Moderating user-created content can be tricky business. That's exactly why executives from Sony, Microsoft and the ESRB decided to discuss the matter at the recent 2008 MI6 Conference. Fortunately, they managed to come up with a couple of solutions to the problem. Find out what these are in the full article, right after the jump.

What goes on inside the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB)? You'll get a few ideas from the former employee who shared his woes while working with the ESRB. However, the rating board's head honcho was quick on tagging his statements as misleading. More on this after the jump!

Contrary to popular belief, there really aren't enough violent games out there to justify all the flak the video game industry's been getting recently. According to the ratings chart for 2007 released by the ESRB, only 6% of all titles released last year was tagged with a Mature rating. Find out more about this in the full article.

Several influential individuals and groups have already called for the reinstating of the Adults Only rating of Rockstar Games' Manhunt 2 (PS2, Wii and PSP). Now even the senators are on the case. Four US senators sent a letter addressed to ESRB requesting a "thorough review" of the game. Check out the full article for more details.

After ESRB president Patricia Vance released her statement standing by ESRB's decision to re-rate the controversial Manhunt 2 to Mature, California senator Leland Yee had this to ask: "What is ESRB trying to hide?"

Yee recently questioned ESRB's move to grant Rockstar's Manhunt 2 (for Wii, PSP and PS2) its much-desired M rating, suspicious about what he apparently deems as a shady dealing between ESRB and Rockstar.

To be more specific, what upset Yee was that the ratings board refused to disclose the details why they changed their minds and took off Manhunt 2's previous Adults Only rating, letting it slip by with M for Mature.

It should be noted at this point that Vance already explained the reason behind ESRB's secrecy: game content is confidential, especially if the game in question is not yet released. Simply put, ESRB does not have the right to disclose such details.

It looks like the Manhunt 2 controversy just won't die down, at least not yet. With the way things are going, Manhunt 2 may just be the tip of the iceberg, and the attention may soon shift to yet another game. What do gamers think? What do you think? Do hit the comments button below to share your thoughts.



Buy: [Manhunt 2 (PSP)]
Buy: [Manhunt 2 (Wii)]

After Leland Yee and CCFC's (Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood) demand for an explanation why Manhunt 2 was re-rated to Mature - despite the fact that Manhunt 2 was already modified to fit the standards - ESRB now decided to break its silence and released a statement regarding their decision to take off the Adults Only rating from Rockstar's controversial game.

Here's an excerpt from the statement of ESRB's president Patricia Vance:

Upon reviewing the modified version of Manhunt 2, the ESRB assigned a rating of M (Mature 17+) with content descriptors for Intense Violence, Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content and Use of Drugs. This is a very clear and firm warning to parents that the game is in no way intended for children. As always, we urge parents to strongly consider the ESRB rating in their decision about whether a game is appropriate for their children.

Publishers submit game content to the ESRB on a confidential basis. It is simply not our place to reveal specific details about the content we have reviewed, particularly when it involves a product yet to be released...

It is a parent's rightful place to make choices for their own children. The ESRB and console manufacturers provide families with the tools and information to help them do so."

So there you have it, straight from ESRB's Vance herself. She does make a good point in saying that its up to the parents themselves to regulate their children's games, and they are already given sufficient aids to make sure that the kids play with media appropriate for their ages, such as child locks or password protection.

What do you guys think? Do you agree with ESRB's official statement? Hit the comments button below.

Read Vance's entire statement in the Read link!

In an earlier post, we reported that the Entertainment Software Rating Board (d sESRB) "requested" that the Dark Sector trailers be removed from the internet. Destructoid, one of the websites that got curious about ESRB's request, got in touch with ESRB to get further explanation how Dark Sector's trailer - which had an age gate - merited a recall. AO-rated trailers with age gates can be posted on the web, so what did D3 Publisher's video game do to earn the ire of ESRB?

Here is part of the email that Destructoid received, which is one of Patricia Vance's statements handpicked by a press relations personnel in the ESRB:

Since 2005, ARC guidelines have required that trailers for M-rated games on publisher websites be displayed behind an age gate to help restrict viewing to those visitors who are 17 and older.

Then the next paragraph continues with:

The mere presence of an age gate does not permit a publisher to simply put whatever content it wishes into the trailer. All trailers must still conform to ARC's Principles and Guidelines, which prohibit the display of excessively violent content or any content likely to cause serious offense to the average consumer.

The rest of the email is simply an extrapolation of the above statements. What's strange is that the email is not a direct answer to the question why Dark Sector got a trailer recall. We can't help but think that the email response was a bit vague at best.

