The ESRB Is A Failure

The Entertainment Software Rating Board saved the industry... but is it hurting it now? Some games aimed at children have historically been dumbed down, low quality products compared to their T- and M-rated counterparts, but why?
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Videos used: • ESRB

[@that_deadeyegamer7920]

My father always used this argument with my mother. "Mario has mature content but you don't see our kids eating mushrooms and killing turtles."

[@Krozbot]

underrated comment

[@that_deadeyegamer7920]

@@Krozbot little did they know I was doing both

[@Thomas-gj9ho]

@@that_deadeyegamer7920 wait... what...

[@mirainikki6665]

Stop killing turtles

[@Thomas-gj9ho]

@@mirainikki6665 I eat turtles

[@Cavejohnson34]

My mother literally said to me that I was only allowed to play GTA SA whenever she was not at home

[@AuntieAliasing]

I don't think I've seen stranger parenting logic honestly

[@CaroFDoom]

@@AuntieAliasing honestly i think that sounds like she accepted that it was going to happen but that she didn't want to be nearby while it happened

[@kenpanderz672]

basically no one actually thinks videogames harm anyone, even children. those who do become memes.

[@anythingfree5769]

@@christianalexander579 Ummm excuse me fuck off

[@septanos]

@@christianalexander579 reason?

[@vaqmnrg1688]

"Force parents to be active participants in their childrens media consumption." Perfect.

[@q-tip4723]

You haven't got the slightest idea how happy I am somebody else said it. While I can understand parents not wanting their kids to play Grand Theft Auto, Hitman, Call of Duty, Battlefield, and other well-known violent video games, I also understand that is mostly a case-by-case basis. Parents need to stop being lazy and be proactive in their lives. My mom was an incredibly strict religious woman that wouldn't let us so much as look at the box art for anything that wasn't below a T-rating, with very few exceptions. One of those was Command and Conquer: Red Alert 2 and the expansion Yuri's Revenge. It wasn't til I was 14 I got to play COD. My mom stopped caring when I turned 15, to some extent. My mom and dad made a deal with my brother and I one year. If we all got straight A's, we'd be able to into the game shop and buy whatever game we wanted, within reason. My choice of game was Splinter Cell: Double Agent. Only reason that got the pass was because my dad knew that I could go through the entire game without killing anyone!

[@geegoflex6762]

@@q-tip4723 Whats the point of that its a game there just programs killing someone is no different from knocking someone out .The only reason i usually wouldnt kill someone is for gameplay reasons and not getting caught or not having a reason to do so.

[@youraveragegamer8832]

No then they'll see the vtuber and hentai stash. (I would die)

[@geegoflex6762]

@@youraveragegamer8832 thats tough well hide it well.

[@crypticbait]

@@q-tip4723 I'm more happy that you said HItman up there with COD and Battlefield

[@Slenderquil]

I think the best way to deal with ratings is to remove the ages. Just list the objectionable content and let the parents decide if it's ok

[@inciucio]

They should also put a "level of violence" or something like that

[@stitchfinger7678]

The ESRB only SUGGESTS numeric ages to correspond with ratings. Its not like PEGI where there's actually a number instead of a letter

[@stitchfinger7678]

@@inciucio That's really suggestive Some people argue things like killing zombies or demons or aliens is automatically less violent that doing it to humans, even if the acts therein are far worse

[@inciucio]

@@stitchfinger7678 True, maybe it's due to the fact that some levels of violence aren't suitable for kids it's because they may not understand and they could do it in real life. (I believe that's one of the main focuses of the ratings) So killing monsters is fine but hurting humans isn't, following this idea.

