7 Out Of 10 Parents Worried About Video Game Content December 4, 2007

Read more Consoles , Entertainment , Gadgets , Games , Gizmodo UK , Xbox

Most parents are concerned about the content of the video games their children play, according to a new European survey by Microsoft. The most worried parents are the Italians (83%), followed by those in the UK (76%).

Considering the sheer number of kids playing unsuitable games here, I find that stat a little laughable although it’s quite possible they are ‘concerned’ but completely fail to act on that concern when they are buying games for their cherubs. Advice: check the bloody rating on the front of the box.

Microsoft has established itself – rightly or wrongly - as the ‘responsible’ console vendor, with new parental controls for the Xbox 360, and now the Play Smart, Play Safe Index survey of 4,000 parents in the UK, France, Germany and Italy seems to be trying to cement that position.

“It's a fantastic time to be a kid in the digital age, but it’s also time for all of us to come together as responsible parents and business leaders to ensure our children are safe as well as challenged and entertained,” said Chris Lewis, Vice President, Microsoft EMEA. "In line with the research results, Microsoft is making available today a new Family Timer feature - already built into Windows Vista - that will enable parents for the first time to set the appropriate amount of gaming and entertainment time on the Xbox 360 - on a daily or weekly basis.”

Despite many parents claiming that one hour of gaming a day is plenty for kids, only half of the parents surveyed felt in control of how long their kids play games.-Martin Lynch

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