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I don’t allow video games with an ESRB rating of M into my home.
The ESRB ratings gude says that “(t)itles rated M (Mature) have content that may be suitable for persons ages 17 and older. Titles in this category may contain intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content and/or strong language.”
No thanks. I as an adult generally choose not expose myself to such things. Why would I allow my 12-, 10- and 7-year-olds such exposure?
Recently a friend of Cool Breeze wanted him to get a video game with a rating of T-M. He knows my rule, but he brought this “T-M” game to the house to play.
“What does that mean?” I asked.
“Oh, you can adjust the settings to make it one or the other,” friend said. It didn’t sound right to me.
I could find nothing online explaining this kind of rating, so I sent an email to the ESRB, and was pleasantly surprised to get a response in less than a week. Here was the reply:
“(W)hat you describe is a compilation rating icon, which will usually appear on hardware and compilation video game packaging. For example, a single package may contain a Mature-rated game and, perhaps as a bonus, a copy of an earlier installment of the game which carries a Teen rating. In such an instance the product packaging would display a compilation T-M rating icon like that which appears on the game about which you inquired.”
Mystery solved. Sorry friend.
Related Articles
- Know What’s in the Video Game (education.com)
- ESRB replaces people with computers in rating downloadable games (news.consumerreports.org)
And now, the ESRB is thinking about automating the rating process: http://yhoo.it/f6hPot
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