[@The_Jovian]

@@inciucio generally they do distinguish between cartoon violence and graphic violence but that's pretty binary

[@stepladder3257]

I like my grandpa, he said that video games will never cause violence because a controller will always be far from a gun, he said common sense after saying that to me

[@BrianHopson]

The resident evil 4 chainsaw controller is the closest I can think of to a "violent controller"

[@DanielFerreira-ez8qd]

Zapper 🗿

[@thesand8580]

if he's old enough to at least have experienced WW2, then he probably knows how far it is from guns

[@thatguy3750]

Now thats a good Grandpa

[@assassinonprozac]

I don’t know man that Odyssey gun looks A LOT like my grandfather’s hunting shotgun

[@Cade_The_Squirrel]

My mom looked at the content of the game not the rating, then again my mom is a gamer so she understood games better than most parents

[@zanly5039]

u lucked out lol

[@mobythelion3882]

atleast your better than my gamer mom

[@haseenabadshah5381]

@@mobythelion3882 you're*

[@mobythelion3882]

@@haseenabadshah5381 no it's yuo'er

[@idiot8513]

My mother knew nothing about games and played GTA my entire childhood. She knew it was kinda inappropriate, because when I was buying GTA 5 for my xbox a couple years ago, she was like, isn't that game kinda bad? I said it isnt that bad and i got it.

[@Rowe4900candymachine]

I went to school with someone who's mom wouldn't let him play overwatch when he was legally able to drive a car, but he could play Halo. Her line of reasoning was because you killed people in it.

[@user-gu3nd7si5m]

the fuck kind of inconcistency is that

[@Rowe4900candymachine]

@@user-gu3nd7si5m The type of inconsistency from someone who if they caught you vaping would tell you to instead smoke cigars. Yes, she actually did that too.

[@user-gu3nd7si5m]

@@Rowe4900candymachine the fuck????????

[@AltairBlue]

P a r e n t I n g

[@theauiditor9720]

Cause killing living beings from a different species is more acceptable than killing something from your own species. That's the logic their mother had.

[@ryouhonoo5]

Really good point about the sexual violence/abuse warnings specifically. Those are subject matters that victims of said violence or abuse really do not want to stumble into when playing a game as those scenes can be triggering for their abuse trauma. But simple ‘sexual content’ warnings don’t make any distinction between traumatic depictions and depictions of consensual, normal sex.

[@luthient2605]

@Da gorrilaa but see, no one cares that you don’t care either.

[@DragonWinter36]

@@popefrancis8153 of course you would say that, Pope Francis

[@youraveragegamer8832]

@@popefrancis8153 Sexual abuse should absolutely not be promoted in games, but it deserves a place in them Mr. Francis. Trauma has the potential to tell some of the best stories, and who doesn't love a little revenge plot or seeing the downtrodden protagonist pick themselves up and better themselves? How's that copy of Undertale doing by the way?

[@youraveragegamer8832]

@@popefrancis8153 Bible study should replace Barney and children's television

[@MaaveMaave]

Lmao Pope Francis here to stereotype Christan America. "Sex bad, don't let the children know ANYTHING about sex else it will corrupt their innocent souls"

[@Loice_0]

My parents let me play any game as long as I don't copy the things happening on the game… I am now in a fucking spaceship.

[@KhoaNguyen-rk9dz]

@@Chuked are ya winning, son?

[@sleepy7323]

i am now a half-demon guy going around and taming demons to kill god

[@fokeyt2632]

i am now in some kind of orange armor with a crowbar

[@ang-a-red1907]

My dads say i can play anything but gore/blood

[@ang-a-red1907]

@@Chuked bc they say its too brutal

[@PyroNexus22]

I grew up in Russia. My parents thought (and still do) that all video games are for children. As well as all comics, animation and any movie that has CGI or special effects in it. So, as a kid I played some of the most violent video games ever made.

[@thepeskyone]

Our violent games

[@nimbarius1800]

Soviet or post soviet Russia?

[@jraev5519]

@@nimbarius1800 most likely post

[@carter1575]

Slavic mentality. I grew up in Slovakia and my parents never seen problem with M rated games or Pegi 18. They just automatically assumed that videogames are for children based on “playing” aspect. However they bought me any game I wanted with no problem whatsoever lol. Actually my first game I ever played and finished was Sega game “house of the dead” and my father was that one who show me that.

