ESRB President Defends Game Rating System

An anonymous reader writes "The president of the Entertainment Software Rating Board wrote an open letter to Kotaku in response to an editorial that ran there a few days back about the ESRB and the system used to rate games. The editorial basically said that the ESRB isn't doing their job and needs to start if they don't want to be replaced by the Feds. The letter today said Kotaku is wrong and explained why. Does the current rating system serve its purpose?"

Comments

One dimensional

[Mycroft_VIII]

Am I the only one that thinks the purely one dimensional rating systems used by games and movies are a bit two simplistic to make a good decision on.
Admittedly these days the reasons for getting a rating are usually given and this does help alot, but simply rating in a few more categories makes sense to me.
As an aside it does seem a bit absurd that a topless woman can raise the rating of a game/movie faster than a body count can. I just find it a sad commentary on society that violence is more acceptable than nudity.

Mycroft

Ratings Are Guides, Not Gospel

[kkrista]

I think the problem here is that many people think that a rating system is a replacement for their own judgement and thought process. Nothing can replace a parent's own judgement as to what works for his/her child. Is a "Teen" rating really appropriate for all teens -- of course not. It's guidance - just a suggestion. It's a tool -- one tool -- to help make a parent make a more informed decision. Look past the letter and the real information is right underneath it -- mild violence, sexual content, drug use. Go out and read previews and reviews of the game to get a better understanding of the content. Talk to other parents. Don't just rely on the letter on the box. The ESRB rating is what is believed to work for most teens, not necessarily for your teen.

Is your child mentally unstable? If so, it's probably best not to give him something that has potentially disturbing content, regardless of the rating. Is your 54 year old father scared of clowns? You might not want to give him a copy of Twisted Metal -- a game the ESRB deems appropriate for most adults but has a scary clown on the packaing (and in the game). Ok, these are silly examples, but I hope you see my point.

Every child is different and it's up to the parent to know that child well enough to understand what is and is not appropriate. Parents need to use all teh tools available to them, including their own brains. Then again, the parents that just rely on a letter on the box to determine if their child gets to play Rainbow Six probably don't really know their children well enough to make that determination anyway.

ESRB vs MPAA Ratings

[Ryan Stortz]

I think that the game ratings are more than adequate. They're very discriptive and easy to understand. Almost everything that could offend someone in the game is cleaerly marked on the box. With the MPAA ratings, the rating is hidden on the back of the box in really small print. Same goes for their television ads, you have to be watching really closely to catch the rating. It's only flashed for a few seconds. Even then, the rating gives no indication of what does the movie contain that warrented an "R" rating. That can range from someone saying Fuck more than once to a 10 person softcore orgy.

Often, movies are released as "Unrated" so the full uncut version can sold. When they'd normally be given the NC-17 rating, which was formally X. I've yet to see a single videogame since the ESRB was started that was unrated. Both systems are volluntary, yet the ESRB is being scrutinized? Even the TV ratings are more vague than the ESRB. Who the hell is going to know what the TVM-NVSLSS means? With the ESRB, you can just flip the box over and read the extended rating. It'll completely explain that it means Nudity, Violence, Strong Language, and Sexual Situations.