U.S. Software Publishers to Work Together to Create Computer Game Ratings
Standards

June 14, 1994 (Washington, DC) - The Software Publishers Association (SPA)
and four major associations of independent software developers announced
today that they would work together to create a voluntary ratings system
for computer games. While the vast majority of personal computer
entertainment software is suitable for children and adults of all ages,
many developers and publishers have urged SPA and others to help develop a
voluntary ratings program. This represents the first joint effort to
develop a ratings system for the entire personal computer software
industry.

The SPA is the principal trade association of the personal computer
software industry, and has been leading industry efforts to create a
ratings system. The other associations -- the Association of Shareware
Professionals (ASP), the Educational Software Cooperative (ESC), Shareware
Trade Association and Resources (STAR), and the Association of Shareware
Authors and Distributors (ASAD) -- represent over two thousand independent
U.S. software developers and distributors.

"ASP, ECS, STAR, and ASAD are enthusiastic about this joint project with
SPA," said Karen Crowther, a personal computer game developer and the
representative of the groups. "By working with SPA, our groups now
represent the majority of software publishers in the United States."

"SPA welcomes the ASP and other groups as partners in the effort to develop
a voluntary ratings system," said SPA counsel Mark Traphagen. "With the
help of ASP, ESC, and STAR, we have been able to contact thousands of
personal computer software developers and publishers about this important
issue."

Personal computer software companies have expressed concern that the
ratings scheme proposed by a group of large video game companies, the
Interactive Digital Software Association, may seriously threaten the
competitiveness of personal computer software developers and publishers.
According to Crowther, the software groups are "concerned about placing
control of any ratings program in the hands of an association controlled
by a handful of very large video game companies."

"We hope that our joint work underscores that the developers and publishers
of personal computer software compete in an industry very different from
that of the manufacturers of video games," said Traphagen. "Together we
will work to achieve our goal -- giving parents and other consumers the
information they need to make wise decisions about the interactive
computer games and other recreational software that they bring home."

The Software Publishers Association is the principal trade association of
the personal computer software industry. Its over 1,100 members represent
the leading publishers in the business, consumer, and education software
markets. The SPA has offices in Washington, DC, and Paris, France.

Software Publishers Association
1730 M St, Northwest, Suite 700, Washington, D.C. 20036
202-452-1600,  Fax: 202-223-8756

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