[@erieriderschillingcorner1595]

i played mass effect since i was 9. My Dad's an gamer too so we play almost the same games. My mom on the other hand. Oh boy. If she would have seen me play ME she wouldn't even bat an eye since she's oblivious. But if she saw atleast 1 scene of somebody beating up someone or something with a lot of blood she would go ballistic. Good thing whenever she saw me play ME it was Mako sections lmao.

[@chikkos932]

Rated M for "Mom, can you buy this for me?"

[@I_literally_dont_know]

@Cristian Llamas yeah

[@user-bv7zo6vd4m]

Lol, I have to use that

[@anxietywave8735]

Games rated for Teens have almost no differences to games for children and adult games aren't really ''adult''. American culture won't allow for a socially accurate game rating system.

[@user-gu3nd7si5m]

super smash bros melee was rated T yet some games have legit blood in them and are rated T as well, weird asf

[@lsswappedcessna]

Boomers and politicians, not American culture as a whole.

[@MegaGyarados]

Not just American culture lol

[@mdswitchy378]

The ESRB WAS MADE TO SHUT PARENTS UP

[@abloodcorpse3318]

@@user-gu3nd7si5m I thought it was brawl not melee?

[@MartyTuro]

Whenever I feel like a failure, I just think of the ESRB. Cheers me up a lot!

[@venangoproductions]

I think of the MPAA

[@myxstery_]

I think of myself. Definitely doesn't change anything, but reminds me I am what I am.

[@haseenabadshah5381]

404 likes,comment not found

[@myxstery_]

@@haseenabadshah5381 error 405; Not Allowed.

[@lacroixmusik9770]

@Peter Griffin i know, its so dumb😂😂😂😂

[@MrFreeman626]

I remember being quite puzzled how Halo games were rated M despite minimal gore and somewhat cartoonish violence, yet Starcraft, Warcraft 3 and Soul Reaver got T ratings despite considerably more prominent gore. Xenosaga I, even with censorship, had aliens cutting people in half with blood flying around and still got rated T. Btw the esrb does have a "Sexual Violence" descriptor but as far as I know the only game that's ever used it is MGSV Ground Zeroes, which unlike Beyond doesn't even have graphic depictions of rape but only audio ones.

[@VexAcer]

Yeah Halo 1 is like T Rated material but is still M for whatever reason. It's more in the realm of fantasy, fighting aliens that have different colored blood come out when you kill them. Swearing is light (IIRC they only say damn or hell). I guess the worst thing gore wise is the red blood when the soldiers die. Funnily enough Halo 5 would actually become T Rated.

[@RemixedVoice]

Think about this. Call of Duty 2 is rated T; and so is Tony Hawk's Pro Skater. Which one do you think is more intense, mature, and has more graphic violence? 🤣

[@scottoleson1997]

Maybe I was really lucky to be allowed to play halo as a kid, but I’m thinking maybe my parents playing Doom growing up knew you’re killing aliens instead of humans so it’s not as realistic? I mostly remember just really really REALLY wanting Simpsons hit n run because I knew it was a GTA clone and I absolutely loved road rage, but never got a chance to play it as a kid. Oh well, I got it now at least.

[@refraggedbean]

the ESRB being inconsistent is another failing of them, and its consistently inconsistent to this day because cyberpunk 2077 released as M, but likely should be AO if you consider how other non porn games got their AO rating, and racing games are all over the place in how they're rated I swear entirely dependent on the mood of the person rating them

[@chad_bro_chill]

I'm pretty sure Halo got the M rating because of the Flood. Zombies, particularly body-horror zombies like the Flood, are always going to be considered worse than humans or aliens or demons. The undead in WC3 are a lot sillier looking (and seen from a bird's eye perspective), so I do at least see why they'd say Halo is more graphic than WC3. Maybe the fact that Halo is an FPS is one of the reasons, because all your other examples are either third person or top-down. Another FPS game that got an M rating for no obvious reason was Perfect Dark, which came out around the same time as Halo.

