The ESRB Don't Get No Respect 61
Via the ffwd linklog, a story on the Hollywood Reporter site discussing the public image of the ESRB, from "pain in the butt" on the developer's side to lax child perverter on the lawmaker's side. From the article: "The issue Greenberg describes is one involving dollars and cents: Almost every single retail chain chooses not to sell 'AO' rated games, period. In just the same way that many movie theaters will not show films branded with an 'NC-17' rating, the 'AO' severely limits a game's distribution, to put it mildly."
Shocked, shocked I am (Score:5, Insightful)
"Oh.. we only want to help parents to make an educated CHOICE... we don't want to censor anything."
Look it up, those were the "pro" arguments for such a system.
And now we have attempts at laws to ban shops from even displaying M rated games (unless you go into that back room) and AO is right out.
Meanwhile the game industry is playing the same game as the movie industry is. R rated movies (M games) sell better than the PG stuff.
(Of course that's been changing since the crackdown of theaters to actually ID people for R rated movies... My friend laments that the Ring 2 was PG-13. How scary can it be in PG-13?!)
Not that I'm disparaging parents from making an educated decision. It's a double edged sword.
Not a replacement (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Shocked, shocked I am (Score:2, Insightful)
As a game developer and as a parent I have to say I'm very pleased with the rating system. It informs the parent's of the content as well as rewards developers for limiting the amount of graphic violence, sex, etc. by informing the public and letting them decide what they want to play.
An interesting side-note: G rated movies sell better than all other movies.
Article mixing facts (Score:4, Insightful)
The article paints a picture of "lawmakers vs. ESRB", but it mentions one Republican who is accusing the ESRB of being too light on handing out AOs, and another (Clinton) of launching an investigation into the effects of M games.
Now, read that again. Clinton (and, for that matter, almost every other lawmaker "fighting the good fight") doesn't have a problem with the rating system, they have a problem with the games. The article only has one quote from one senator that thinks the ESRB is not tough enough. Then the article goes on to point out how tough the ESRB is. And the insight they give there is pretty spot-on, espeically the comparisons between the MPAA and the ESRB.
However, the majority of the article is a defense against the first politician's quote, and doesn't really hold water against the other attacks (which are against videogames that have been rated M, not the rating system itself). Besides, it isn't the ESRB's job to ensure that games rated M aren't sold to 17 year olds, it is the retailer's job. And video game (only) retail stores are pretty scuzzy to begin with, especially the chain ones.
Censor is BS (Score:3, Insightful)
The parent is the one responsible for communicating to the kids what's appropriate or not. Not the fucking paper label.
The trouble with the ESRB. (Score:5, Insightful)
G - Kid's cartoon
PG - Action movie without much violence
R - Movie with enough violence and/or sex to be a concern for children
Do people know what E, T, M mean? Well, I was reading a review of The Incredibles for Gamecube on Amazon. The angry dad reviewer said he wanted to get the game for his kid, but he was upset that it was "Teen" rated. He thought it was inappropriate for a game based on a G Rated movie (of course, The Incredibles was PG, but never mind.).
It's clear that T, in this case, was meant to indicate a PG rated game. Instead, T means an age group. It is more like the "reccomended for kids 8 and up" notes on toys than a movie rating.
Some parents see the system as:
E = games for kids
T = games for thuggy teenagers
M = X-Rated games that should be banned.
So, of course the ERSB gets no respect. They've failed to create a coherent rating system.
Re:Not a replacement (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:The trouble with the ESRB. (Score:2, Insightful)
Fairly interesting (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Shocked, shocked I am (Score:3, Insightful)
That's all true, but the AO (Adult Only) rating is ridiculous. I totally understand the difference between E (Everyone) and T (Teen), as a 13 years old is slighly more mature than an 8 years old. Same goes for the difference between T (Teen) and M (Mature), since from 13 to 17, one does mature. However, the difference between M (Mature) and AO (Adult Only) is ridiculous. What happens in the magical year between 17 and 18 that makes you eligible for much much more violent/sexual games that you just couldn't handle a year before?