ESRB at it's worst...

[Kadoodle]

Everyone knows that the ESRB is either composed of 70 year old conservatives or overly worried mothers. Every so often; in fact, quite frequently, games are given an unfair rating. Games like Mw2, which was lacking dismemberment/gore/sexual themes/heavy swearing/etc.

This thread is for you guys to post as many examples of ESRB stupidity as possible.

Happy ranting!

 

[CheckD3]

There was some blood, and I do remember language

I always found it interesting that Super Smash Bros Melee was rated T for Comic mischief and fantasy violence, but a game like Evolution Worlds (a JRPG for the GC) was E for Comic mischief, brief language and violence.

I feel like only have a few ratings hurts the game industry, as people see Ts and Ms so much that it doesn't phase them. I think a few more ratings need to be added in. Because there are games that fall between T and M, like Halo, that aren't for kids, but not so horrible as to condemn then straight up or whatnot. They lack more ratings, that's the problem, and they round up on the side of cation.

 

[mParadox]

Correction. MW2 had violence. Doesn't matter if there was blood or not. True it should have a 15+ rating or something but you cannot ignore violence.

 

[Pandalisk]

....what?

MW2 featured tons of scenes that made it deserving of its rating, being burned alive is a fine example, impaling a mans eye with a knife is another. EDIT: ah yes, and the mowing down of Civilians in an airport, Ho Ho Ho, how could i forget that scene of sunshine and rainbows?

You want a proper example for the ESRB's occasional fuck ups? Borderlands, but even that has a man being killed and spining upside down from his ceiling fan so even then i can see why it gained its 18 rating. I have no problem with the ESRB, its a fine rating system under pressure from a cultural enviroment that has yet to accept gaming totally as simply entertainment.

i would rather the ESRB come down hard on the ratings than allow little timmy to buy a violent game that brings yet more flak on the gaming industry because the violent video game was a 15 instead of an 18.

 

[Vampire cat]

Mass Effect... You'll see more adult content in a childrens book.

 

[Bravo315]

Call Of Duty: WAW - Graphic dismemberment physics, scenes of bloody torture, "FUCK" shouted alot - rated 15
Call Of Duty: MW2 - None of the above, just people dying, minimal swearing such as "Shit" - rated 18

Finest example. Also:

MotorstormR - Racing, flipping the finger and ramming cars offroad - rated 16
Just Cause 2 - Shooting people, swearing in other languages - rated 15

British PEGI here.

 

[Irridium]

They gave Halo 2 on the PC a "sexual content/partial nudity" warning.

Why did they give it this warning? Because of Cortana. Yes, that is the only reason. At least for the partial nudity part. The sexual content may be referencing the part of the multiplayer where you hump corpses.

 

[JeanLuc761]

Mass Effect... You'll see more adult content in a childrens book.

I would think it was all the combat and mature story themes that pushed it to an M-rating.

Anyways, I don't understand the OP here. The ESRB is the single most successful ratings system out there, and I can think of maybe a handful of games that were rated harsher than they deserved. Reading the detailed descriptions for each game, it's blatantly obvious to me that the ESRB knows what the hell its talking about and is staffed by people who actually give a damn.

 

[Nazz3]

You're worried about ESBR?

Just look at PEGI, nowadays nearly every game with killing gets an 18 rating. AC, Black Ops, Vanquish, MoH, Mass Effect 2, Heavy Rain, Just Cause 2 etc.

 

[feeback06]

Other then being able to have sex with others. I can't really understand why Fable 3 is rated M.

 

[Double A]

Call Of Duty: WAW - Graphic dismemberment physics, scenes of bloody torture, "FUCK" shouted alot - rated 15
Call Of Duty: MW2 - None of the above, just people dying, minimal swearing such as "Shit" - rated 18

Finest example. Also:

MotorstormR - Racing, flipping the finger and ramming cars offroad - rated 16
Just Cause 2 - Shooting people, swearing in other languages - rated 15

British PEGI here.

Most adults consider shit to be slightly less bad than fuck, not a lot less. They should both be M.

ESRB is doing a fine job in my opinion.

 

[TehIrishSoap]

Heavy Rain- BBFC 15 Despite The Fact The Games Plot Concerns A Drug Addict, A Child Killer, And A Prositute, And Moderate Swearing, And Depending On Your Playthrough, You See A Womans You-Know-What 3 Seperate Times.... WTF?

 

[KEM10]

Anyways, I don't understand the OP here. The ESRB is the single most successful ratings system out there, and I can think of maybe a handful of games that were rated harsher than they deserved. Reading the detailed descriptions for each game, it's blatantly obvious to me that the ESRB knows what the hell its talking about and is staffed by people who actually give a damn.

I agree 100%. Besides, if it wasn't for the ESRB there would have been no pause enacting the CA game law.

 

[Scarnix]

Whell if anyone ever played "Soul nomad" they gave it a teen or in Europe 12+ age rating but if you chose the demon path it contained homicide slaughter slavery murder and other horrible stuff that is sure to traumatize a small kid of 12.

 

[DeadlyYellow]

Anyways, I don't understand the OP here. The ESRB is the single most successful ratings system out there, and I can think of maybe a handful of games that were rated harsher than they deserved. Reading the detailed descriptions for each game, it's blatantly obvious to me that the ESRB knows what the hell its talking about and is staffed by people who actually give a damn.

I'm with you. It is rather difficult given the subjection of one reviewer to the next.

Besides, the only people I ever see complain about it are the younglings.

 

[Jonluw]

I can't remember any stupidity, but I'll pop in to mention the Dante's inferno 'demon penis'.

 

[XzarTheMad]

What's wrong with informing parents of a game's content? I for one support the ESRB. Being that I'm older than 18, I couldn't give two shits what they rate games. Not like they keep them from coming out.

 

[D Moness]

You're worried about ESBR?

Just look at PEGI, nowadays nearly every game with killing gets an 18 rating. AC, Black Ops, Vanquish, MoH, Mass Effect 2, Heavy Rain, Just Cause 2 etc.

Yeah and if it only has skimpy dressed girls it gets a rating of 12+

 

[darth jacen]

Mass Effect... You'll see more adult content in a childrens book.

You are my hero

Mine is the original Halo. It was originally T, but due to the war, was changed to M because soldiers died. I literally shit myself laughing that the fact that murder of humans, let a lone soldiers, upped the rating and has done so to almost all war games to date. Honestly, a game about war having death of soldiers? Really, never would have guessed.

In addition, I believe any game that has less use of the word Fuck than in a R rated film should not be labeled M when teenagers, myself included, swear far more on average than any game I played recently (Black Ops included because every time he said fuck, was match at a poor choke point where I yelled fuck and went back to Counter Strike).

 

[Kadoodle]

Correction. MW2 had violence. Doesn't matter if there was blood or not. True it should have a 15+ rating or something but you cannot ignore violence.

violence in itself does not deserve such a rating. Violence goes on all the time in the world, it is the natural order of the universe. In ratings, violence must be taken into context. Violence in games like GTA, where you are murdering innocents, getting in gangs, and killing police, deserves an M rating. Games like Halo, where you are a soldier fighting aliens...or mw2 where you are a soldier...why should that be put down?

A note on swearing in games. They do it in movies. It's done even more frequently by teens in real life. I know people who never play videogames but already swear at the same frequency. so you tell me: what exactly are they trying to censor and why?