Tag: RATINGS

Australia didn't technically ban the new 'Mortal Kombat' video game, but it might as well have. According to Kotaku, the game was deemed too violent to fit the country's MA15+ rating -- which, believe it or not, is Australia's highest classification. Because the country doesn't have an adults-only rating, 'Mortal Kombat' was refused classification, meaning that it can't be sold at retail outlets. ...

When it comes to network television, it's all about the ratings. If people aren't watching, the show's getting axed -- no matter the quality. (R.I.P. 'Freaks and Geeks' or 'Arrested Development'). According to numbers compiled by TorrentFreak, fans of 'Heroes' and 'Dexter' might need to brace themselves for the worst. The blog recently posted a list of the most pirated TV shows of 2009, and things ...

We bloggers are well aware of the fact that we spend more time online than is normal, or maybe even healthy. Still, while plugging away in the dark depths of our mothers' basements, we like to comfort ourselves by saying (to the life-size Spock figurines that keep us company), "Yeah, but these days, everybody's online a lot, right?" We should've realized that Spock's silence was just his quiet, ...

NBC took a huge gamble when they decided to move Jay Leno this fall from his 11 p.m. slot that he'd come to dominate in the ratings. Why change a winning game plan? Well, sure enough, early ratings returns from Leno's 10 p.m. gig are disappointing, and the AP suggests it's DVR devices. The theory goes that since 10 p.m. is a popular time for people to catch up on shows they missed earlier, ...

As the Internet has become more accessible and essential to our lives, it's natural that we find ourselves online more than ever -- even when we're watching television. According to a new quarterly report (PDF link) by Nielsen, 57-percent of Americans watch television while surfing the Net at least once a month. (We'll admit, we do this on a daily basis.) The report also contains some other ...

Heads up to all you young gamers out there -- California Attorney General Jerry Brown is taking his anti-video game crusade all the way to the United States Supreme Court. On Wednesday, Mr. Brown petitioned the nation's highest court to uphold a proposed California state law banning the sale or rental of violent games to children. According to the LA Times, a federal district court shot down the ...

The cultural secretary of the U.K., Andy Burnham, has proposed a series of measures to make the Internet "child-safe." Of course, Burnham's proposals amount to little more than censorship and unrealistic suggestions that involve establishing a rating system, like that used for video games and movies, for all Web sites. In an interview with The Daily Telegraph Burnham said he planed to present ...

Go ahead, pick your jaw up off of the floor. We'll wait. On the real, you can't possibly be surprised to hear that high-def makes sports entirely more palatable, and a recent Nielsen study on the matter has found that HD broadcasting of sporting events has increased ratings on those very events by quite a margin. The numbers show that at least 22-percent of US households receive HDTV programming ...

We think the argument linking video game violence and real world violence is a steaming pile of uninformed crap. That said, not every game out there is right for Junior. The violence and gore on display in some very popular games probably won't turn your pride and joy into a psycho spree killer, but it could definitely lead to nightmares ... and that just cuts into your good night's sleep. ...