Talk:Entertainment Software Rating Board

San Andreas changed to Adults Only

The source for anyone who is interested: [1] --Wolfrider 23:51, 20 July 2005 (UTC)[reply]

That is impossible. Everyone knows that there is no Adults Only version of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. I'd say that all GTA fans know that this game still sounded like an "M" rated game. I wish Adoults Only is no longer here and needs to be removed like Early Childhood. Anything Else (a.k.a.) David 3:54 17 April 2006

I don't think this is necessary. it's just a list of the ratings, not of games that have the ratings. --Thaddius 16:30, 26 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Second, and it only briefly got the rating. The List of AO rated computer and video games already has a comprehensive list as to what games recieved the AO rating. Putting one controvercial example in this article is potentially presumptuous. A better option might be to state that few games have recieved the AO rating, and put a link to the list of AO rated games. --Trafficone 19:31, 16 July 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Possible bias in article

The part calling Joe Lieberman a "longtime censorship advocate" sounds a bit biased to me. And I don't even like the guy. --V. Prime

Because you're thinking of only the negative connotation. Lieberman has probobably called himself that on a few occasions. Gspawn 23:30, 2 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Can we add images of the Rating Symbols or are they prohibited per copyright infringement? They'd really be useful for this article. -Frecklefoot

That's a good question. Maybe we should ask the ESRB if Wikipedia could use their images for educational purposes? (BTW, I like the article!) --Mrwojo (aka Praestat)

ESRB Rating equivalent to Movie rating

A recent edit says that EC is equivalent to G and E to PG. Is this really correct?? I always thought that as a movie rating, G meant everyone, not just kids! 66.245.0.149 22:15, 20 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Actually, E=G, and E10+=PG. KdogDS 02:28, 3 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

But, "G" means for all ages, but the rating "E" is NOT for all ages, because if it means ages 6+, that means children under age 6 don't understand the instructions, or children under age 6 are too young to watch or play those video games because of the content. However, "E" is likened to the MPAA's "G" rating, according to the Mario video games on the Nintendo 64, or that don't have any content descriptions.

I'm not sure if I agree w/ the ratings being equivalent to movie ratings. Several M-rated games (notably Halo: Combat Evolved) do not seem to be as violent as many R-rated movies today. -Random Gamer

I'm removing them, this article is written to inform people what the ESRB is and the rating comparisons as they are written now are confusing and really aren't necessary. 156.34.223.109 03:26, 30 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Even if ESRB does use the same illiterate phrasing, "May be suitable for persons over 17" etc are not a valid phrasing for the intent of the ratings. I suggest this should be changed. --Random|832 23:05, 2005 Feb 5 (UTC)

Does anyone else find the Americans' way of rating things just plain confusing? Let's take the GTA:San Andreas thing. In my country there has never been and there will likely never be such a racket over ambiguous ratings since every Grand Theft Auto-game has the same age-recommendation, 18. If something isn't quite as gory (or filled with prophanity and anatomical, drug etc. references) it's 15. Only from there down does it get a bit confusing (Kotor I was rated 11 and Kotor II 12 because the latter had (very) mild swearing) but only a bit and most games under the K-15 rating are more or less child-safe.

No, I think using letters instead of numbers for ratings are better. It is easier to understand numbers but, to me, using numbers representing ages seems "dumbed down". With letters, it forces parents to read and understand what each rating means. Chipmunk01 20:07, 26 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

MPAA's X rating can not be compared to AO. The X rating just means that the product was self-applied. See Rated X for more details. It is unclear whether or not NC-17 can be likened to M. Any thoughts? -Anabus maximus 17:35, 29 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Procedure for getting rated by ESRB?

Is that complete? Doesn't the ESRB have some means of ensuring that they get the parts they really need to see, like reading the script or something? 166.109.0.203 17:53, 27 May 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Apparently not. Many modern games don't even have anything comperable to a "script", like a movie does. Most dialog and such is contained within the design document, which most developers rigidly control and don't usually "lend" out to other parties. — Frecklefoot | Talk 18:38, May 27, 2005 (UTC)

Kids to Adult logo

File:ESRB KA.gif

I was going to upload this, but someone beat me to it. Zscout370 (Sound Off) 06:34, 6 August 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Comparing

I'm from Europe. This are the American ratings compared to the European ratings.

EC - +3
E - +6
E10 - +8
T - +12
M - +16
AO - +18

Funnily enough, in Europe, video-game ratings are exactly the same as movie ratings.

