The ESRB don't play games |
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Aaron Ruby, the underground gaming culture's spokesperson, has a score to settle with the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB). The ESRB has been independently applying and enforcing ratings, ad guidelines, and online privacy since 1994. The writer stated in his opinion column that the system applied to rating games should be different from those currently applied to TV and Movies. How do they give out ratings anyway?
They read and watch. After filling out a questionnaire on what the game's about, the game developers submit it with a footage of the most extreme scenes from the game. The three trained raters (not expert game players--check their site, it's true) from the board then hands out the rating based on what they read from the form and see from the vids--this was the reason why Aaron was disappointed with the board.
According to the writer, "I find it alarming that the ESRB does not bother to base its ratings on the entire experience of playing a game, instead relying far too much on submitted clips..." He ends his piece saying that the Truth In Videogame Ratings Act (which we touched on a few days ago) is proof that the rating system has failed.
We see his point here, game developers may influence the rating by submitting footage they want the board to see. What's the alternative then? According to some people in the community, the board might as well play the game. They might not finish it 100% but it will give more info than just reading a piece of paper or watching some vids.
As gamers, we'd like to get know how you feel about the way the ESRB gives its ratings. If you don't agree with it, what would you suggest? If you do, how can it be improved? Feel free to comment below.
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Comments [refresh]
ESRB is pure bull crap if they arnt playing the games. Yhey should atleast play the game for 2 hours befor deciding a rating for it. This is realy disapointing And i want somthing done about it
This will come back to bite him in the ass. Actually playing games gives them an excuse to try and make something extreme happen, thus giving them a reason to rate a game as they see fit.
At least this way, publishers are allowed to dictate what they see.
i honestly have no idea how the movie and TV ratings work...
i mean Nintendo and Sony both have a huge marekt of kids so would they get a more Network TV rating?
Xbox and PC seem to go after the older crowd so do they get away with more like basic cable?
(or should i say Sony is Basic Cable and Microsoft has the HBOs while Nintendo is Network TV)
anyways,i think even 48 hours is enough time to spend with a game,the game companies should still send a video package but anyone just looking for a blood and violence run won't spend alot of time on a game.
At the biggest gaming expos in 2005 and 2006, Sony has said this phrase so many times. âNext-gen war doesn't start until we say it does.â Most people are deceived by this promotional slogan but not me; the true meaning behind this phrase (code) is the following. âNext-gen war (next World War which is the 3rd) doesn't start until we say it does (until we pull the trigger).â I have many evidences of this. Hundreds of thousands of Sony made batteries for Dell laptop computers were recently recalled because they can potentially explode in rare circumstances. This is not just about some problematic or malfunctioning batteries among millions; this is foreshadowing which indicates what Sony is capable of and planning of. This is a thought-provoking piece of writing and not written for everyone. If you couldn't take it so far, stop reading. As you read on through the comment, you will notice the frequent usages of such words: next-gen war, current-gen, launching; these words have more meanings than just the literal expressions.
Decades ago, Japan was hit by, not just one but 2 nuclear bombs which were âlaunchedâ by the US! Japanese may look friendly on the screens, but they are constantly imagining of revenge on the US since 1940s. Sony (which is a synonym of Japan) will âlaunchâ 400,000 PS3 units only in North America and most of them will be touched down in the states due to the fact that a lot more people live in them (CAN: 20m, the US: 200m). Do you just think that Sony is only âlaunchingâ most PS3s which will exist on the planet in mid Nov of 2006 because they canât produce enough number of PS3s to accomplish the worldwide launch like Sony tells us? No. Sony is trying to wipe out the US (details below)! Am I the only one who lives in North America and foresaw the future of this land and the true intention and goal of Sony and Japan as a whole?
