WASHINGTON, DC – The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) yesterday held a press conference announcing the launch of a public service announcement campaign designed to educate parents about the ESRB’s video game ratings system and to encourage parents to use the system as a guide when deciding what games to purchase.ESRB president Patricia Vance was joined at the press conference by two senators who sponsored the Family Entertainment Protection Act last year; Hillary Clinton (Dem-NY) and Joe Lieberman (Dem-CT).

“I continue to be concerned about the impact on minors of playing violent video games intended for older players,” Lieberman said at the press conference yesterday, according to a press release issued by the ESRB. “Thus, I am very pleased that the ESRB and the retailers are taking these positive steps to reach out to parents to educate them about the rating system.”

“We all share in the responsibility of making sure our children play age-appropriate video games, and I’m pleased that the ESRB and retailers are working together to educate parents about the video game ratings and make sure they are enforced,” said Clinton. “As we enter the holiday shopping season, it is important that parents have the information they need to make informed choices that are right for their families.”

Clinton added that “Parents are really hungry for this information,” and “want to know how to navigate this world.”

The ESRB, used to squaring off against the likes of Lieberman and Clinton, is clearly pleased to have the both senators and a couple of large retail chains on board for the new campaign

“The ESRB ratings are a helpful guide for parents, and this PSA campaign is the latest of our efforts to educate parents about the rating system and why it is important for them to use it,” said ESRB’s Vance. “We’re excited to have the support of senators Clinton and Lieberman, Best Buy and GameStop in this significant initiative to help ensure that parents choose appropriate games for their children.”

The PSA campaign comes on the heels of numerous failed efforts on the part of state governments to pass laws criminalizing the sale of some violent and/or sexually explicit video games to minors. In several such cases, the courts has commented that the state has failed to demonstrate that less restrictive measures, such as a public awareness campaign directed at parents, would be any less effective to achieve the state’s goal of keeping such games out of the hands of minors.

Just last month, in striking down Illinois’ Sexually Explicit Video Game Law (SEVGL) and Violent Video Game Law (VVGL), the 7th Circuit noted that “The Supreme Court has indicated that ‘[w]hen plaintiffs challenge a content-based speech restriction, the burden is on the Government to prove that the proposed alternatives will not be as effective as the challenged statute,” and asserted “The Government has not met this burden with regard to this proposal.”

“Most obviously, the State could have simply passed legislation increasing awareness among parents of the voluntary ESRB ratings system,” the 7th Circuit wrote in the ruling.

The ESRB ratings system was created in 1994 and the ESRB asserts that “(V)irtually every game sold at retail carries an ESRB rating,” according to the press release issued yesterday.

“Consumer research shows that 83-percent of American parents with children who play video games are aware of the ratings, and three in four use them regularly when choosing which games they deem appropriate for their children,” the ESRB stated in its press release.