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ESRB Ratings Across the Consoles Charted

Posted by Zonk on from the rated-t-for-tough-luck-gamecube dept.

Gamasutra has up an analysis by Matt Matthews looking at the distribution of ESRB ratings across several generations of consoles. He makes particular note of Nintendo's efforts with the GameCube and Wii: "On the GameCube over 51% of the games were rated E and 6.1% were rated E10+. This makes the GameCube appear to be more friendly for younger gamers ... From the beginning Nintendo has wanted to attract non-traditional gamers with its Wii hardware and software. Perhaps as a result of the manufacturer's strategy, many Wii games have been designed to appeal to -- and therefore are rated for -- a general audience. Over 82% of the Wii catalog is either rated E or E10+. Only 3.2% are rated M, less than half the rate on Nintendo's previous console, GameCube. Still, that 3.2% is significantly higher than the rates on either the Nintendo DS or the Game Boy Advance." Matthews makes a few offhand comments about the analysis on the Curmudgeon Gamer site, as well.

5 of 73 comments (clear)

  1. How is boxing not violent? by MosesJones · · Score: 3, Insightful

    One thing that has confused me on the "E" rating is that for some reason boxing isn't considered violent. In Europe its a 7+ game but in the US its "Everyone". Now sure talking a shotgun to someone's head is definately at the top end scale of violence but surely pounding someone's head with your fists even after they start to go down is pretty damned violent too.

    Now its not an M, but is punching people in the head really "E"? Even if its done cartoon style?

    --
    An Eye for an Eye will make the whole world blind - Gandhi
    1. Re:How is boxing not violent? by MBGMorden · · Score: 2, Insightful

      If it was street fighting, then yes, punching someone repeatedly is violent. However if done in a controlled environment however, it's a sport.

      --
      "People who think they know everything are very annoying to those of us who do."-Mark Twain
    2. Re:How is boxing not violent? by G+Fab · · Score: 4, Insightful

      You know what? Baloney.

      Society gets to decide what is outrageous. We don't have to follow black and white rules and be logically consistent.

      Society is outraged by shotgunning of people. Society is not outraged by two people agreeing to box each other for sport. A few extreme pacifists do say that this is akin to other violence sine you are physically harming another person, and they're right. It's violence, but society isn't outraged by it.

      That's why boxing can be an innocent game for kids, because society isn't worried that kids will grown up thinking it's ok to box people who agree to participate for sport. They do frown on kids growing up thinking shooting other peopleis ok, and thus restrict very violent games to parents, so parents can be involved enough to tell kids.. hey, that's a game and this stuff isn't ok in real life.

      Frankly, the system seems to work. I think society reinforces the message that boxing is ok and murder isn't. Some parents buy GTA for their kids and don't involved themselves enough to tell the kids that its topics are things that are not OK in real life... and sometimes these kids are sufficiently insulated from society that they don't get that same message... but kids with such awful childhoods aer probably going to be bad guys anyway.

      I don't think it's fair to conflate all violence by simplistic definitions. They have to be cultural and based on societal outrage, because that's not informative of the true nature of the activity than rote logic application.

  2. Re:As Expected by Aladrin · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Because that's the -rating-, not the audience. Teens buy M-rated games. Whether they do so directly, or by fraud, or by getting someone else to... It doesn't matter. They buy them.

    --
    "If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you; But if you really make them think, they'll hate you." - DM
  3. Re:controller methods by zuvembi · · Score: 3, Insightful

    If you had a ninja assassin game where you have to pantomime garroting a guard with the controller wire, it might cause parents to get upset!

    So, you mean exactly what you do in Godfather : Blackhand Edition for Wii? Yes, one of your weapons is a garotte. You sneak up behind the guard, do a jerk apart of the nunchuk and wiimote, and then saw back and forth. It's a little disturbing the first few times you do it.

    Of course, that would probably be the reason that it's an M-rated game that parents are advised not to buy young children. Of course, some people are stupid.