Destructoid tried to make heads or tails regarding ESRB's statement. They checked out ESRB's guidelines, where it is stated that graphic displays of weapon use as well as gratuitous violence should be avoided, but there is also the disclaimer in the same set guidelines that:

These Guidelines are not intended to restrict or impede creative and/or innovative advertising. Rather, the following areas merely highlight certain types of content that publishers should avoid when creating advertisements.

Sure, Dark Sector did kind of hit the graphic display of weapon use as well as gore, but there are also a number of video game trailers that got away with it. It is also worth mentioning that trailers for AO-rated games are permitted.

If the ESRB won't give any comprehensive reason why it requested Dark Sector's trailers to be removed, this may confuse game developers won't know exactly what's acceptable and what isn't in game trailers as they'll only have a vague set of rules to chew on.

Destructoid is convinced that something strange is going on, and is determined to get concrete answers regarding this issue.

Read the ESRB's entire email in the Full Article.

It was reported a while earlier that the ESRB was conducting a more active crackdown on offensive content in trailers and gameplay movies. And consequently, two gameplay trailers of D3 Publisher and Take-Two Interactive's Dark Sector was pulled out of Game Trailers.

  

A statement by D3 Publisher penned the reason why the two trailers were retracted from the site: the two trailers contained offensive content and have been deemed not safe to distribute, view or download. Although the two trailers were age-gated as required by the ESRB, it was found that the two gameplay movies were rated based on standards set by the Advertising Review Council - a different rating from the ESRB's on games themselves.

"The ESRB has requested that the two Dark Sector gameplay montages be pulled immediately upon receipt of this notice and no longer made available for view by consumers," concluded Take-Two's official statement. GameVideos later made it known that Microsoft also requested that a Gears of War developer walkthrough video be pulled out of their archives last week, after it was found that the media content violated ESRB rules.

Patricia Vance of the ESRB soon sent in their official stand on the matter, stating that the board's regulation of media content was nothing new or spectacular. They have enforced such rules based on the Advertising Review Council Principles and Guidelines since 2005 and will continue to remind and educate the respective parties of the board's rulings.

And they have maintained that trailer ratings cannot come from the game's final rating while it's in development, so the ESRB uses the standards set forth by the Advertising Review Council to rate trailers that obviously speak out for the game. And they pin the responsibility and initiative upon the publisher to make the necessary actions based on the ARC's Principles and Guidelines.

  

It turns that the "horrifically violent video game" being referred to by organization Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC) is indeed Manhunt 2. Yesterday, the group claimed that it will be launching various campaigns to stop the said title from being marketed to children.

According to CCFC Co-founder Dr. Susan Linn, their group just sent a letter to Entertainment Software and Rating Board (ESRB) President Patricia Vance urging her to give Manhunt 2 an "Adults Only" rating. Not only that, the organization even launched a letter-writing campaign encouraging parents and "concerned citizens" to express their concerns to ESRB as well.

If you click on our Read link below, you will be directed to CCFC's petition page for the campaign. You will find there a template letter which you can edit that will be sent to ESRB. To authenticate each letter, the page will be asking you for personal information like address, zip code, and full name. A part of the letter reads,

Please give this unprecedented combination of video game violence and the interactive Wii platform your strongest and most unambiguous rating. Anything rating less than AO will signal ESRB's endorsement for marketing Manhunt 2 to children, and pave the way for future brutally violent games designed for Wii to be targeted to children as well.

Earlier today, we learned that authorities in UK just banned Manhunt 2. However, despite all these, Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive as well as Nintendo itself have yet to issue official statements.

A nation-wide research headed by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) noted that parents are becoming more restrictive when it comes to game selection. In fact, the report showed that 60% of parents with children under 18 do not allow their children to play M (Mature) rated games.

In consistency with the trade industry report by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the report also found that 34% of the parents sampled sometimes restrict their children from playing M-rated games. In addition, it has been reported that nearly 90% of parents across the U.S. are aware that games come with ESRB ratings, while 85% use the ratings regularly when purchasing games.

Around 75% of parents have claimed to also inspect ESRB ratings prior to game selection and purchase, which the report identifies as 10% jump from last year's findings. Patricia Vance, president of the ESRB, commented that the findings of the report were "encouraging," after having promised that the ESRB will do their best to inform parents of the ratings.

"The ratings continue to be a very important, if not the most important tool to help parents make an informed decision, and it's clear that parents are using and relying on them in growing numbers," Vance added. While the results continue to show that the ratings are increasingly being used, there are indications also that more parents are now assertive in the game selection process.

Click on Full Article to find out other findings of the report.