is the esrb doing a good job

[Cavernio]

Originally Posted by devonin

The system should be preventing you from getting these games under the specified age. Your only ways to do so are to find businesses that don't follow rating rules, or finding those over the minimum age who don't follow the rating rules. In either case, while you can certainly get the game you want, you are choosing to go out of your way to ignore an otherwise functioning system.

As gets brought up so many times in this forum: Simply because a system is abusable doesn't mean that system is inherantly bad.

I have to disagree that the system is supposed to be preventing people under the specified age from getting games. I don't think it should be it's purpose, nor do I think that it is the ESRB's purpose either. It's not illegal, nor should it be, for a person to play a video game with a maturity rating above their age. Ratings aren't there for people to not play games that're above their age, they're there so that mom and dad won't buy their 6 year old Halo when they see it's marked M if they don't want their kids to be exposed to violence. Ages on games are necessary to enforce that minors aren't going to decide for themselves what's OK for them. If your parents are alright with their child playing a violent game, then that's alright, and the parents will buy it. If the parents aren't in-tune enough with their child to notice that their oldest son/daughter has bought their younger one a violent game, there's still someone old enough, and hence mature enough (not always true, I know) to have knowingly given the OK for the kid to play that game.

ESRB ratings are guidelines, and should be treated as such. Laws preventing young people from buying games enforces that children/teens must have adult consent (obviously from people who're going to be looking out for the child's best interest) to buy them. Adult consent that a game's OK from people close to a child is a much better system than overall age restrictions. Seems like the only reason ages are necessary at ALL for rating games is so that the legislation about selling the games is clearly defined.

Fake violence is fake, and unless the person's young or has problems separating reality from fantasy, there's nothing that makes them hurtful. It's not analogous to, say, buying cigarettes for minors, since cigarettes are directly harmful to your health, period. Video games themselves, even violent ones, don't directly hurt people.

[devonin]

If the ESRB has said that the game is intended for those over a certain age only, then barring your parents deciding that you are capable of handling it at your age, then it is functionally a preventative measure rather than a guideline.

It says "Nobody under age X can play this game, unless their parents decide they ought to be able to." So yes, I grant that it is not something that sets a hard and fast law like the drinking age/smoking age etc. You shouldn't be punished for being 14 and playing an AO game, but since stores can be punished for selling such a game to a 14 year old, it seems a little stronger than simply a guideline.

Bear in mind also, that nowhere in this discussion have I said that the ratings are especially accurate, or even especially useful. Education of the parents is vastly more important and helpful when it comes to newer forms of media. The rating system is worthless if the people who make the decisions about acquiring these games are ignorant about the system and how it works.

[nwafc]

ok the ersb sucks so can it be better?

[purebloodtexan]

Originally Posted by nwafc

ok the ersb sucks so can it be better?

If you'd do the following...

-Post intelligently.
-Actually read the thread.

...then you'd notice that we're discussing ways that the ESRB could improve on themselves, the faults of the suggested methods, trying to sort out those faults, and thinking of how to improve the ratings. Will the ESRB take this into consideration? We don't know.

[hewhoishigh]

What is the point of the esrb the only job they have is to stop little kids from buying games like grand theft auto and preventing another columbine or va tech its bs and why is halo 3 getting m for the only violent part is when the blood goes over the wall when you me lee attack someone.

[devonin]

Originally Posted by hewhoishigh

What is the point of the esrb

Originally Posted by hewhoishigh

the only job they have is to stop little kids from buying games like grand theft auto and preventing another columbine or va tech

I think you may have answered your own questions, or do you think that taking steps to prevent such things is bad?

Not that the reason you stated is actually a good one, or something that the ESRB is trying to do.

The ESRB is simply a system to rate the appropriateness of content. It is NO different than the group that generates movie ratings, or decides what television shows need disclaimers for content. It's a regulatory system, not a lawmaking system.

