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ESRB Ratings Add Violence Descriptors
Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to an ESRB press release saying they've added four new violence-specific content descriptors to their voluntary but near-universally used age/suitability ratings system for games. These descriptors are "Cartoon Violence, defined as 'violent actions involving cartoon-like characters. May include violence where a character is unharmed after the action has been inflicted'... Fantasy Violence, defined as 'violent actions of a fantasy nature, involving human or non-human characters in situations easily distinguishable from real life.'... Intense Violence, defined as 'graphic and realistic-looking depictions of physical conflict. May involve extreme and/or realistic blood, gore, weapons, and depictions of human injury and death'... Sexual Violence, defined as 'depictions of rape or other violent sexual acts.'" There's also mention of icon redesign to include recommended age ranges and new, more prominent labels on the back of game boxes, presumably in response to legal challenges regarding violent games.
We want sex descriptors!
How are we supposed to figure out what games (or movies) to get?
Maybe I'm a little out of touch with gaming these days but is there really so much rape in videogames these days that it deserves it's own category?
GMD
watch this
How explicit will the icons be? They have to be clear and self-explanatory, right? *g*
Daniel
Carpe Diem
Applicable to games, videos, and movies.
Intersexuality -- women having and/or being induced to have penises, permanently or temporarily
Fantasy Orgasms -- orgasms causing unusual physical effects, e.g. explosions, comas, alteration of the physical laws of the universe, etc. (also covers women having one or more orgasms upon their first time ever having sex)
Universal Bisexuality -- takes place in a universe where everyone is bisexual (or omnisexual, in the case of universes with more than one sex)
Psychosexual Geneva Syndrome -- women who are raped fall in love with their rapists and live happily ever after
Disingenuous Captioning -- textual notes appear at random, "explaining" that the situation is not as it seems, e.g. "They aren't really sisters, they just call each other that"
Extreme Demographic Imbalance -- more than 90% of the characters are of a specific gender, specific range of bra cup sizes, specific taste in sexual activity, etc.
Comedicus Interruptus -- sexual scenes are interrupted by random slapstick or other broad comedy
Dysfunctional Ending -- story ends on inexplicable downer note, or ending seems to take place but then continues, or innumerable storylines are left unresolved
Self-Deprecation By Proxy -- one or more characters are chided or chide themselves for consuming too many games/videos/movies of this type
"A great democracy must be progressive or it will soon cease to be a great democracy." --Theodore Roosevelt
...seeing as how the ESRB slapped the "Nudity" descriptor onto Dead or Alive: Extreme Beach Volleyball when there was no nudity in it.
Very skimpy clothing, yes, near nudity, yes, but no actual nudity...and the ESRB decription is VERY clear on this:
""Nudity - Graphic or prolonged depictions of nudity.
Partial Nudity - Brief and mild depictions of nudity."
DOA: XVB doesn't fall into either of these categories...it does however fall under:
""Mature Sexual Themes - Provocative material, possibly including partial nudity."
So why did the ESRB choose to blatantly lie about DOA: XVB? Nobody knows. So, I don't care how descriptive the SRB make their tags, becausee they don't use them properly. Might as well just slap, "For Kids of All Ages" on every game, since you're just going to lie about them anyway.
Netjak.com independent reviews of domestic & import video ga
One reason Lieberman and torch-waving "me too" followers called off the dogs was because of how complete and detailed the ESRB ratings have become. To Liebermen's credit, he admits and praises this publically.
I am not a parent yet, but in a few years, I will appreciate having a tool like that to judge content by. This is what content control needs to be like - non-intrusive and voluntary, but complete and descriptive. As most children can tell you, rules like "no R rated movies, period" become embarrassing when all of their friends get to watch certain R-rated movies on a case-by-case basis. A descriptive rating system makes it easier to make better judgement calls. It's not a be-all end-all, and some people will always think it's too harsh/lenient, but it's far better than nothing.
While they're introducing new ways of defining your perversity of choice, why not come up with USEFUL ratings labels for games? Such as:
:)
VR - Violent Rage - frustrating levels may provoke fits of rage and destruction that could endanger your controller.
MMP - Media Marketing Project - 2 30 second clips from the movie or tv show and a bad clone of a game you played 5 years ago with new skins.
BHC - Blinding Headache Complexity - You write assembly code to take a break from the game.
NHAR - Non-Human Appendages Required - The key/button bindings in this game would baffle a Yoga guru in mastering them.
FR3D - Failed Resurrection in 3D - This game is the product of a last-ditch effort of a company past it's prime to squeeze the final drops of blood out of it's only success. And it's in 3D!
TF - Text Fetish - Break out the reading glasses and pray you can skip cutscenes. This game makes Tolstoy look like a brochure writer.
TOD - Translator On Drugs - This greatest English port of game from foreign are all the best easy to reading. You have no chance survive. Make your time.
Just a few suggestions
Wynter
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"Not all who wander are lost" -- JRR Tolkien