# The ESRB.



## Brad (Aug 17, 2011)

Today I purchased Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars for my 3DS. After walking out of Gamestop I got to thinking. This very game that I have in the bag I am holding is rated M for Mature, meaning it should only be sold to somebody 17+ or to somebody who has a parent with them (like me). I'm 14, my parents started letting me play games that were rated M when I was about 10. But it was the harmless stuff like, Halo. I didn't even start playing GTA until I was about 12 and I could understand some of the things that were going on. Although, to this very day I can't play GTA in front of the youngsters in my house (wich is probably for the best). My parents didn't let me play more Mature games, like GTA until they thought I was able to handle the content that was being shown. But, now they don' really care what games I play. Now, I told you that story to ask you these questions.

(A) Do you think the ESRB is effective? Like actually working?
(B) Also, are your parents ultra-strict when it comes to the ESRB? (Or were they?) Or do they not really care, kinda like my parents.


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## Psychonaut (Aug 18, 2011)

it isn't effective, and it's honestly a matter of luck.

my parents wouldn't let me play metal slug because it was rated T, ffs.  yet they let my little brother play cowadoody because all the other parents are.

oh the **** well.  burn in hell, esrb.


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## Tyeforce (Aug 18, 2011)

The ESRB works, but only when parents actually do their job of, you know, _parenting_. You wouldn't believe how many parents I have coming in to Toys "R" Us to buy their 5-year-olds Call of Duty. Though they're not my cup of tea, I have nothing against violence-heavy M-rated games, but little kids should not be allowed to play games like that.


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## Jake (Aug 18, 2011)

My dad doesn't care what I buy. But I never speak to him so he wouldn't know if I bought anything,


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## Psychonaut (Aug 18, 2011)

Tyeforce said:


> The ESRB works, but only when parents actually do their job of, you know, _parenting_.


which is why it's all a matter of luck.


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## Fillfall (Aug 18, 2011)

We don't have ESRB, but PEGI.. And I'm lucky if I'm allowed to play games with 16+, although they let me watch CSI and much worse stuff.


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## Bacon Boy (Aug 18, 2011)

When I was at Gamestop the other day, kids had to have a parent or an ID to purchase an 'M' rated game. I think it's working.


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## «Jack» (Aug 18, 2011)

The ESRB does a ****ty job of rating games, plain and simple.
Halo is a good example. If you honestly think that it's too "Mature" for a freshman/sophomore in high school, you need to figure out who replaced your brain with a cinderblock.


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## Bacon Boy (Aug 18, 2011)

?Jack? said:


> The ESRB does a ****ty job of rating games, plain and simple.
> Halo is a good example. If you honestly think that it's too "Mature" for a freshman/sophomore in high school, you need to figure out who replaced your brain with a cinderblock.


It's not that. The "Mature" rating isn't saying the game isn't for younger kids, it's just warning you of content. Like how R rated movies are; they're rated that way because of the content. What they do is they figure out the content, i.e. blood and gore, violence, strong language, sexuality, liquor, suggestive themes, etc. and if they find either one of those or a lot of those in the game a lot, they rate it that way. They're not saying that "Oh, your mind is not old enough to see or hear this yet." They're saying "the stuff in this game is explicit and deserves an explicit warning". Now, what the retailers do is something completely different.


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## Squirrel with Nunchucks (Aug 18, 2011)

The ESRB does a quite frankly terrible job at what it does. This is partially because of how it rates games, and that it has a bout two dozen employees. Due to the lack of employees, they can only rate games based on short trailers, ot even playing the game. However, they have no competition, so they see no reason to change this.


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## Jas0n (Aug 18, 2011)

My parents never questioned what games I played nor what rating was on the box, but that's because I was always mature enough to "handle" what was in the games, and my parents knew that.

I don't think good parenting is restricting your child from M-rated games, I think it's about teaching your child about the world so they are mature enough at a young age to understand and be able to play these games. I'm definitely not a fan of wrapping children up in cotton wool, it does nothing but harm them.


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## Yokie (Aug 18, 2011)

My dad doesn't care what I'm playing, he doesn't want me to play at all. Good luck with that.

And as Fillfall said, it's PEGI over here. And they're doing a descent job, I don't care much.


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## «Jack» (Aug 18, 2011)

Bacon Boy said:


> It's not that. The "Mature" rating isn't saying the game isn't for younger kids, it's just warning you of content. Like how R rated movies are; they're rated that way because of the content. What they do is they figure out the content, i.e. blood and gore, violence, strong language, sexuality, liquor, suggestive themes, etc. and if they find either one of those or a lot of those in the game a lot, they rate it that way. They're not saying that "Oh, your mind is not old enough to see or hear this yet." They're saying "the stuff in this game is explicit and deserves an explicit warning". Now, what the retailers do is something completely different.