You are completely free to disregard their every ranking, and intake any media that you can get access to. It is painfully easy to see an R (Or X for that matter) rated movie, it is painfully easy to acquire an M rated game. The system is there as a guide, nothing more.

Originally Posted by hewhoishigh

why is halo 3 getting m

Originally Posted by The ESRB

Blood and Gore, Mild Language,Violence

That's why.

Originally Posted by hewhoishigh

the only violent part

So um...a game whose genre is a shooter, whose premise involves you killing massive numbers of enemies...it only has the one violent part? Yes...I see.

[zippaduder50000]

I learned at an early age that some individuals are just more mature than others, and I was one of them. I realize that the ESRB is a guide, but being an avid gamer myself, I think it just needs to die. Some people just take it way too seriously. Retailors should be able to sell any kind of game to any child of any age. The ESRB is a thorn in the side of capitalism and free market.

I remember reading an article from Playstation magazine over a year ago on how the ESRB operates. They pick people from different ages and backgrounds, that don't play video games, and have them watch trailers, gameplay footage, etc. In most cases, the video game publisher has to send in the "most extreme" content to be rated. Or else.

If a child wants an M rated game, they're going to do anything in their power to get it. The obvious method is to get parental consent and have their parents buy it for them. I hope my generation does not have this problem. Children are going to grow into adults and will learn all the bad words and such anyway, so why make such a big fuss about "violence in videogames" corrupting their minds?

[MixMasterLar]

The ESRB is a thorn in the side of capitalism and free market

\

Your kidding right? almost every shop down here will sell you any game without an ID.

If a child wants an M rated game, they're going to do anything in their power to get it. The obvious method is to get parental consent and have their parents buy it for them. I hope my generation does not have this problem. Children are going to grow into adults and will learn all the bad words and such anyway, so why make such a big fuss about "violence in videogames" corrupting their minds?

Here's the reasoning:

Start off with good, ripe apple, it gets old and rots but it takes a long time and last alot longer
or
Start with rotting apple, it gets worse and worse...

If a 4 year old thinks that the F word is ok in your normal "How's the weather" talks, at age 30 how will he act?

I learned at an early age that some individuals are just more mature than others, and I was one of them

No, you learned that you could stand blood, gore, swearing, so on at an early age. I dont call being able to "stand it" being "mature"

[shade11]

In my opinion, it seems more like one step closer to "Big Brother." They don't seem to do a good job at rating games. I have this game called "Frankenstein: Through the Eyes of the Monster" which was rated as K-A, though after playing it, I'd say it should have been given another rating. It wasn't until recently I've seen that they changed the rating to T.

[hayatewillown]

Originally Posted by Squeek

Halo deserves an M rating. Simple. Using guns to kill things (other than for sport in games like Deer Hunter) = M rating. Even if your subjective experience says you're OK to play it at 13, the objective view is that it's not OK for most 16- children.

I applaud the ESRB for putting up with all the idiocy in this country and still maintaining a level of professionalism in their ratings.

Ok, I'll go against this right here.

Republic Commando, and other games as such, uses guns to kill things, yet they get a rated T?

Halo, Halo 2, and Halo 3 deserve a rating of TEEN, For mild use of language, Blood, and Violence.

Oh, and don't forget, JOHNSON MAY SMOKE ONLY ONE CIGAR.

[monkeybomb45]

It's not just ESRB, MPAA does it too.
Not just games, but movies also, are really cutting back on requirements for T or M games or R or NC-17 movies. This world is just going out of control and we all know it.

[purebloodtexan]

Was this really necessary?

[monkeybomb45]

Originally Posted by purebloodtexan

Was this really necessary?

If you think threads are so pointless, don't post in them.

[purebloodtexan]

Originally Posted by monkeybomb45

If you think threads are so pointless, don't post in them.

I'm talking about your bump. If you even bothered to read the thread, you'd notice that I posted in it.