[@garrettmartin5102]

When you're a kid, you want to be an adult but when you're an adult, you want to be a kid again

[@lebozojamessimp1610]

Very inaccurate

[@jgobea0188]

@@lebozojamessimp1610 don't you want to be a kid? On a good caring family and commodities? Not really having responsibilities? Being a kid is heaven

[@lebozojamessimp1610]

@@jgobea0188 When your a kid you want to be a kid lol.

[@jgobea0188]

@@lebozojamessimp1610 it is normal for kids to want to be adult already because of what they see on the TV or their parents doing, maybe on your case is different

[@tylertass9983]

Lol no way. Being an adult is farrrr better.

[@hayhay2640]

The whole allowing a pushing of gambling on children makes me feel that the esrb will eventually be removed or defunded when this issue becomes more in the public perception

[@Under10Hours]

This video captures the absolute angst I had playing games as a kid and trying to get my parents to let me play Jet Set Radio Future even though it was rated T. I had to make them watch me at my friend's house to get them to let me get an Xbox to play it. Then once the flood gates were open, I got THUG 2. Same rating, couldn't be anything alike. Excellent vid, Kac.

[@V12techboy7]

Remember being 9 in 2015 trying to convince my dad to buy me driver San Francisco

[@GrumpyIan]

I had anger issues as a kid so convincing them to get me World at War was a miracle. I then got BlackOps for Christmas and I still play with those people I've met on BlackOps. Sadly not as much now since we're all in our mid 20s and live across the US from one another. But when we get together on discord we're all friends.

[@luichinplaystation610]

"Cocaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnneeeeeeeeee"

[@bimmer8602]

game was too hard imo. Did you ever pass it?

[@Saved-by-Grace]

Christ, that means you were born in 2006.... way to make an old ass Gen Xer feel even older....

[@uzi_27173]

I was 7

[@eviscer8wendigo243]

Man, I forgot about the Mass Effect news drama. That whole issue was so stupid. It was essentially the more modern version of parents being upset that Prince and heavy metal were a thing.

[@sumvs5992]

When the world wasn't grounded, I went to a Christian youth group every monday, and while they weren't all that strict, even swearing as a teen wasn't allowed. However all ages that attended were allowed play Halo: Combat Evolved when we had a computer night.

[@borkerman]

The consulers have standers

[@kabob0077]

Wait, ALL ages? What was the youngest age group there?

[@sumvs5992]

@@kabob0077 around 7-8. I know, really strange.

[@gagne6928]

Thats how it should be imo

[@awii.neocities]

@@borkerman professionals have standards

[@Bahraini_Carguy]

I actually played GTA Vice City and San Andreas when i was 5-6 years old. I always find it odd how movies with far worse "mature" content in them is considered socially acceptable for everyone to watch but a game with gun usage is immediately a threat to society and "ruining the kids" regardless of the game's target audience or content. I also find the ESRB to be a bit confusing. Why does Mature 17+ and Adult 18+ rated games exists when its only one age in difference? What age does Teen means? 12? 15? 7? Other regional age rating aren't perfect either but at least i can understand PEGI a bit better.

[@nogoat]

I agree with you.

[@refraggedbean]

well the difference is AO is usually meant to represent pornographic content, so its with the age of majority, mature is likely just a year younger because its intended for adults (at least by the ESRB's eyes) but they can't have it ALSO be 18 because AO exists, though in december 2020 it gets worse because Cyberpunk has a lot of content that realistically should make it AO, but its just M, when much less has branded other games as AO or caused them to be modified before release to avoid being AO, so they aren't even consistent, as for teen probably 13+, can't be less than 10 because E10+ exists

[@eddieescobedo9975]

