do you belive the ESRB has failed
has the ESRB failed
Voting for this poll has ended.
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the ESRB has come under alot of fire lately for its ratings not bieng what they could i did a little reserch and found they only play the first level of a game or just watch the cut secens if there are at least 10mins of them.WTF do the people who rate movies watch 30 mins of the movie and rate it NO they gat in all the juicy middle parts where all the real stuff happens so they give an accurate rating.Now the senate is trying to pass a bill to force the ESRB to have hands on time with games to achive these better ratings however people dont have to listen to the ratings as the ESRB cant tell you to.The ESRB has no power to back thier ratings or anything.SO i think they have failed and need be be remade how about you?
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The ESRB really only has one important function. Their ratings determine which games can legally be sold to minors. In this, they can probably afford to be conservative. If a minor wishes to obtain a game that legally must be purchased by an adult, then they will have to convince their parents to buy it for them.
As for policing games in general, beyond the ESRB being able to determine that certain games can't be sold to minors, parents really have to take it upon themselves to decide what games they are going to allow their children to play. This isn't that hard. Just taking 10 minutes to a read a couple reviews or watch a few gameplay videos is going to give a much better estimate of the game than some letter slapped on the bottom of the cartridge by the ESRB.
If the ESRB is allowing games that clearly have content on the level of an R rated movie to be rated T and sold to minors, then they are failing. But other than that, the system is meant as a guide that parents can take or leave at their own risk. Based on what is said in the first post, their guidance might not be very good, but if parents want to have a reasonable amount of control over what games they allow in their house, taking 10 minutes to do their own research on a game is much more effective than the ESRB.
As for policing games in general, beyond the ESRB being able to determine that certain games can't be sold to minors, parents really have to take it upon themselves to decide what games they are going to allow their children to play. This isn't that hard. Just taking 10 minutes to a read a couple reviews or watch a few gameplay videos is going to give a much better estimate of the game than some letter slapped on the bottom of the cartridge by the ESRB.
If the ESRB is allowing games that clearly have content on the level of an R rated movie to be rated T and sold to minors, then they are failing. But other than that, the system is meant as a guide that parents can take or leave at their own risk. Based on what is said in the first post, their guidance might not be very good, but if parents want to have a reasonable amount of control over what games they allow in their house, taking 10 minutes to do their own research on a game is much more effective than the ESRB.
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Yeah, if their going to rate something, at least play the whole game through. What if there was something massive they miss that could alter the ratings one way or the other?
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WhiteLion wrote...
The ESRB really only has one important function. Their ratings determine which games can legally be sold to minors. In this, they can probably afford to be conservative. If a minor wishes to obtain a game that legally must be purchased by an adult, then they will have to convince their parents to buy it for them.That job also happens to be quasi-illegal bullshit since the ESRB isn't government controlled and is a private company that just gets de facto support for foisting morals off on people. I think the idea of ratings on boxes is smart and convenient but legal enforcement of an organisation that is the ostensible equivalent of someone showing up to an office one day and just doing work is bullshit.
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From what I've heard, most of the flak comes from stores selling games rated M to kids, despite the rating. There's nothing the ESRB can do in that situation. They put the rating on there, the clerk ignored it, and the clerk should be the one in trouble.
I don't think much about the whole situation though because I'm an adult and can buy any game I want. That, and I don't even play games that often anymore.
I did read an interesting article a few months back in a gaming magazine about the game ratings system and the movie ratings system being nothing alike. It was saying that a movie will come out and be rated R, but the game version will be rated Teen, or a movie will be rated PG-13 and the game version will be rated M. When that happens, things get all screwed up, because a fan of the movie would want to play the game and vice versa (sometimes). Or a parent could look at one and think both are suitable for their kid, though that can be solved by having parents pay attention.
I'd like to see games rated by an impartial organization that is underneath the government, but what are the chances that's going to happen? If anything, it would just bleed more money out of the government. It's often not hard for a parent to look at a game and tell whether it's going to have bad language or extreme violence. If there's a cartoon character on the front, and the back says nothing about shooting pimps or fucking bitches, it's probably okay for a 7-year-old.
I don't think much about the whole situation though because I'm an adult and can buy any game I want. That, and I don't even play games that often anymore.
I did read an interesting article a few months back in a gaming magazine about the game ratings system and the movie ratings system being nothing alike. It was saying that a movie will come out and be rated R, but the game version will be rated Teen, or a movie will be rated PG-13 and the game version will be rated M. When that happens, things get all screwed up, because a fan of the movie would want to play the game and vice versa (sometimes). Or a parent could look at one and think both are suitable for their kid, though that can be solved by having parents pay attention.