Why do you think PS3 weighs in 5Kg and X360 only weighs in 2.5Kg when Sony has the skills to produce very light and slim console called PS2 which was a lot smaller and lighter than Xbox [this is Evidence-1]? Letâs say Sony has concealed small nuke bombs inside all the âPS3 display consolesâ they put in the US retail stores, and all of these PS3s can be detonated at once. Canât you see what the world map will look like in 2007? [Evidence-2 follows] Sony stated that theyâre sure theyâll win this so-called next-gen war. Simple, after detonating thousands of PS3 display consoles in the US, most of the Wiis and Xbox 360s (along with Nintendo DS and Zune) will be blown away just like millions of population here! [Evidence-3 follows] Sony said that they will âstrategicallyâ place thousands of PS3-display-units in the US; locations like malls, retail stores, and many other importance places. Strategically here means that they can effectively erase all those important cities in the US with least number of nuke bombs.
Let me forecast the future if Sony and Japan succeed in their plans. Japan tried to take over the whole world 70 years ago (leopards canât change their spots), and we canât say that they will not try their ambition of world domination again (they already quite succeeded in this in terms of economy). 10 years after Japan winning the World War III, Japanese will become like English nowadays (the official world language). Itâll be so difficult to learn Japanese since the roots of Japanese and English are totally different from each other! Letâs take another example. Nowadays we play shooter games which are designed based on World War II which happened 70 years ago. When your grandchildren become 15 or so, thereâll be âPlayStation 9â, âCall of Duty 9â and âDay of Defeat 9â, which are all about the World War III between world-dominating Japan and the collapsing US. The main protagonists which will be featured in Half Life 9 and Halo 9 will be named, âKen Kutarakiâ and âPhil Harrisonâ respectively - not (110 years old) Gordon Freeman and Spartan Master Chief.
#3 : You've been waitng so long to say that havn't you.
it's not like I'm a teenager, I can buy the games I want. I suppose for kids it's better to put the ESBR rating exactly the same as for movies, what's the differance anyway? you have control? yeah and final destination? anyway, the big horror movies like "the saw" are what, 16 years old+ ? but playing GTA is more violent then watching the saw? WTF
Impro I hope you're joking...because you know that everything that's imported is checked right? That means if they tried to do any of that stuff it wouldn't work. Radiation meters would go beserk near one of em...and bluray is what makes it so big and heavy...
Back on topic: ESRB has the worst rating systems. They tell nothing about the game- what does "mature" mean exactly? Is it mature enough for a 12 yr old? 5 yr old? "Mature" is a misnomer anyways: how many TRULY mature people want to go shoot someone in the head or bash someone in with a baseball bat (and I mean for fun not in anger).
Even the "teen" rating is bad. Does that mean it's like PG-13? Not necessarily. Look at SSBM - T rating for CARTOON VIOLENCE...
ESRB is pure crap. They have to change the ratings because things are found out later. If they had played the games and the publishers told them about it (like they should) then we would get the proper ratings (once named correctly for content and not by age).
In other words, we need some true gamers/designers and what not working for them who have been trained to play stuff. Then they can submit everything to the board for review, along with what the publishers give. This will be much more effective in rating a game.
I think that america is being really stupid when it comes to how entertainment in general is being rated. The only reason why the ratings even started is because some retarded kids decided to act out a violent scene. If you are too stupid to realize that you are playing a video game and what you do in the video games is not right(like shooting someone), then you shouldn't be playing video games at all. I mean who are we to blame here?! Parents or Video Games?! Its the parents fault for buying their children "violent" video games. But then that leads to this topic, is the ESRB rating the video games right?! Well, I believe that the ESRB should play the video games before they rate them. I may be a bit time consuming, but if it makes america happy then why not. I would hate to see stricter video game laws/rules just because the ESRB was too lazy to do anything about this issue.
It's better to let them just look at the worst scenes from a game.
If they play the game they may want to sympathize with the violence, they may allow things they wouldn't.
Just watching a few scenes works for shock value, the person watching knows not the reason for the severed heads, just that they are there. the ratings are more strict.
This is a good thing because there are people in the government who are waiting for the ESRB to make one mistake. They are much more likely to complain about a game getting a rating that is too low than they are a game who's rating is too high.
