The National Institute on Media and the Family has issued its annual report on the videogame industry and aside from the ungainly child on the cover doing a contorted imitation of someone playing a videogame, it's something to be proud of. The report is a mostly upbeat look at the progress of the last few years in terms of providing families with the information and control they need to make videogaming a kid-friendly media.

The report summary gives an "A" in the areas of ESRB ratings, ESRB ratings educations, and console manufacturers. Retailer ratings enforcement gets a B+ in light of how many retailers are actually checking ID and reminding adults about ratings.

However, parental involvement is graded "incomplete". And that's what the bulk of the report addresses. It's a great resource for parents who aren't familiar with videogaming, which is exactly the people who probably aren't reading this site.

The report suggests caution in a few areas, namely the easy access children will have to games via online distribution, the unique situations that arise in MMOs, and the compulsive/addictive nature of some videogame players. But it says of recent studies about videogame addiction:

Research is becoming clear that some children and adults are using these Internet and regular video games in such a way that damages their social functioning, their school functioning, their occupational functioning, their family functioning and their psychological functioning...although these studies often focus on one of these media -- either Internet or video games -- we expect that as the research evidence grows...we will find that they are not different in any way other than medium of choice. In other words, all media can probably be used for addictive behavior.

Bravo! Conclusions like these should reassure parents that videogaming can be a healthy part of a child's entertainment.

The report also reminds me of an interesting point about the "adult" nature of many creative endeavors (feel free to plug in the word "art" if that floats your boat):

The interactive equivalent of R-rated movies, M-rated games continue to be the segment in which video game producers often display their most graphic boundary-pushing content as well as, according to many critics, their highest artistic achievements...Players appreciate the complex story lines, intricately crafted worlds and compelling characters and also are eager for the shocking images and amoral themes.

It takes the freedom to say 'We're not for kids' to make BioShocks, Calls of Duty, Fallouts, and Grand Thefts Auto.

Finally, there's a videogame buying guide in the report. This might have been a good idea if it weren't so embarrassingly oblivious. What kind of buying guide recommends crap like Shaun White Snowboarding, Rock Revolution, and the Wii version of Samba de Amigo to the exclusion of Boom Blox, de Blob, and Viva Pinata, all of which belong on any list of 2008 games ideal for families?

Even weirder is the attempt to write poorly informed shock synopses of various M-rated games. Sci Fi Wire has listed here some of the games the report recommands kids avoid, along with YouTube snippets. You can also download the entire report here.