How Video Games Are Rated

I’ve never really taken much notice of video, movie or television ratings. I had a general idea of what the ratings meant but it really wasn’t something I thought about when making purchases or deciding what movie or show I would watch.

Now that I’m a parent those rules have changed. I do pay attention. A babysitter allowed my child to view the new “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” movie with Johnny Depp. This turned out to be a huge mistake. She had nightmares about burning doll heads for weeks. I have to be more careful about what comes into my home and when it is played or viewed for her sake.

I live with a video game freak and he’s not quite paying attention like I am. He’s been playing a game during the evening hours, when my four-year-old is awake, that is full of blood, gore and shootings. I looked at the package and realized the warning is right there but he chose to ignore it. This led me to wonder about the process of rating video games.

Who Is the ESRB?

The ESRB is the Entertainment Software Rating Board. The organization is not a government program. It’s run by the gaming industry and most games are labeled through this program. It’s not required by law for game companies to go through ESRB for a rating but there are many retailers who will not consider putting a game up for sale that has not been labeled. The ESRB can fine a company that does not follow their guidelines and rules.

The Process

When a game developer submits their game to the ESRB they must also submit a detailed questionnaire. This questionnaire must thoroughly describe anything in the game that may be of questionable quality. This includes violence, gore, sexual content, drugs and adult language.

The developer must also include a videotape depicting the basic scenes and plot of the game. The tape should, at the very least, include each scene that may end up being questionable and prompt a rating. Also included with this should be the lyrics to any songs and any dialog that will be heard anywhere in the game. The company must also give hidden codes to the reviewers so they may view bonus materials as well.