It must have been a slow week for this guy. I'll give him credit he's managed to stir people up over a non-news story.
this is rediculous, we as gamers know what is going on in games, if some 50 year old douchebag who doesn't play the game puts a rating on a game to me its the same things as MJ playing baseball, it doesn't really work. they might as well have some real gamer, an experienced gamer do this, and i'm 100% sure they would have to pay him A LOT LESS than what those overeducated derelicts get. I dunno i'm just so frustrated when people pretend to do their job and then it turns out they have no f*****g clue what their doing. I really hope this offends those 3 ESRB's guys.
I questioned the rating system when I bought Dead or Alive 4 and Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter for XBOX 360. Ghost Recon, a game in which you kill lots of people was rated teen. DOA4 was rated mature. Why? Mild sexual content? At least the hotties in DOA don't kill each other and there is no blood or shooting. Is the ESRB encouraging violent behavior in a war situation? Is this some kind of conspiracy to convince people war is o.k? I like both games but the ratings are f*cked up big time.
Lol imkro is a fu*kin nerd. Go crawl back into your hole.
Anyway, yeah, ESRB is fu*kin stupid. Big whoop, wanna fight about it?
do you seriously think the ESRB has time to sit down a couple hours and play all of the video games they receive? really what have they done wrong if a game is graphic they give it a M rating. if they developers dont send them everything it gets recalled. they do what they can they are only human.
" If you are too stupid to realize that you are playing a video game and what you do in the video games is not right(like shooting someone), then you shouldn't be playing video games at all."
that is the reason they ESRB was started in the first place, because kids ARE NOT smart enough to say "hey i wanna steal a car maybe i should stop playing video games"
look at Oblivion,how come a PG-13 movie can have unrated content added when they release the DVD yet the movie keeps the same rating while Oblivion gets a M rating,even on the 360 where you can't mod it.
Hmm......so, how many games that have been rated teen have really deserved an M rating? Maybe a few M rated games could have gotten away with a T rating, but if there's any doubt, you should go the conservative route. The ratings are fine, the problem comes when parents are uninformed as to the subject matter and gameplay of the game their child is playing. If gamers rated the games, then games like Grand Theft Auto would be given lower ratings so more kids can play them. Being a gamer myself, I wouldn't want that. I hate when I see kids going into game stores and buying games they have no business playing. So, in conclusion, I support the ESRB and think everyone who complains that they don't play games should keep their yaps shut.
Um, I cant say the US is much better.... We have been practicing subtle imperalistic practices since the Magna Carta(or what ever it was called) that banned imperialist take overs of underdeveloped countries to expand ones territories. Repettitivly, we have gone over seas to 'help' underdeveloped countries take on a more 'civilized govermental standing' which so happens to mirror our own. Our aid to other countries and rebuilding their governments is an excellent camoflague to the truth, for the ignorant US civilian at least. World war 3 has been started by the US shortly after WWII, Japan might pull it out of the placid waters, but we started it. God bless america and its pacifist upbringing that has led to such sneaky political imperialistic practices.
this is Bs ***** ersb what od they know they should play it how can they figure out if a game is M by juts looking at it
this is Bs ***** ersb what od they know they should play it how can they figure out if a game is M by juts looking at it
Most of you commentors are idiots. So far, the ESRB has been doing a damn fine job of rating games. They are NOT government controlled. The fact that you think they should play every single game is crazy. They don't have the time for that. The reason the current system works is because publishers know their reputation will suffer if they submit false info the ESRB. Because of that, they do it truthfully.
The only games that really broke this were GTA:SA (and Take Two suffered the consequences) and Oblivion (which was correctly labelled, but the ESRB just went with the idiot poloticians).
The ESRB system works. It has very good content discriptors. What does a T rating mean? How about looking at the little box that says EXACTLY why the game received the T rating? The only game that's kind of weird is SSBM but that's because they never had an E10 rating back then. If they got it re-rated, it would receive an E10.
The ESRB is doing a fine job. The fact that they don't actually play the games is old news. The fact that they work well like this is old news as well.
Somebody give the person above me the Dumba$$ of the Fu*kin Year Award, he/she/it deserves it. You're a million times worse than the people who say "PS3 FTW!!!".
