If there’s a characteristic common to all of these rating systems, it’s
voluntary compliance. Video games are no exception.
The leading rating system for video games is the ESRB: Entertainment
Software Rating Board. Most video game companies, with only a few rare
exceptions, use and display the ESRB ratings on their games. These ratings can
be very helpful in determining if you or your child should be playing a
particular game.
The ESRB rating is determined by three specially trained raters. These
raters are of various ages and are in no way tied to the computer
industry—outside of the ESRB, that is. Nor are the raters expert gamers, though
they do receive training on how to rate video games.
Companies that wish to have an ESRB rating submit a questionnaire with a
video of actual game footage. The raters then rate the game separately and give
a recommendation. Usually, according to the ESRB, the recommendations agree
with each other, but in the case where a consensus cannot be formed, more
raters are brought in. The ESRB also reserves the right to play a game after
its release and change its rating if needed.
The ESRB rating comes in two parts: the rating symbols and the content
descriptors. Below is a listing of both as they appear on ESRB’s web site.