M for MATURE.

[Madmitten]

While it is good to see a system already in place and being voluntarily adhered to by most major retailers, there are improvements to made.

The main one improvement I think the ESRB rating system needs is some way to distinguish between excessively violent, thought-provoking games (like Manhunt) and more tame games like the aforementioned Halo.

Both games appear the same if you go down a static check list of in game items: (blood, gore, swearing, loveual references) but I think the general public would agree, assuming they tried both games, that both present vastly different motivations and experiences for the user.

The other improvement would be a more fine-tuned ratings system. I know they think all Americans are too lazy/incompetent/<insert other blanket statement that could apply to any significant part of humanity> but describing how much of each element there is in a game.

For example, I have played games which received an M rating and had "Strong Language" in the warning label, yet ingame you only hear one or two bad terms the whole time. On the other hand, you have games like the GTA series which manages to use the term "forget" as a noun, adjective, adverb and verb all within the space of a minute (and throughout much of the games repeats this). A parent wouldn't realize this by looking at the label.

Send them an email before i do

[Ad Bot]

[Reactor Worker]

Send them an email before i do

According to their reviewing method I should just send them a video full of clips of any objectionable content in my post...which could consist of..

"forget"

It's like trying to explain to a blind man what the Mona Lisa looks like just by stating what colors exist in it or rather, telling him where the artist made a slight smudge or took some liberal interpretation.

[Aphtonites]

I got my first violent game last year, which was GTA - San Andreas, but my sister and dad keep it secret, they know that i can tell the diffrence between games and reality, my mother, on the other hand, think i'll turn into a chav and stab her in the face, according to my father, lolwut.

[Reactor Worker]

I got my first violent game last year, which was GTA - San Andreas, but my sister and dad keep it secret, they know that i can tell the diffrence between games and reality, my mother, on the other hand, think i'll turn into a chav and stab her in the face, according to my father, lolwut.

Interestingly enough, I finally got around to buying San Andreas yesterday off Steam. Not bad so far, bit disappointed by the graphics...but I guess that is because I have played GTA4.

[tommybricksetti]

I hate you loving kids who think tat violence has no effect on you. You're lieing to yourself. There's no way for you to know that every single one of your actions wouldn't have been different if you hadn't played those games. Nowadays, T rated games have a little bit of blood anyway. There's really no need to rush these things. Think about it this way, it may sound like a long time now but you'll have the rest of your life to play M rated games.

On the otherhand, it's due to bad parenting. If I have a kid because my condom popped, and he gives me the opporatunity to let him entertain himself, I can't say that I wouldn't buy him games. My mother didn't let me play T rated games until I was 12. I wasn't allowed to play M rated games until I was 15 (that means the worst ones). I bought my first M rated game at 13 (Mark Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure) because it wasn't too violent and it promoted both Graffitti and gameplay creativity. Another key point is that the change from E-M has to be gradual. If a kid just jumps from one to the other, they won't realize how serious it really is. My final point is that nobody wants a loving squeaker in their game.

[Colten]

I hate you loving kids who think tat violence has no effect on you. You're lieing to yourself. There's no way for you to know that every single one of your actions wouldn't have been different if you hadn't played those games. Nowadays, T rated games have a little bit of blood anyway. There's really no need to rush these things. Think about it this way, it may sound like a long time now but you'll have the rest of your life to play M rated games.

On the otherhand, it's due to bad parenting. If I have a kid because my condom popped, and he gives me the opporatunity to let him entertain himself, I can't say that I wouldn't buy him games. My mother didn't let me play T rated games until I was 12. I wasn't allowed to play M rated games until I was 15 (that means the worst ones). I bought my first M rated game at 13 (Mark Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure) because it wasn't too violent and it promoted both Graffitti and gameplay creativity. Another key point is that the change from E-M has to be gradual. If a kid just jumps from one to the other, they won't realize how serious it really is. My final point is that nobody wants a loving squeaker in their game.

Theres also no way to know that they wouldnt have

[tommybricksetti]

True, but if you've become more violent since you started playing them, that certainly will be taken into consideration.

[Dr.Block]

A bit late to be quoting this, but...

The only thing that I could think of that has changed in me is my crude humor.

Half life 2 was my first M game, bought it when I was 12, and I find that Gman has done wonders for my crude humor.