I'd like to see games rated by an impartial organization that is underneath the government, but what are the chances that's going to happen? If anything, it would just bleed more money out of the government. It's often not hard for a parent to look at a game and tell whether it's going to have bad language or extreme violence. If there's a cartoon character on the front, and the back says nothing about shooting pimps or fucking bitches, it's probably okay for a 7-year-old.
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My understanding of how the ESRB works is that it's not that they only play the first 10 minutes, although that certainly plays a part.
How it works is that the Video Game developer presents the ESRB with several different parts of their game. They are specifically requested to present the ratings board with their most "controversial" materials. The reason behind the sparsity of the content that the ESRB rates per game is that, especially recently, if the ESRB were to play every minute of the game it would take them hours to play the game.
TO finish my rant, here's Gabe and Tycho
How it works is that the Video Game developer presents the ESRB with several different parts of their game. They are specifically requested to present the ratings board with their most "controversial" materials. The reason behind the sparsity of the content that the ESRB rates per game is that, especially recently, if the ESRB were to play every minute of the game it would take them hours to play the game.
TO finish my rant, here's Gabe and Tycho
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Failed for 1 reason to me... M 17+ and AO 18+ a one f***ing year difference wtf is the point, what do you wake up one day and go "oh s*** im 18! I dont laugh at the word penis anymore!" really if they are going to have both they should do one of two things 1. get rid of AO and make M 18+ or 2. make AO 21+
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No, ESRB's job is to evaluate level of content gore or whatever, and put rating on it.
Parents is largely at responsible as well as kids taking advantage of parent's ignorance of video game ratings and such. I know this very well.
Parents is largely at responsible as well as kids taking advantage of parent's ignorance of video game ratings and such. I know this very well.
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FinalBoss
#levelupyourgrind
They're doing the best that they want to do, yet at the same time there isn't much more they can do in this case. The content they observe can rarely be considered concrete. The level of obscenity found in some games varies from person to person. I find shooting a guy in the head is more controversial than getting a power up from a hooker who gives good head, but another person might see it differently.
They may not be doing a satisfactory job, but for some people they're still a necessary existence. I don't care either way, just as long as my gaming experience isn't fucked up.
They may not be doing a satisfactory job, but for some people they're still a necessary existence. I don't care either way, just as long as my gaming experience isn't fucked up.
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i remember The Punisher and Manhunt 2 were given the AO rating because of the gore. one thing i think is hypocritical of the ESRB and content in general is me and my friends know more about sex and gore than we know about America's history. But if you look at literature teens are forced to read in high school like Beowulf and Romeo and Juliet and Antigone, there is more violence and sexual themes (Antigone has some sort of incest in it if i remember correctly) in those stories then there are in one rated M game i know. why is it ok for teens to read about violence like all quiet on the western front, but when its in a video game it is wrong? to me i think the ESRB should only rate a game depending on if it has a lot of sex in it. to me the ESRB is just another conservative's way of trying to control things. really the ESRB just think they are needed. i cant stress how much of a fail the ESRB is in of itself. if parents really dont want their children playing violent video games, then they need to monitor what they play. its not the game industries problem to think about 10 year old billy playing Mortal Kombat and seeing someone get dismembered brutally.
Fact: the ESRB literally judges video games based on what soccer moms in the suburbs think of them.
Fact: the ESRB literally judges video games based on what soccer moms in the suburbs think of them.
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ShaggyJebus wrote...
From what I've heard, most of the flak comes from stores selling games rated M to kids, despite the rating. There's nothing the ESRB can do in that situation. They put the rating on there, the clerk ignored it, and the clerk should be the one in trouble.I don't think much about the whole situation though because I'm an adult and can buy any game I want. That, and I don't even play games that often anymore.
I did read an interesting article a few months back in a gaming magazine about the game ratings system and the movie ratings system being nothing alike. It was saying that a movie will come out and be rated R, but the game version will be rated Teen, or a movie will be rated PG-13 and the game version will be rated M. When that happens, things get all screwed up, because a fan of the movie would want to play the game and vice versa (sometimes). Or a parent could look at one and think both are suitable for their kid, though that can be solved by having parents pay attention.
I'd like to see games rated by an impartial organization that is underneath the government, but what are the chances that's going to happen? If anything, it would just bleed more money out of the government. It's often not hard for a parent to look at a game and tell whether it's going to have bad language or extreme violence. If there's a cartoon character on the front, and the back says nothing about shooting pimps or fucking bitches, it's probably okay for a 7-year-old.