When Mortal Kombat, a series known for it's high levels of blood and violence, including FATALITIES, was released in 1992, there was a public outrage, including many hearings trying to figure out what to do about violence in video games and how it should be regulated, which ultimately led to the ESRB being created.
These hearings ran from late 1992 into 1993, and resulted in an ultimatum for the industry: Form a workable, self-regulated rating system for video games within one year, or prepare for the U.S. Federal government to implement one of its own. Threats of government regulations led to many rating schemes from many different parts of the industry.
Sega created the Videogame Rating Council in 1993 and featured three ratings: General Audiences, MA-13 (Parental Discretion Advised) and MA-17 (Not Appropriate For Minors). Also founded in 1993 was the 3DO Rating System, for games released in North America on the 3DO console. Neither system worked for Congress and both died in 1994. This did create a third rating system, the RSAC(applicable to PC software only), which provided 5 levels of ratings in categories Violence, Nudity-Sex, and Language. When the Playstation debuted in 1995, the ratings system was met again with new challenges, and the RSAC rating system died in 1999.
In July 1994, the IDSA (renamed to the Entertainment Software Association in 2003) presented to Congress its proposal for an industry-controlled rating system; in September of 1994, the Entertainment Software Rating Board was unveiled(ESRB).
ESRB is the non-profit, self-regulatory body that assigns ratings for video games and apps so parents can make informed choices. The ESRB rating system offers guidance about age-appropriateness, content, and interactive elements. As part of its self-regulatory role for the video game industry the ESRB also enforces industry-adopted advertising guidelines and helps ensure responsible web and mobile privacy practices under its Privacy Online program.
In the beginning, the ESRB system included 5 ratings: Early Childhood, Kids to Adults, Teen, Mature and Adults Only. Over the years the system changed to meet the needs of both a growing industry and an expanding gamer demographic. The rating stamps would changed over time to become more visible, and in 1998 the Kids to Adults rating was replaced with an Everyone (E) rating.
Currently, the ESRB uses a two-tiered system with six age-based ratings, complemented by 32 content descriptors that offer details about a game, including everything from crude humor to tobacco references and animated blood.
The ESRB rating system applies to video games and mobile apps whether packaged in a box at retail or directly downloadable to a game system, PC or mobile device. ESRB employs rating processes that are tailored to the specific platform on which the rated product will be accessible.
Before or shortly after a game is released, the ESRB reviews the packaging inside and out to make sure the rating is displayed accurately and in accordance with ESRB requirements.
ESRB "raters," are mostly people with experience in child education, profession or parenthood. After a publisher submits responses to a detailed questionnaire describing a game's content, a minimum of three raters, working independently of one another, will view video footage of all pertinent content, described on the ESRB web site. Raters then recommend ratings and descriptors for game content. ESRB members check the recommendations for a consensus, conduct a "parity exam" and then issue an official rating to the publisher. The publisher can then accept the rating, appeal, or withdraw.
The ESRB rates an average of over 1,000 games per year. Of the over 13,000 games rated by the ESRB since it's beginning, only 23 have received an AO rating, which has been a common complaint among critics, who think that the ESRB is biased and only has the interest of the publishers in mind.
The Family Entertainment Protection Act imposes heavy fines on individuals or businesses found selling M or AO rated games to minors.
- Rating Categories suggest age appropriateness
- Content Descriptors indicate content that may have triggered a particular rating and/or may be of interest or concern
- Interactive Elements inform about interactive aspects of a product, including users' ability to interact, the sharing of users' location with other users, or the fact that personal information may be shared with third parties
 | EARLY CHILDHOOD Content is intended for young children. |
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 | EVERYONE Content is generally suitable for all ages. May contain minimal cartoon, fantasy or mild violence and/or infrequent use of mild language. |
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 | EVERYONE 10+ Content is generally suitable for ages 10 and up. May contain more cartoon, fantasy or mild violence, mild language and/or minimal suggestive themes. |
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 | TEEN Content is generally suitable for ages 13 and up. May contain violence, suggestive themes, crude humor, minimal blood, simulated gambling and/or infrequent use of strong language. |
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 | MATURE Content is generally suitable for ages 17 and up. May contain intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content and/or strong language. |
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 | ADULTS ONLY Content suitable only for adults ages 18 and up. May include prolonged scenes of intense violence, graphic sexual content and/or gambling with real currency. |
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 | RATING PENDING Not yet assigned a final ESRB rating. Appears only in advertising, marketing and promotional materials related to a game that is expected to carry an ESRB rating, and should be replaced by a game's rating once it has been assigned. |
NOTE: Rating Category assignments can also be based upon a game or app's minimum age requirement.
www.esrb.org, www.wikipedia.org, www.escapistmagazine.com
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