And so that whole "Mature (17+ [Years Old])" on the little ratings box is just a figment of my imagination?


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## Caius (Aug 18, 2011)

When I was young the ESRB served very little purpose as adults weren't into games as much as kids were, therefore if the ESRB had been enforced, game companies would have gone out of business very fast. It's not like that nowadays, but it's still regulated like a warning. Think of a movie. At a theater, you can only see rated R movies with an adult, but you can see them. It's the same with games. You can play a rated M game if you're with an adult when you purchase it.

Why do they do this? It's mandated that every game needs a rating for responsible purchasing. Now, what it's mostly used for is not buying the game itself, but advertising. When you watch television or go to specific websites, there is usually an age that advertisers are trying to reach out to. If a game is rated T, you'll only see adds for them later in the day on cartoon channels. If a game is rated M, usually you'll only see the advertisement for it late at night on the same network.

What it's used for is determining the level of violence and sexual situations, or even gore for concerned parents. While not all parents adhere to the ESRB or PEGI systems, it's a voluntary establishment to warn and has been used since 1994 to determine whether a game is suitable for a minor. 

The only ESRB restricted rating is M, or in the PEGI system, -18. In ACB, it's known as MA15+, and Cero known as D. Not all stores will sell to a minor with this rating, but others don't have the same restrictions in place. The ESRB came about after Mortal Kombat, Doom, Night Trap, and Lethal Enforcers were in the spotlight and taken to fourt because there was no system for warning.

Do I agree with the ESRB? Not all the time, but it is fair to warn someone with a rating system that there could be something potentially unsuited to minors. As a parent however, it's their job to decide whether they want to expose their child to something that's above their ESRB mandate. 

In 2003 I got Conkers Bad Fur Day for the N64. At the time I was very young, and it is still to this day one of the only Rated M games for the N64. My mother was curious about the content and decided to buy it for me, but gamestop (then EB games) did issue her a warning. That's all the system is there for, is to warn people so there's no court hearings about controversial games. 

Until you're a legal adult whether you like it or not your parents do have the last say.


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## Psychonaut (Aug 19, 2011)

Bacon Boy said:


> When I was at Gamestop the other day, kids had to have a parent or an ID to purchase an 'M' rated game. I think it's working.


so fahny joke

kids have always needed to drag their parents over to the game section to buy M rated games, that still doesn't mean that the parent gives half a crap about what the kid is doing.


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## Brad (Aug 19, 2011)

I made a visual aid!


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## rafren (Aug 20, 2011)

ESRB does an okay job rating them. I think it comes down more to the ones selling the games.

but here, nobody gives a **** it's all about the $$$ bros


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## Bacon Boy (Aug 20, 2011)

Zr388 said:


> When I was young the ESRB served very little purpose as adults weren't into games as much as kids were, therefore if the ESRB had been enforced, game companies would have gone out of business very fast. It's not like that nowadays, but it's still regulated like a warning. Think of a movie. At a theater, you can only see rated R movies with an adult, but you can see them. It's the same with games. You can play a rated M game if you're with an adult when you purchase it.
> 
> Why do they do this? It's mandated that every game needs a rating for responsible purchasing. Now, what it's mostly used for is not buying the game itself, but advertising. When you watch television or go to specific websites, there is usually an age that advertisers are trying to reach out to. If a game is rated T, you'll only see adds for them later in the day on cartoon channels. If a game is rated M, usually you'll only see the advertisement for it late at night on the same network.
> 
> ...


Basically, this. This is what i was trying to say. I also don't agree with all of the ratings. I mean, look at Melee. The original Smash Bros. was E. Nothing has changed from N64 to Melee to Brawl. Same type of violence, same type of fighting, except Melee and Brawl are T. Wut?


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## Caius (Aug 20, 2011)

That's because the bar on violence has been raised. It's still the same stuff, but ratings have to be set to a little higher because 'cartoon voilence' is now part of the rating system.


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## SockHead (Aug 22, 2011)

The only time my parents made me stop playing a game was in middle school, when I first started playing Counter Strike.. I don't know why they didn't let me play it. Maybe it's because instead of just reading the ESRB, they actually saw the game I was playing. :/

P.S. I played it behind their backs anyway lololol


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## Caius (Aug 22, 2011)

My dad has problems with me playing games that depict killing people but then I showed him how to mug hookers and he was okay with it. ?


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## Garrett x50 cal (Aug 28, 2011)

My parents don't pay attention to ESRB because they know I'm not going to get a game where you have sex while snorting coke off a bible.

Btw people who think CoD is this scary game where theres gore shoved into your eyes are wrong. The most brutal CoD is by far WaW due only to the fact its the only CoD where you can blow limbs off. In BO theres like two scenes where you knife a guy in the throat but you know when its coming so close your eyes. A head shot? The body falls to the ground after a splat of pixels are released.


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