Author: Bryan Berg

  • Thank God It’s Thursday News Report 11.13.03

    Hello. You have clicked the link that brings you the best in gaming news. That’s right – it’s the Thank God It’s Thursday News Report. Welcome. I’m Bryan Berg, and I wish Art Carney got the kind of praise he’s getting now just one week ago, when he was actually alive to hear it. Big…

  • Thank God It’s Thursday News Report 11.06.03

    I’m 22 now. This bites. A quick word about the Jets: everybody who’s blaming Doug Brien for the loss on Sunday is forgetting a few fundamental factors… – First, there’s no way Doug Brien’s making a 51-yard field goal. Everybody knows this. – Second, if Brien misses the field goal (and everyone knows he would…

  • Black Friday Contributions: Dorian Brown

    Im a relatively new gamer. I had a nintendo 64 but barely played it so about a year after the consles launch I decided to pick one up. EB was over priced and tried to sell me “refurbished Xboxs” So I went to Superstore and bought it no problem. but thats not the main story.…

  • Thank God It’s Thursday News Report 10.30.03

    Hey! Welcome to Thank God It’s Thursday, or TGIT as it’s sometimes called. Thanks for stopping by 411 to get your gaming news fix – we hope you’re satisfied. I got some REALLY good e-mail from last week’s column. It was really rewarding for me. I hope to put some of these in a mailbag…

  • ESRB: 10 Years Later (Part 1)

    PART 1: Creating the ESRB Many gamers aren’t old enough to remember it, but there was a time when there was no need for a ratings system. The video game boom of the late 1980’s helped present gaming as a family-friendly activity. Parents could gather around in the living room and watch their kids play…

  • ESRB: 10 Years Later (Part 3)

    PART 3: Parents Of Today In recent years, a wave of violent games has left a portion of the gaming world questioning the role of parents in gaming. Namely, when there’s a questionable game released, whose responsibility is it if that game were to have a negative impact on the child’s development? The ESRB is…

  • ESRB: 10 Years Later (Part 2)

    PART 2: ESRB vs. MPAA Upon its creation, the ESRB faced inevitable comparisons to the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). While these comparisons arise simply due to the similar nature of these two entities, they are not as closely aligned as one might think. The MPAA The MPAA states that its original purpose was…

  • ESRB: 10 Years Later (Part 4)

    PART 4: Parents of Tomorrow And this, my friends, is where many of you come in. Listen up, and pay attention. A lot of active gamers neglect the ESRB for various reasons. Maybe they don’t have kids yet. Maybe they’re over 17 and don’t need the system. Maybe they’re under 17, but have lenient parents,…

  • ESRB: 10 Years Later (Appendix 1)

    INTERVIEW WITH PATRICIA VANCE, ESRB President On Thursday, October 7, 2004, I had the opportunity to speak with ESRB President Patricia Vance on a number of subjects. Here are Ms. Vance’s thoughts on the changes in the industry over the last ten years, parental responsibility, and why the ESRB ratings system is as important to…

  • ESRB: 10 Years Later (Appendix 2)

    Top 50 Selling Games, 1995-2004 1. Super Mario 64 (N64) – Units Sold: 5.94 Million – Rating – E – Descriptors – None 2. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (PS2) – Units Sold: 5.81 Million – Rating – M – Descriptors – Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content, Violence 3. Grand Theft Auto…

  • ESRB: 10 Years Later (Closing Thoughts)

    Closing Thoughts To those of you who made it to the end, thank you. This piece was written with the intention of making you think, and hopefully you have a clearer picture of the ESRB now. If you’d like to read up a little more on the ratings system and its applications to our lives,…

  • Thank God It’s Thursday News Report 10.23.03

    Welcome to the Thank God It’s Thursday News Report, 411 Games’ best Thursday news report! I’m Bryan Berg, and I’d like to thank you for clicking the link that got you here. A personal note: I’m running on fumes here. Spent all Tuesday studying, Wednesday was a test, studying, and work at night, and today…

  • Thank God It’s Thursday News Report 10.16.03

    Hey everybody! Welcome to TGIT, aka Thank God It’s Thursday. This is a column that will provide you with all the information you need to have an intelligent conversation about the gaming world (at least for today, anyway). Thanks for stopping by. Hope everybody had a good week. Break up the Jets! They finally got…

  • Thank God It’s Thursday News Report 10.09.03

    Welcome to the Thank God It’s Thursday News Report! Much to discuss, so settle in and enjoy!! ESRB In an effort to help parents decide what games are appropriate for purchase come Christmas (and, of course, avoid liability for any future incidents involving teen violence and video games), the ESRB is launching an ad campaign…

  • Thank God It’s Thursday News Report 10.02.03

    Hello, and thanks for reading the Thank God It’s Thursday News Report! I’m Bryan Berg, and I’d really like to know why I need to have the AC on in my room even though it’s very cold outside. Anyway, we’ve got a lot of stuff you all today. You should definitely enjoy today’s column. And…

  • Thank God It’s Thursday News Report 09.25.03

    If you’re looking for game news, you’ve come to the right place. Welcome to the Thank God It’s Thursday News Report! In case you weren’t sure if the Jets were for real (as in, they really suck), you’ve got your proof now. This weekend, Parcells comes back to the Meadowlands and will give the Jets…

  • Thank God It’s Thursday News Report 09.18.03

    Hello, and welcome to the Thank God It’s Thursday News Report, the only real reason you have for waking up on Thursdays. I’m Bryan Berg, and I hope you enjoy what we have in store for you here. This should be a good one, so grab a cold one and let’s roll! Radica If you’ve…

  • Thank God It’s Thursday News Report 09.11.03

    Hello! Welcome to this week’s Thank God It’s Thursday News Report (aka TGIT). Thanks for dropping by. Last week’s column sucked. Sorry about that. At the end of said column, I told you all to read The Box Score. If any of you did, that’s really strange, because it wasn’t available. I wrote it, but…

  • Thank God It’s Thursday News Report 09.04.03

    Welcome to TGIT! Why waste time with a tedious, boring intro? Let’s dive right in!!! Grand Theft Auto The marketing geniuses at Rockstar Games have come up with a promotion that will knock your socks off! They’ll be packaging GTA 3 and Vice City in a two-pack that will be available on October 22. The…

  • Thank God It’s Thursday News Report 08.28.03

    If you’re looking for video game news, look no further! Welcome to the Thank God It’s Thursday News Report. I’m Bryan Berg, and I have nothing original to write in this opening paragraph. So I’ll just start the video game news portion of this column and shut up! Of course, there’s nothing really to report,…