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Xbox 360 Family Timer

From Game Daily: the new Xbox 360 Family Timer will be available for download in early December 2007. Microsoft, the Parent Teacher Association and Jerry Rice today revealed new parental tools which are part of the “Safety is no game. Is your family set?” campaign’s second year. This includes PACT, a contract designed to engender discussion among family members about screen time guidelines. The family PACT is an extensive guideline to setting rules on media use, helping parents and children agree on the level of parental involvement, the access children can have to media and others online, the sort of content children are allowed to play or watch and the amount of time children can use that media. The family PACT can be downloaded immediately at http://www.xbox.com/isyourfamilyset.

“As a leader in interactive entertainment, it’s Microsoft’s responsibility to provide parents with tools they can use to manage their children’s video gaming and online experiences, and we have made that a priority from the very start,” said Robbie Bach, president of the Entertainment & Devices Division at Microsoft.

This partnership also unveiled the Xbox 360 Family Timer, which enables parents to set a limit to the use of the Xbox 360 for their kids. The Family Timer is similar to its Windows Vista counterpart in that it can restrict children’s activity time and can be set on a per-day or per-week basis. Notifications will appear to warn the gamer that the session is nearing the end and the Timer will automatically turn off the console when the time limit has been reached. The Family Timer feature will be available for download via Xbox Live in early December.