ESRB Finally Plays the Games They Rate

Have you ever looked at the ESRB label on the back of a game only to ask yourself, “What the hell does that mean?” Vague descriptions such as “Comic Mischief” and “Mild Violence” (as opposed to “spicy violence”?) have plagued the ESRB’s rating system for years, potentially confusing parents trying to decide whether or not Conker’s Bad Fur Day would be a worthwhile purchase for the kiddies. Yet, as of November 12, in an attempt to help clarify what content can be found in each game, the ESRB has added “rating summaries” for games on their website.

According to an ESRB press release (Warning: PDF file ahead), these summaries “provide exclusive and unprecedented insight into the nature of the content that triggered a given rating assignment” allowing parents to be “that much more empowered in making [proper] choices.” Unfortunately for concerned parents, these new summaries are only available for titles rated after July 1, 2008, so potential holiday hits such as Gears of War 2 and Metal Gear Solid 4 will lack extensive ESRB descriptions. Hopefully the “intense violence” and/or “strong language” box descriptions will be enough for uninformed parents. Also, the fact that the words “Gun” or “War” are in the games’ titles might activate a few warning bells that these games aren’t for children.

Politicians, who have previously criticized the medium’s rating system, including senators Hillary Clinton and Joe Lieberman, heralded the ESRB’s new system. “These new rating summaries offer more helpful information than ever before to help parents to get involved and get informed,” Clinton said.

So what does this mean for gamers? Not a lot really, unless you’re under 17 and have been trying to get mommy to buy you a copy of Fallout 3 for Christmas. And if you are, shame on you. I wag my finger heavily in your direction.

Truthfully, this could be a good thing as far as getting an accurate rating. In the past, the ESRB wasn’t even required to play the game in order to give it a rating, instead simply watching a video of a game’s potentially-objectionable material provided by the developer. Of course, the whole “Hot Coffee” debacle changed things forever.  Here’s an example ESRB summary of Fallout 3. What do you guys think: pretty accurate, or still missing the goal?

Click here to visit the ESRB’s web page.