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What's So Wrong With the ESRB?

Posted by Zonk on from the huff-and-puff-and-blow-your-industry-in dept.

1up has an in-depth look at the Hot Coffee hoopla, and the resulting impact on the ESRB. From the article: "Hot Coffee's wake was also the tipping point for The National Institute for Media and the Family. Its strongly worded 10th Annual MediaWise Video and Computer Game Report Card awarded the ESRB an 'F' for ratings accuracy and a 'C+' for ratings education. More damning was the Report Card's statement: 'The so-called 'hot coffee' scandal does not simply reveal the bad faith of one of the industry's most prominent companies; it has shown once and for all that the present rating system is broken and can't be fixed.'"

3 of 85 comments (clear)

  1. FROSTY PISS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Redundant

    http://wtfux.org/ Important Stuff * Please try to keep posts on topic. * Try to reply to other people's comments instead of starting new threads. * Read other people's messages before posting your own to avoid simply duplicating what has already been said. * Use a clear subject that describes what your message is about. * Offtopic, Inflammatory, Inappropriate, Illegal, or Offensive comments might be moderated. (You can read everything, even moderated posts, by adjusting your threshold on the User Preferences Page) Important Stuff * Please try to keep posts on topic. * Try to reply to other people's comments instead of starting new threads. * Read other people's messages before posting your own to avoid simply duplicating what has already been said. * Use a clear subject that describes what your message is about. * Offtopic, Inflammatory, Inappropriate, Illegal, or Offensive comments might be moderated. (You can read everything, even moderated posts, by adjusting your threshold on the User Preferences Page) Important Stuff * Please try to keep posts on topic. * Try to reply to other people's comments instead of starting new threads. * Read other people's messages before posting your own to avoid simply duplicating what has already been said. * Use a clear subject that describes what your message is about. * Offtopic, Inflammatory, Inappropriate, Illegal, or Offensive comments might be moderated. (You can read everything, even moderated posts, by adjusting your threshold on the User Preferences Page)

  2. Ridiculous by Mr.+Samuel · · Score: -1, Redundant
    Because we all know the ESRB knew about the hidden code in GTA:SA that would later be exploited by h4x0rz. Blame the people responsible for the software itself.

    I'm curious to know if the people who write these damning articles actually play games. I believe that a ratings system of some sort is important and in my experience ESRB ratings are on target.

  3. It ISN'T broken by improbable · · Score: 0, Redundant

    But what the whole thing should have shown was that the rating system ISN'T broken. When the ESRB found out about Hot Coffee, they changed the rating. What's really wrong is that kids can still get their hands on the game.

    When parents start getting responsible and watching what they are buying their children, the rating system will have much more of an effect.