It depends if the game rating authority in your jurisdiction is different from the movie rating one. For example here in NZ we use a shared AUS+NZ games rating board, but because of Australia's tough limitations on what games are allowed in their country the board only issues ratings up to about 13+, so anything higher (R16/R18) has to be rated by our national movie board and has a movie sticker slapped on it instead. Garrett^Talk 03:45, 25 September 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Damn, the OFLC is STRICT. That R13+ rating is totally Retarded! So a movie a 5 year old can get into in America without parents would be like a Gross misdameanor for a 12 year old to see it? Wow. Worse than Germany or England. I think PEGI is better than the ESRB. --Z.Spy 06:30, 11 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Ambiguous Descriptions

I find a lot of the description for the ratings comes across as rather ambiguous. "Content that may be suitable for ages X and over" can also imply that the content might not be suitable for ages [X] and over, which is the opposite of what the ratings are supposed to mean.

I suggest changing this to "content suitable only for persons of age [X] and above", which would get the point across in a less ambiguous way. Does anyone else agree? -82.7.125.142 20:29, 26 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Also, the phrasing should be kept consistent between all the ratings. -21:11, 7 November 2005 (UTC)

That's not neutral.that is your opinon!E10+ rated games can't even say the word shit or have blood or shooting with real guns.You can say may not be suitable for under that age, but you are violating one of the five pillars.If you redit that i will request for page protection --Z.Spy 21:16, 7 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

I see what you mean, but that's no reason to consider request protection. I understand that the ratings are only guidline, and that ultimately it's up to the customers to decide how to follow them, but I though the descriptions were actually not clear. I also admit I made a mistake by changing them to what I did, but I see you've changed them again, to something that's clearer as well as conforming to NPOV, so that's no longer an issue. -82.7.125.142 22:51, 7 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Okay, no problem I think we've made a good compromise. --Z.Spy 03:37, 8 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

K-A 6-?

while i cannot find any of my old boxes that say this, i swore that some boxes said ages six to ninety something.

can anyone verify this?

When the ratings first came out in 1994, at the top in the black band it said the rating (KIDS TO ADULTS). Underneath that in the large white area was the symbol (K-A). Finally, the bottom black band had the age recommendation (AGES 6+). Nowadays in the black band it says "CONTENT RATED BY ESRB".

Do you live in Canada? My "Super Nintendo Super Set" has on the back: Suitable for ages six to adult. In french, it says "...ages 6 to 66!" This isn't related to the ESRB, though. PGriffin 16:23, 19 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Trivia section

Would you all like to add a trivia section?

Rating Pending

The statement currently in the article is misleading:

Product has been submitted to the ESRB and is awaiting final rating. This symbol appears only in advertising prior to a game's release.

I've definately seen this on released games. I'm not sure if the rating was not ready on ship date, and would be included in the second "printing" of the game, or if the rating was ready by ship date, but was just not ready when the game boxes were printed, which would also be fixed on the second "printing" of the game. Tacvek 18:57, 5 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

M and AO need to be updated

The pictures of the M and AO are a little out of date, nowadays where it says "Mature" and "Adults Only" it says "Mature 17+" and "Adults Only 18+" but, I suppose the current pictures do justice anyway. ( : 131.202.140.175 15:55, 15 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

EC (early Childhood) and AO (adults Only)

I'm not sure about this. The developers and the creators from the games never made a game which it is Early Childhood and Adults Only ratings. I just wish these two needs to be discontinued and permanently removed. Only E (Everyone), E10+ (Everyone 10 and older), T (Teen) and M (Mature), except EC (early Childhood) and AO (Adults Only). No one has bought a game which it is either EC (Early Childhood) or AO (Adults Only). Even if the married persons would buy the game that contains EC for kids, many single adults still refuse to buy childish games, as the GameInformer informed me that they gave an agonizing scores like 1 score out of 10 ratings. These only 2 ratings need to be removed, because I never bought any games which it has these 2 mediocre ratings. Only M (Mature) are the only ones who are part of the Adults Only rating. If you have any questions, let me know. Anything Else (a.k.a.) David 4:06 17 April 2006

It is still considered a rating, even if there are not that many games with it. And plus, this is more of an info page, not an offical ESRB thing. And I can think of some EC and AO games, but let's not get into that. Go tell ESRB if you want it removed. Seriously, we can't do anything about it. --PokeOnic (Talk) 03:04, 20 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I agree. They are still official ratings, even if no games ever received the actual ratings and should be left in. For example, there would still be an NC-17 rating for movies, even if no movies were ever made with the rating. — Frecklefoot | Talk 15:03, 20 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Maybe GameInformer knows anything about it, but I'll stick by asking ESRB right away. I know you guys can't do anything about it, except GameInformer. I know they have news from all over the issues of GameInformer magazine. You should let me know if you know anything about them. Anything Else (a.k.a.) David 3:37 21 April 2006

