii system based on the drinking game, according to Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who is disputing the rating given to the game.
The game, made by JV Games Inc., has been rated "T," for teen, by the Entertainment Software Rating Board, meaning it has been cleared for minors as young as 13 years old. But Blumenthal said a video game based on a game in which players consume alcohol should not be geared toward teenagers.
JV Games officials said they are renaming the game Pong Toss and eliminating all references to alcohol. Blumenthal said his office will "closely scrutinize the revised product" to ensure sufficient changes are made.
On Monday, however, the company's Web site still featured Beer Pong on its home page, touting its namesake as something that "has grown from a college drinking game to a competitive sport in bars across the country."
The video game is the first to be designed as part of the company's Frat Party Games series of video games, according to the site.
Beer Pong is a drinking game in which players toss a pingpong ball across a table, trying to land it in one of several cups of beer on the other side.
If a player lands a ball in a cup of beer, the opposing player must drink the beer inside that cup.
But despite the alcohol inherent in the drinking game, the Entertainment Software Rating Board has defended its rating of the video game version of Beer Pong, saying that alcohol plays a minimal role in the game and nobody is shown drinking beer in it.
According to the board, game titles rated T are suitable for players age 13 and older.
Titles with the rating may contain violence, suggestive themes, crude humor, minimal blood, simulated gambling and infrequent use of strong language.
There are two stricter labels the board may choose for games: Mature, intended for players ages 17 or older, and Adults Only, for those 18 or older.
Blumenthal, while applauding JV Games' decision to revise its newest video game, said he remains concerned that the board rated the game as appropriate for teens.
He is asking the board to reform its rating system to address alcohol depiction in video games.
Blumenthal wants the Pong Toss game to be rated for adults only.
However, in a statement Monday, board spokesman Eliot Mizrachi said there is nothing in the game that warrants an adult rating.
Copyright (c) 2008, New Haven Register, Conn.
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