ESRB (and international equivalents)

[KiddoFreak]

ESRB, the Entertainment Software Rating Board, is a relatively controversial topic, especially among the gaming community (*ahem*). This is a debate on the relevance and necessity of a rating system, whether the ESRB really protects children or if it's a glorified form of censorship. Admittedly, I got all of my information from Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entertainment_Software_Rating_Board ), but they tend to be a relaible source. Based on what I have learned, game publishers are required to send footage of the worst parts of their game, fill out a questionairre, and let three trainted professionals play the game (cool job, huh?). These pros give what they believe to be a suitable rating, then allow a group of normal, random american citizens to play and rate the game. If content is unearthed that the publisher did not talk about, the company may be fined. If you want the in-depth story, check out the link. Other countries have similar rating systems, but cultural differences make the systems a little different. A game rated "[ages] 3+" by PEGI (the universal european version of ESRB) may equate to a "teen" rating in the ESRB. A third example that some of us may be interested in would be CERO, the japanese rating board (which was suprisingly hard on their games). I have found that, as a rule of thumb, games with sexual content are generally considered less offensive in european countries while games with violence are considered worse. CERO seems to grade everything to an older audience. For more information, I'd send you to the ESRB official website: www.esrb.org/index-js.jsp (aw, look at the cute kid with the game... all mesmorized by it and all).

[Azan]

Yes, Europe is more open to sex, but harder on violence, however...

I personally believe that esrb is not a very good system...

1: Many parents who buy their kids games dont bother looking at the lable
2: ESRB tends to be too... I dunno how to put it... generic? Take for example San Andreas, now thats a game that is deserving of M, but TES 4 Oblivion? Now thats funny... remember oblivion started as T ... but it was found that people could modify oblivion to have nudity, now its M, to me it just shows how innefective (or over effective) ESRB is.

In my opinion instead of lables, games should come with "ESRB" summaries of some sort, not the simple vague descriptions they currently have. I know many countries rating systems have these where instead you find summaries describing the worst parts of the game.

[/rant]

But all cultures have their own moral views on things, and I say thats fine, we do not need a universal system. But often times rating systems tend to be more hard than easy on games so it doesnt get as good sales.
Thats just my opinion on general rating systems, they are good, but its the parents who should do research on a game that their kid wants before letting them get it, dont go by rating systems. The internet is full of tons of sources.