Students at The Guildhall at SMU Weigh In with Their Top Picks

DALLAS, Texas - December 6, 2007 - Students at The Guildhall at SMU, the country's premier graduate video game development program, have released their suggested top ten video game gift list for this year's holiday season.

Leading the list is Super Mario Galaxy followed by Guitar Hero III at number two. Rounding out the top five are Mass Effect, Rock Band and Orange Box.

"Video games are huge sellers this holiday season," Dr. Peter Raad, founder and executive director of The Guildhall at SMU. "Consumers need to pay attention to two main factors when purchasing video games for friends and family: what type of hardware is required and the ERSB Rating. Both can be found by carefully reading the labels of the video game."

Hardware relates to what kind of platform the game runs on: PC, Xbox 360, Wii, PS2, PS3, PSP, or DS. Shoppers need to make sure the person they are buying the game for has the appropriate hardware.

The ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board) ratings are designed to provide concise and impartial information about the content in computer and video games so consumers, especially parents, can make an informed purchase decision.

ERSB ratings have two equal parts: rating symbols suggest age appropriateness for the game and content descriptors indicate elements in a game that may have triggered a particular rating or may be of interest or concern.

To take full advantage of the ESRB rating system, it's important to check both the rating symbol (on the front of the box) and the content descriptors (on the back).

The students' top ten list is as follows:

Super Mario Galaxy

Platform: Wii

ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock

Platform: Wii, Xbox 360, PS2, PS3, PC

ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

Mass Effect

Platform: Xbox 360

ESRB Rating: M (Mature)

Rock Band

Platform: Xbox 360, PS2, PS3

ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

The Orange Box

Platform: Xbox 360, PS3, PC

ESRB Rating: M (Mature)

Halo 3

Platform: Xbox 360

ESRB Rating: M (Mature)

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

Platform: Xbox 360, PS3, PC

ESRB Rating: M (Mature)

Crysis

Platform: PC

ESRB Rating: M (Mature)

BioShock

Platform: Xbox 360, PC

ESRB Rating: M (Mature)

Madden NFL 08

Platform: Wii, Xbox 360, Xbox, PS3, PC

ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)

About the Guildhall

The Guildhall at Southern Methodist University is the premier graduate video game education program in the US. Many of the school's founders are industry icons, and classes are run by industry veterans. The program has a 95 percent placement rate with more than 180 graduates working at 70 of the leading video game studios around the world. The program offers both a Master's degree and a graduate Professional Certificate of Interactive Technology in digital game development, with specializations in art creation, level design, and software development.

For more information visit guildhall.smu.edu

Contact: Ron Jenkins

972.473.3546

jenkinsr@smu.edu