[Madmitten]

I hate you loving kids who think tat violence has no effect on you. You're lieing to yourself. There's no way for you to know that every single one of your actions wouldn't have been different if you hadn't played those games. Nowadays, T rated games have a little bit of blood anyway. There's really no need to rush these things. Think about it this way, it may sound like a long time now but you'll have the rest of your life to play M rated games.

On the otherhand, it's due to bad parenting. If I have a kid because my condom popped, and he gives me the opporatunity to let him entertain himself, I can't say that I wouldn't buy him games. My mother didn't let me play T rated games until I was 12. I wasn't allowed to play M rated games until I was 15 (that means the worst ones). I bought my first M rated game at 13 (Mark Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure) because it wasn't too violent and it promoted both Graffitti and gameplay creativity. Another key point is that the change from E-M has to be gradual. If a kid just jumps from one to the other, they won't realize how serious it really is. My final point is that nobody wants a loving squeaker in their game.

I play M games behind my parents backs. Even though they know i play halo. they just ignore it

[Jsk2003]

I play M games behind my parents backs. Even though they know i play halo. they just ignore it

WOO BE A REBEL!

[Reactor Worker]

I hate you loving kids who think tat violence has no effect on you. You're lieing to yourself. There's no way for you to know that every single one of your actions wouldn't have been different if you hadn't played those games. Nowadays, T rated games have a little bit of blood anyway. There's really no need to rush these things. Think about it this way, it may sound like a long time now but you'll have the rest of your life to play M rated games.

On the otherhand, it's due to bad parenting. If I have a kid because my condom popped, and he gives me the opporatunity to let him entertain himself, I can't say that I wouldn't buy him games. My mother didn't let me play T rated games until I was 12. I wasn't allowed to play M rated games until I was 15 (that means the worst ones). I bought my first M rated game at 13 (Mark Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure) because it wasn't too violent and it promoted both Graffitti and gameplay creativity. Another key point is that the change from E-M has to be gradual. If a kid just jumps from one to the other, they won't realize how serious it really is. My final point is that nobody wants a loving squeaker in their game.

Yeah, you aren't ready for M rated games. I mean, you can hardly form a coherent sentence, never mind a well thought out paragraph.

Somehow I don't think sheltering kids from violence in the world is at all a reasonable goal.

I'd rather have my kid taking out his frustrations on virtual people than going around school trying to prove something by being a thug.

[Jsk2003]

Exactly <3

[Rughugger]

I'd rather have my kid taking out his frustrations on virtual people than going around school trying to prove something by being a thug.

QFT

It's how I manage my anger and aggression in real life. But as far as buying them games and such like that, I'd be a different kind of parent and actually be there to explain to the kids why it's okay on the game and not okay anywhere else.

Either that or kick their butts so bad in the games they'd rather play games I wouldn't dare touch just so they can have that upper hand once in a blue moon. >:)

[Osak]

I hate you loving kids who think tat violence has no effect on you. You're lieing to yourself. There's no way for you to know that every single one of your actions wouldn't have been different if you hadn't played those games. Nowadays, T rated games have a little bit of blood anyway. There's really no need to rush these things. Think about it this way, it may sound like a long time now but you'll have the rest of your life to play M rated games.

On the otherhand, it's due to bad parenting. If I have a kid because my condom popped, and he gives me the opporatunity to let him entertain himself, I can't say that I wouldn't buy him games. My mother didn't let me play T rated games until I was 12. I wasn't allowed to play M rated games until I was 15 (that means the worst ones). I bought my first M rated game at 13 (Mark Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure) because it wasn't too violent and it promoted both Graffitti and gameplay creativity. Another key point is that the change from E-M has to be gradual. If a kid just jumps from one to the other, they won't realize how serious it really is. My final point is that nobody wants a loving squeaker in their game.

M games do not have a effect on a majority of gamers.

After playing GTA4, am I going to literally hijack my mothers car, shoot people at school, and kidnap females? I've asked my own parents and friends if I were aggressive, and they said that I wasn't.

Just because they have effects on some gamers, doesn't necessarily mean all of them.

[Scorpion1855]

On the other hand, you have games like the GTA series which manages to use the term "forget" as a noun, adjective, adverb and verb all within the space of a minute (and throughout much of the games repeats this).