Congressional Hearings 1993
Violence in video games
The US Senate hearings that examined violence in video games, using Mortal Kombat and Night Trap as examples, ultimately forcing the industry to create the ESRB rating system.
The 1993-1994 Congressional hearings on violence in video games represented the US government’s most serious threat to regulate the industry. Led by Senators Joe Lieberman and Herb Kohl, the hearings used Mortal Kombat and Night Trap as evidence, ultimately forcing the industry to create the ESRB.
Fast facts
- Dates: December 1993, March 1994
- Senators: Joe Lieberman (D-CT), Herb Kohl (D-WI)
- Focus: Violence in video games
- Exhibits: Mortal Kombat, Night Trap
- Outcome: ESRB created
The industry attacked itself
The hearings’ most consequential testimony was not from a senator. It was the two platform holders turning on each other in public:
Though it always had been assumed that Nintendo and Sega hated each other, the hearings brought their conflict right out into the open for everyone to plainly see. Nintendo’s Howard Lincoln showed the differences in the versions of Mortal Kombat for each company’s systems. Sega’s Bill White — formerly a driving force behind Nintendo’s NES marketing — showed that, while Nintendo may have pulled the blood and gore out of its Mortal Kombat, it left in the violent fighting and put it out for all ages.
Lincoln’s exhibit was that Sega shipped the gore. White’s answer was that Nintendo shipped the violence to children without saying so — and Sega could point to something Nintendo could not: “Sega had already instituted a rating system for its own games, and Mortal Kombat carried a rating suggesting play for those over age 13.”
A committee watching two companies each explain why the other was worse had no reason to trust either. That is the shortest account of why the ESRB happened.
The Hearings
| Session | Focus |
|---|---|
| December 1993 | Initial testimony, evidence |
| March 1994 | Industry response |
| Ultimatum | Self-regulate or face legislation |
Key Evidence
| Game | Cited For |
|---|---|
| Mortal Kombat | Fatalities, blood |
| Night Trap | Violence against women |
| Doom | First-person shooting |
Industry Testimony
| Company | Position |
|---|---|
| Sega | Had a rating system already; MK carried a 13+ rating |
| Nintendo | Content policies, no ratings; showed Sega’s gorier version |
| Result | Industry looked disorganised |
The Ultimatum
Senator Lieberman made clear: the industry would regulate itself or Congress would do it for them. Given the alternative, the industry created the ESRB within months.
Legacy
These hearings established that video games were politically visible and that the industry needed to appear responsible. They remain the closest the US came to government game censorship.