The Sandbox

With Grand Theft Auto IV coming soon, get ready for another onslaught of bad press about violent vidgames. But the concern is often overblown.

The Entertainment Software Ratings Board, the industry's voluntary ratings group, reports that while there were 22% more games rated last year, only 6% of those games earned a Mature or M rating (doled out according to violence and gore). The drop in M titles is down from 8% in 2006 and 12% in 2005.