Don't get me wrong, I love my 360, but PlayStation still has a huuuuge fanbase in America, and it WILL take 1st or 2nd. If you have a decent job (ie $50,000+ a year) $600 isn't much. If you can afford $800+ plus for a 360 (after games and whatnot) you can afford $1000+ for a PS3.
And if you really think the ESRB has the time to play all the games they rate, you're dumber than "Kelly".
I find it generally counter-productive at this point to jump the ESRB's case in our current political climate. Our government is trying to wrench control of the rating system from them, and you think it's a pain in the ass NOW, wait until the USGov gets involved.
Yes, ESRB are asshats, but I would much rather have ineffective asshats on the job than overly effective asshats. Good job, horrible timing.
Uhm, I don't recall a time when the ESRB has done a terrible job.
DOA4 got an M becaues of it's OVERLY sexual thematics.
Ghost Recon got a T because it's violence wasn't to the point of realism.
BTW, why are you homos complaining about the ESRB anyway? What, are you too young to buy DOA, but wanted to see jiggling polygon boobies?
And imkro, Jesus, who do you think's gonna READ THAT SH1T? Damn man.
Thereâre so many idiotic kids and 35 year old adults (who never have bought anything more expensive than a $500 computer part) simply never understand how much a PS3 is worth for what it offers. This is a thought-provoking piece of writing and not written for everyone. If you couldn't take it so far, stop reading.
My crazy and stupid friend (more of an acquaintance) recently bought (just 2 months ago) a CPU for $840 (all prices in this comment are Canadian dollars and include 14% taxes). This CPU Iâm talking about is âAMD Athlon 64 4800â. I researched some prices for myself after some talk with this friend. âAMD Athlon 64 3800â is still very powerful for PC. I have researched a benchmark test which includes the results of both CPUs. 4800 version is one of the best for AMD and this 4800 is about 1.2 times better than 3800 in terms of total performance (only x1.2). However 4800 costs $840 and 3800 costs $400. For those of you who are weak in math, Iâll do the calculation. 4800 is only 1.2 times more powerful but this better version is 2.2 times more expensive.
Sony and MS both released every single detail of hardware specifications for their consoles at E3 2006. Those educated and highly achieved people called industry professionals made final report on this issue (Iâll not say the long hardware specs here to teach you some knowledge; I donât waste my time for such things kids). The total performance of PS3 is about 2.5 to 3.0 times more powerful and greater than the total performance of X360 (This is a fact, just like 1 and 1 equals 2). If this is the PC market then the X360 consoleâs price must be about $50 because PS3 is $770.
ESRB must play the actual games, period; the end of debate, now go to bed all of you. I find that ESRB must play before giving out ratings. Game reviewers (GameSpot or IGN) must play at least certain hours per one game (6 & 4 hours respectively; itâs all written in the guidelines) before giving out any scores; if ESRB organization increases the current size of their office then they can do things just like GameSpot or IGN.
By the way, the reasons why I say ESRB must play games are the followings. When I actually played FEAR on my PC it was like 5 times scarier than just watching HD video footages which I downloaded. My point is actually the following. I bought FEAR as soon as it was released and found out that that initial retail version was full of bugs and crashed a lot especially during multi-player. The fact that the game frequently crashed was very scary to me! Even scarier than the gore and blood in the game! I was so scared all the time while playing FEAR online, especially I was having very good score (killing score). If ESRB only watch and donât play, theyâll not know any of these.
I also bought Call of Duty 2 for PC as soon as it was released. My CPU is dual core and CoD2 couldnât support dual core CPUs. This simply means that the game only uses one core to play. This fact was very scary to me because I havenât had very good frame-rate while playing it (They released patch so new versions can use both cores; however the total performance was increased by mere 110% not 200% because the game was originally made for single core only).
Shut the F_ck up NOW about your stupid elitism. OH MY F_CKING GOD you annoy the hell out of me.
Claim of arrogance is arrogance in itself. Something to think about, imkro.
And oh yeah, I forgot to mention, if you couldn't understand me thus far, then stop reading. How about that for a little salt in the wound, huh?