North America's ESRB has sent out a reply to the GamePolitics blog criticizing the the National Institute of Media and the Family (NIMF)'s Video game Report Card, released earlier today. Among other details, the said report card criticized the industry as a whole for its alleged inability to enforce its M-ratings. Details are available in the full article.

A two-month survey conducted by the National Institute on Media and Family (NIMF) involving 60 retailers in the U.S. show that 46% of retailers sell M-rated video games to teens. The East County Youth Coalition and other youth groups are now requesting retailers to provide employees with proper training and separate M-rated titles from other games.

More on this at the full article!

Earlier this week, controversial anti-video game attorney Jack Thompson announced that he will be filing a lawsuit against Best Buy on charges that the company sells M-rated games to minors through its website. Apparently, he's also named the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) in the lawsuit.

Here's a quote from a press release issued by Thompson, courtesy of GamePolitics:

The ESRB has been sued by Thompson because it is well known that it a) is owned and operated by the video game industry, b) does not even play the games it rates to conclusion, c) routinely mislabels games as to age appropriateness, per testimony before the U.S. Congress, and is engaged in representations to American parents that the age label are accurate and are keeping "Mature" games out of the hands of kids...

According to GamePolitics, Thompson also took a shot at the National Institute for Media and the Family (NIMF), a media watchdog group headed by psychologist Dr. David Walsh, who publicly distanced himself from Thompson's brand of anti-game advocacy two years ago. Thompson claims that the lawsuit details the relationship between the NIMF and Best Buy, which are both located in Minneapolis.

The National Institute of Media and the Family (NIMF) has chimed in on the recent news that Take-Two Interactive has opted to suspend distribution of Manhunt 2. In their recent statement, the NIMF was more or less pleased by the occurrences, calling it "a victory for parents and children."

Regarding the ESRB's handling of the matter, the NIMF had only praises for them. Said their statement,

Because of the their thoughtful decision to give Manhunt 2 its strongest rating, 'Adults Only,' the ESRB has sent a strong message to Take-Two and other game makers that they no longer can push the envelope on gratuitous violence in videogames. The ESRB showed real leadership in assigning this rating and further evidence it is making significant progress in keeping extremely violent and graphic materials out of children's hands.

According to the IGN report, the NIMF has yet to play the game, basing its decision on the trailers viewable on the internet, as well on the fact that the game makes the player act out the violence prevalent in the game.

For more of the statements made by the NIMF, feel free to check out the link below for the full statement they gave.