Penny Arcade's ESRB Campaign

Gamespot reports on the official unveiling of Penny Arcade's ESRB ad campaign. Announced previously on their site, and discussed again today, the images are intended to connect up the ratings brand with the average gamer. From the article: "The ESRB ads will not make use of Penny Arcade's existing stable of characters, choosing instead to focus on original characters designed by the comic's creators. The first two ads (pictured) will depict E-rated audiences with Sarah, a pink-haired girl 'around age seven or eight,' and The Andersons, a father-and-son pair enjoying a game together."

Comments

Aww, maaannn...

[PSXer]

The ESRB ads will not make use of Penny Arcade's existing stable of characters

That's too bad. The Fruit Fucker would be perfect for AO rated games.

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Make no mistake about it.

[Sheetrock]

The problem isn't about whether people are sufficiently aware of ESRB ratings. Movies have had ratings for decades, TV shows have a box in the upper left corner, CDs still come with 'Parental Advisory' stickers on them, and every game I've purchased in at least the last five years has had an ESRB rating on it. If you've got any concern about content (besides books) you're aware.

The problem is that there are folks out there who want nobody to be able to consume content they deem objectionable. There is no middle ground or acceptable compromise for them. We've got chips in every TV out there and now in just about every gaming console but that's simply not good enough. Run all the advertising campaigns you want, it doesn't matter because they're irrelevant to the people causing the fuss.

Re:Make no mistake about it.

[RsG]

I don't think it's the Jackass Thompsons of the world that this is aimed at.

Look at it this way - parents understand what rated "R" means, because they themselves watch movies. They often don't understand what rated "M" means, because they've never played games. There are obviously exceptions (and I'm sure someone will post in a minute that they're a parent and also play games), but of course the people who play the games aren't the ones who support fucktards like Thompson.

I've seen plenty of examples of parents buying games for their kids without checking the labels on them. At a guess those parents are the ones who simply aren't aware of the ESRB, and will go on to complain loudly to anyone who will listen that nobody told them that Gorefest 2K wasn't appropriate for a five year old. THESE are the people who need ad campaigns and efforts to raise their awareness of the ESRB labels. They are part of the problem, but unlike the puritans, they're a problem that can be solved.

The puritans, the ones who want to ban anything that they don't like, can go fuck themselves. They can't dictate what other people play, read or watch without running up against the first amendment (or other free speach provisions in other democratic countries). They're a hopeless lot, so we might as well just try and ignore their shrill wailing.

It's the people who are only interested in their own children, the ones who are rational, who need this kind of education. And if they take responsibility for screening their kids games, then the idiots like Jack Thompson will lose their only credible support base.

Uhh..

[SocialEngineer]

"We don't expect to ever be considered cool among gamers, but at the very least we want gamers to understand the purpose we serve," she continued. "After all, many of them will be parents one day, at which time we expect they will be far more appreciative of the tools we provide."

If by "many" you mean "one or two".