Ian Livingstone (an executive with Eidos) and Paul Jackson (ELSPA director general) have been at an evidence session being held by the Culture, Media and Sport Committee about violent games. During that session Livingstone told the committee what we've known all along: parents have to take responsibility for what their kids play and there is no solid evidencve that violent games affect behaviour.

One of the topics raised by Labor MP Mike Hall was concern about "the nastier aspects of violent games".

Livingstone told the committee, "Not all games are violent games; in fact, the minority of them are violent.

"If you look at a game like, for example, Grand Theft Auto, where you see a lot of negative press, it's rather like judging the whole of the games industry on that game - would you judge the whole of the film industry on The Texas Chainsaw Massacre?"

When the topic came around to the game ratings system Jackson assured them "the industry does take it seriously as an issue", referring to the Ask About Games initiative started by the ELSPA. He added "It's just straightforward; inappropriate material should not be seen or used by underaged kids."

Livingstone said as a publisher Eidos takes itsresponsibilities very seriously and do their best to educate people. He continued by saying "From my awareness and knowledge, there's absolutely no evidence whatsoever that playing games can actually affect how you behave in real life... As long as you've got mature people buying mature content, they should be able to act responsibly."

When asked what's considered an excessive amount of time to spend playing games, Livingstone replied: "Games are addictive in the sense that anything you enjoy doing, you want to do again. It's a question of balance and control... Parents have to take responsibility.

"You know, I'd probably play golf all day given the chance, but you have to have a balance," he concluded.