ESRB to use content questionnaire to streamline video game ratings

[sakura_no_miko]

The little E’s, T’s and M’s that appear on the covers of video games get there the old-fashioned way: People working for the Entertainment Software Rating Board look at the games, decide how gory, sexy or potty-mouthed they are, and bestow an age-appropriate rating accordingly

Comments

[bludstone]

Can I ask a question here? Does anyone here ACTUALLY PAY ATTENTION to game ratings, and make purchase decisions on those ratings?

A known, published questionarre is certainly superior to the MPAA's shifting and in favor of studios "opinion of conservative moms and ministers" methodology.

[silly_cakes]

No. Also, my parents never gave a shit, either. I think that here in Canada we go by American video game ratings anyways, but yeah, I've never actually encountered it being an issue.

[sakura_no_miko]

Only the people selling them do, really. Well, rather, the faceless corporations selling to faceless soccer moms looking for something to protest.

[caterfree10]

My parents did. Never got a T rated game until I was 13, for instance. Still got to play Devil May Cry at 16 by borrowing it from a friend though. x3 Yes, my parents would've objected if I asked them for the game before I turned 17, I shit you not.

At least now I am an adult and could not care less what my parents think while I play my video games. Mostly Pokemon and Kingdom Hearts nowadays, but whatever. :P /coolstorysis

[dorklord07]

I lol'd at "whimsical depictions of feces". Really, I lol whenever the word "whimsical" is used in an official document.

That being said, changing to a metric-based evaluation system like this is really cool, since it'll be easier for:

a) developers to predict what their games will be rated;
b) consumers to actually know what each game will contain, hopefully.

It would be EVEN MORE AWESOME if each game's filled out questionnaire was available online somewhere. Data mining that database would be FILLED WITH AWESOME. :D

[lucia_tanaka]

I have no idea what to think of this. I just want the ESRB to not get as bad as the MPAA. If this will accomplish that, then cool.