Should the ESRB introduce a T15+ rating?

[themistermanguy]

In 2005, the ESRB introduced the E10+ rating. A new classification for games that were too violent or crude for the standard E rating, but not mature enough to be rated T. Donkey Kong Jungle Beat was the first game to get this new rating. These days however, hardly anything gets a regular E rating aside from puzzle games, sports or the occasional Mario game. It's either E10+, T, or the sought after M rating. At the same time though, we've also seen a rise in Teen rated games that really push the envelope of what the rating can get away with, veering into M territory on more than one occasion.

Not that I think they should, but do you feel the ESRB should or will introduce a "T15+" rating for Teens 15+? Titles too violent or questionable for a regular T rating, but not violent or controversial enough for an M?

 

[Saelune]

The ESRB is so pointless at this point.

Parents who don't pay attention to ratings aren't going to be inclined to start after the ESRB rating system gets MORE complex, and online purchases give zero fucks about who is buying their games.

 

[Xprimentyl]

Yeah? no. Kids these days grow up way too quickly for finer distinctions on what is and is not age appropriate. When you?ve got a 14-year-old fixing mom?s computer, it?s clear the student has become the teacher in some significant areas, and with that comes due certain levels of respect and dignity, i.e.: thanks for fixing my $1,000 PC, but you can?t play that game because it has the word ?fuck? in it?

I?m not saying throw our hands up and start letting kids into the strip club, but in the age of the Internet, trying to filter what media kids have access to is a bit like playing whack-a-mole whilst blindfolded with no mallet. I?ve no issue with the current ESRB (as Saelune said, it?s largely defunct as it is,) but the way things are going, I think we?re better served encouraging them to be mature about the games they ingest, recognize them as entertainment and nothing more. It?s an old adage but it?s true: the forbidden fruit is always the sweetest. Telling a 14yo they can?t play a game only serves to ensure they WILL play that game: at a buddy?s house, he?ll watch YouTube videos, one way or another, he?s going to experience that game, and all new regulations would serve to do is to criminalize largely innocuous entertainment.

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

The ESRB was always a pointless gimmick to keep the Christian conservative off gaming's back. I was never denied buying an M rated game as a kid, and these days those labels are given out a little fast and loose.

 

[Abomination]

The less ratings the better - it is a system designed to placate idiots. The more ratings the system has, the harder it is to understand. The harder it is the understand, the less placated the idiots will be.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

No, and while we're on the subject they should get rid of that E10+ rating too.

 

[totheendofsin]

What they need to do is drop E10+ and AO, neither serves a clear purpose.

 

[sXeth]

The whole ESRB thing in general is kind of dumb. At most they should just take the content labels and stick them on without the rating.

Its literally just a marketing gimmick for publishers at this point. They pick their demographic and mangle up the game as needed to get the label for that demographic. Which I can only imagine becoming worse and more pronounced if it gets even more sectioned.

 

[CaitSeith]

What they need to do is drop E10+ and AO, neither serves a clear purpose.

AO keeps porn games out of retail stores. So, I agree. They need to get rid of it!

 

[Canadamus Prime]

The whole ESRB thing in general is kind of dumb. At most they should just take the content labels and stick them on without the rating.

Its literally just a marketing gimmick for publishers at this point. They pick their demographic and mangle up the game as needed to get the label for that demographic. Which I can only imagine becoming worse and more pronounced if it gets even more sectioned.

You could say the same about the MPAA really.

 

[TheMysteriousGX]

The ESRB should do the bare minimum necessary to prevent the government from taking over ratings for games.

That said, the less SOPA-PIPA BS the ESRB advocates for, the better. MPAA predictability dropped the ball on that one.

 

[Tanis]

Having worked retail...no, just, fucking NO.

It's bad enough having to card people for M rated games...having to deal with a E/T (15+).
No...just fucking...NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

 

[BrawlMan]

NO!