Ever heard of nc-17 rated movies? The esrb ain’t actually that bad and neither is the mpaa or the tv guidelines they’re just working with they system that’s been the way it is for a long time. Tv-Y7 or TV-G is G and E, TV-PG is PG and E10+, TV-14 is PG-13 and T, TV-MA equals to R and M, and ADULT is equivalent to NC-17 and AO. And then there’s also the really kiddy stuff like TV-Y although this stuff is hardly ever used in movies or video games. I mean G is as low as the mpaa goes but there is rated C in video games. Very unpopular though

[@Kacpa2]

mature 17+ is just equivalent of PEGI's 16+

[@scottjs5207]

How do you think shooter sports, I.E paintball, airsoft, gellball, nerf feel? We're constantly underthreat of being band or "increasing violence" in children. Meanwhile Karens can throw a fit at a superstore and no one seems to question whether they're increasing violence in their children. They're just he butt end of a joke... One look at gun laws and you start to question if governments really have our best interests in mind....

[@Wubsy96]

The ineptitude of ESRB is made more (or less) hilarious when you consider that each country's criteria of content restriction differ wildly from each other. Take my country of Pakistan for example. The concept of content restriction exists, but not for the reasons you think. There is still a lingering mindset in every parent that videos games are designed (and should be played) only by children, leading to sights where you see 5 year olds gleefully play GTA and most adults are none the wiser or are just indifferent. In fact, the only video game that I can recall being banned is for Black Ops 2 and ONLY because it was giving Pakistan a bad name. And even then gamers and retailers didn't give a shit, because "its just video games".

[@terry2295]

For me it is USK it sucks

[@cannedbeverage7687]

I live in a different country and here people also don't acknowledge the existence of video game age ratings. When I was little I always thought those ESRB letters were some company logos or decoration or literally anything but an age rating.

[@Frank-qn7de]

>And even then gamers and retailers didn't give a shit, because "its just video games". to be fair it should be like this everytime, everywhere. I fail to understand why people (mostly non-gamers) really think they know about gaming while also thinking that playing a war themed videogame will turn you into a trained killer that only wants to kill for the sake of killing when in reality nothing happens because... well a videogame is just a videogame

[@lmcgregoruk]

@@Frank-qn7de In the UK, we had ELSPA ratings(which were guidelines, not legally binding), and BBFC ratings(which couldn't legally be sold to anyone under said BBFC age rating) BBFC ratings only applied to videogames that had Full Motion Video in them(live-action or pre-rendered), Night Trap/Carmageddon etc. Both replaced by PEGI since 2012.

[@duckph]

In my country we consider ESRB as "de facto" (real in reality, but not in the law), but people can just access games really easily

[@fyzorrkigen]

This is why I'm glad that when I have children, that my gamer instincts will help me choose games for my kids. I won't look at the letter on the box, instead I'll just go by my experience.

[@GudetamaSit]

I'm so happy that the game playing audience is a lot less niche nowadays. Choosing great game experiences for an eventual kid would be so rewarding, and being experienced with games means you wouldn't fall prey to picking out crappy license titles just because your kid likes a certain franchise (as well as knowing generally what might work for an age group)

[@fortheloveofnoise]

@@GudetamaSit but since it is less niche...games for the most part are soulless now

[@inray__]

@@fortheloveofnoise indies exist!

[@jujucc8154]

Ace Attorney Dual Destinies is rated M when there literally is not a difference between it and the other Ace Attorney games (in terms of maturity).

[@MManiaZone]

It's because of the cutscene where Athena's standing in blood. I mean we're talking a series where the first ever cutscene was blood dripping off of a murder weapon where more blood is pooling up next to the victim's head, but yeah Blood's for adults, apparently

[@awii.neocities]

@@MManiaZone lol even if all things that live, bleed.

[@GudetamaSit]

Though I'm sure it's to do with that Athena breakdown mentioned before, it's still weird as other games haven't shied away from blood and have more fanservice.

