MediaWise.org's 2006 Video Game Report Card is online, with their latest crop of judgments about the game industry (thanks ABC News). The report offers a list of "M" rated games to be avoided by children (duh!), as well as other trendy topics like game addiction and obesity. The report also offers an outlook on what they refer to as a "hopeful collaboration that will soon produce a ten year plan:

Last year, we promised to bring people from diverse backgrounds and interests together in order to discuss these issues. This year, we convened the first National Summit on Video Games, Youth and Public Policy, a two-day conference sponsored by the National Institute on Media and Family and Iowa State University. For the first time ever, the Summit gathered together academic scholars, public health officials, child health advocates and representatives from the video game industry.

As a show of concern and dedication to addressing the challenges posed by video games the Summit was a resounding success. One of the many positive outcomes of the Summit was a pledge by the ESRB to put more funds into ratings education for parents. We applaud this step not only as a show of good faith but as a meaningful contribution to the effort to provide parents with the tools they need to keep their kids healthy and safe.

Many of the participants were experts on the effects of media or video games. After consideration of the research, participants signed an historic joint statement that read: “Behavioral science research demonstrates that playing violent video games can increase the likelihood of aggressive behavior in children and youth.”

In the coming weeks, the Summit participants will release a ten-year plan, which will outline benchmarks and creative solutions addressing children’s access to violent and sexually explicit video games. One component of the plan calls for ongoing summits to continue this important dialogue.