It is certainly not true that no one has ever made or purchased an EC or AO game. Some guy 07:51, 24 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Have you ever looked at the ESRB website? There are 241 products rated EC and there are 23 AO products. A lot of the EC products are well known brand names like Disney and others. Chipmunk01 23:27, 10 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

No, trust me. If the publishers continue to make kids games, they are in the world of bankruptcy. I want ESRB to discontinue Early Childhood ratings and Adults Only ratings. You tell ESRB or GameInformer or many gamer fans will be disappointed. Best Gamer

Explanation for the removed section

I removed the following text:

On the other hand, some U.S. gamers believe that the ESRB is harsher than its foreign equivalents, thus believing that the PEGI, CERO, and OFLC are more lenient. The harshness or lenience of a rating system depends on cultural and societal differences. For example, Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne is rated M by the ESRB, rated 12+ by PEGI, but rated "All Ages" by CERO. Another example, Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal is rated T by the ESRB, but rated 3+ (equivalent to E) by PEGI.

Sometimes, the ESRB is also proven to be more lenient than other ratings systems as well. For example, GoldenEye 007, Hexen II and other T rated first person action games have received 18 and older ratings by the USK. PEGI has given 16+/15+ ratings to most of the Battlefield games and the game Enter the Matrix, which all received T ratings from the ESRB.

I felt that the first paragraph seemed to be more of a common sense thing (mentioning cultural and societal differences) and it also appeared to be "attacking" the ESRB making it look like it's "conservative" and "bad". No other video game rating system articles have criticism and comparisons with other countries. It doesn't really belong. What do you think? Marmaladekitty 20:21, 2 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

There needs to be a comparison section with other rating systems. Common sense is obvious to most people, but these ratings are meant to be understood by anyone who purchases these games. The ESRB's consistency with other systems is no doubt affected by cultural, social, and other differences. These should be listed. The fact that people feel there is a bias should be included as well. After all, this system and others are meant to be guides, though I'm not sure if there is a system that has become legally binding. --KaiSeun 01:07, 8 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Take a look at these ratings, KaiSeun:

Night Trap BBFC: 15 ESRB: M

Snatcher ELSPA: 18+ ESRB: T

Quake 4 BBFC: 18 ESRB: M PEGI: 18+ USK: 18+

Hexen BBFC: 12 ESRB: M USK: 18+

Syberia ESRB: T PEGI: 3+ USK: All ages

Doom 3 BBFC: 18 ESRB: M PEGI: 18+ USK: 18+

Call of Duty BBFC: 15 ESRB: T PEGI: 16+ USK: 18+

Rise of the Triad BBFC: 12 ESRB: M

Phantasmagoria BBFC: 18 ESRB: M OFLC: Banned USK: 18+

Singles BBFC: 18 ESRB: AO PEGI: 16+/15+ USK: 12+

Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude BBFC: 18 ESRB: AO PEGI: 18+ USK: 18+

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City BBFC: 18 ESRB: M OFLC: MA15+ PEGI: 18+ USK: 18+

Voyeur BBFC: 18 ESRB: M OFLC: Banned USK: 16+

There isn't a bias of any sort. No rating system is perfect. I think the person who originally added that info. was probably mad that they were underage to buy a game they wanted. (half joking) Has anyone actually heard of that game? I gave some random examples which both support and refute the statements that the ESRB is "too sensitive" when thay are actually both sensitive and liberal. The same things may be said about the other ratings systems as well. So, I agree that the statements are out of place, I've ever heard of any critics saying that. Larsus 17:30, 10 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Penny Arcade ad campaign in the works

Please see Penny-arcade#Other_works, where I've added this news. Michael Krahulik ("Gabe") of Penny Arcade has announced an upcoming ad campaign for the ESRB which he is doing artwork for.

I feel this would be notable for inclusion in this article. Opinions? Kasreyn 01:04, 2 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I don't think so, I don't think the Tiger Woods, Derek Jeter and other ad campaigns have been mentioned in the article either. It's best to leave those out, anyone who's interested can easily find those things on the internet. 156.34.209.58 23:48, 2 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Complaints

People have complained that the ESRB is too lenient on violence. This doesn't really make sense, if the ratings are decided by the general public (the people who are complaining), what could there possibly be to complain about? 156.34.208.2 23:44, 2 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Incorrect Citation

Citation no.3 does not list games which have been rated AO for violent content only. As this is purported to be one of the major counter-criticisms to the assertion that the ESRB is tolerant of violent, but not sexual content, this either needs to be corrected or removed from this secion.

Thank you.