[@letthebasscannon223]

To be fair, Oblivion being re-rated M was in part due to the fact that they apparently hadn't really considered the level of blood and gore present in the game in their original review (and also because of the nudity thing too)

[@ddd7038]

Good point, but there's probably games out there with stuff like that and is in the "Teen" rating

[@insoporous9978]

@@ddd7038 Yes, there are. Look up The Bard's Tale on PS2. There's a level where you literally wade through blood, there's also constant sex references, violence, more blood, and even a boos that is nothing bot straight-up gore. Rating? Teen. Then look at Driv3r (Driver 3, obviously) and try to explain why that game is anything like the above, or why in the world it has an M rating. The ESRB, at least at the time, never actually played the games they rated, and only had five people working. It's a joke.

[@cacomeat7385]

My parents were really shocked when they saw me interacting with that hanging corpse, cause my copy still had the T rating

[@VexAcer]

@@ddd7038 The T rating is pretty wack because of how broad it is. There'd be games edging on getting an M rating and then games that barely get a T rating for one minor thing. Yet both are considered on the same level.

[@iamacatperson7226]

@@VexAcer there’s actually a video on this by Sovern Gaming on how the line between teen and mature are slowly being blurred heavily

[@turbochargedfilms]

I think I came off lucky on this one, my guardians assumed that game ratings had something to do with difficulty (in fact, my family always pushed me towards military games being an army brat, and I'd constantly refuse because cars>guns)

[@thepeskyone]

Cars

[@krcptvit]

Cars with guns>Guns with wheels Personal opinion

[@thepeskyone]

@@krcptvit everything>only 1 genre

[@spartanipods]

Lately, it seems like a game’s reception has more to do with its difficulty than the ESRB rating. A lot of people joked that Super Mario Odyssey got almost perfect scores because there’s a built-in mode that literally holds your hand through the level

[@lsswappedcessna]

@@thepeskyone Cars AND guns (My personal opinion)

[@primedecanus5301]

I remember in middle school, all the kids were playing halo reach and ODST and my mom wouldn’t let me play anything past E10 because I was only 11. That same year, I was allowed to watch band of brother by myself at home, alone while my family was still at school. (My sibling school got out for summer later in the year). And the reason? Band of Brother was rated NR and halo was rated 17+. So that was interesting logic.

[@BlueTomorrows]

"The ESRB is a failure" The MPAA: "Hold my beer"

[@q-tip4723]

Well, yes but actually no. If I remember correctly, the MPAA is government based, while the ESRB is privately owned.

[@q-tip4723]

@ViskaDrake What did you say?!?!

[@MrTrombonebandgeek]

@@q-tip4723 the mpaa is an American trade association representing the five major film studios of the United States, as well as the video streaming service Netflix. And honestly, the mpaa has all the same problems of the esrb ut worse

[@kishodax2174]

FEAR association:hah. Weaklings

[@haruhisuzumiya6650]

They are both fucking useless 🤣😂

[@1BergerVongSchlauigkeitHer]

I'm glad my parents didn't care, or rather didn't outsource parenting to third parties, as long as I did well in school. If I hadn't started playing Unreal Tournament at 12, I would've missed out on a shitload of fun and friends growing up. Hell, maybe I wouldn't even have the career I've chosen. Meanwhile you look at media ratings and find shit like the only episode of Amazon's "Tales from the Loop" that's rated 18 being the one where two dudes kiss. That's it.

[@angrycanadianguy8749]

Same

[@extranosense9553]

Anita: Battle Angel: Gore and dismemberment, lots of strong profanity. Pg-13 Halo: Appropriate amount of blood, not much, light profanity. M 17+

[@rekius328]

My parents didn't give a shit too about what I played. I played Mortal Kombat, CoD all that stuff and they don't really give a shit lol.

[@soniablanche5672]

My parents never cared either. I've played M rated games since I was 8 years old.

[@extranosense9553]

@@rekius328 daaam

[@ShreN_]

Just look at the EU PEGI rating system, who at the ESRB thought that only 4 ratings would be a good idea for a broad spectrum of games?

[@ketrub]

and it used to be worse with just 3 ratings + AO meanwhile EU doesnt give a shit and just gives 18 to everything with no bans or any dumb shit like that

[@JinteiModding]

@@ketrub pretty much

[@lmcgregoruk]

@@JinteiModding The UK's had 4 videogames "banned", 3 of which were later released(after cuts/edits) with an 18 certificate. Manhunt 2/Carmageddon and The Punisher. The fourth game to be "banned" was "Sex Vixens from Space" which British Customs took it upon themselves to seize and destroy to "protect the youth of today", the youth of today being the youth of 1989.

[@Acidonia150reborn]

PEGI are worse they do not even play the game and just get the devs to do a checklist for content and this cost money so some game skip Europe because of it. Their ratings are inconstant meaning a game on one platform has a Higher rating than on another or the other way around despite the content begin the Exact same on all versions. If a game rated by Pegi has a realistic looking human geting shot with a gun blood or not it auto gets a 16+ so games like Tekken and Soul Calibur get this rating. Punching human like enemys gets it a 12+ even if its a game based on Ninja Turtles or Power Rangers. THe whole Game Corner slot machine Mini game is no longer in any Pokemon title due to PEGI forcing the games to be 12+ if it was left in despitre the fact years before they hadd Virtual Casino games rated 3+.

[@inciucio]

@@Acidonia150reborn I remember when PEGI put a 12 rating on Clubhouse Games: 51 worldwide classics because it has poker even though there isn't any in-game money, you just win the match, so I find it a little inaccurate. But, if your parents aren't stupid, they'll understand if you say what I stated above.

[@obviouslykaleb7998]

“Space boning.” *next sentence* “The series as a whole has little objectionable content.”

[@skurd721]

seems fine to me dawg

[@obviouslykaleb7998]

@@skurd721 I’m having a hard time figuring out whether or not you’re joking, please elaborate

[@skurd721]

no :)

[@skurd721]

I just love it when people get so offended by a weird reply to their comment who am I kidding I do it all the time

[@Thr3leven]

Seems fine to me dawg

[@mr.creeper7802]

Fortnite’s only deaths are disintegration animations, that gets rated teen. Among Us has neck snapping, stabbing, and shooting animations and has dead bodies, that gets E10+. I can’t stop talking about this but I think Among Us is more violent than 🍴.

[@guineapigz6421]

Fortnites dead tho

[@mr.creeper7802]

@@guineapigz6421 This had nothing to do with relevancy, but good point.

[@barkyonyx962]

remember the body mouth split stab? 👀

[@mr.creeper7802]

@@barkyonyx962 forgot to put that in but did not forget about it at all. That’s definitely not disintegration.

[@barkyonyx962]

@@mr.creeper7802 indeed, a tonguE for an eyE

[@bctalicorn809]

My parents were pretty cool about the ESRB ratings, actually. They equated them to movies, and since I was allowed to watch most PG-13 movies as a toddler, they figured Teen games had the same content, and they do, probably even have more in common with PG actually. Now that I think about it, I'd argue a hefty number of Mature games also have more in common with PG-13 than R, and that's where the system starts to fall apart.

[@mcglubski]

It's funny how GTA San Andreas got cancelled by moms everywhere for the sex scene that wasn't even included in the game meanwhile you had shows like Entourage in the same year just rampant with near porn level sex scenes.

[@CharlesVDoktaur]

finally someone talks about these. How could Castle Crashers be rated “Blood and Gore, Cartoon Violence, Crude Humor” and be rated T while Doom 64 had basically the same rating but it was rated M?

[@godofmediocrity7582]

Castle Crashers got re-rated for it’s remaster to an e10 with lower descriptors. The remaster was identical to the original version

[@colapickle643]

@@godofmediocrity7582 here in the uk castle crashers remastered was rated 16. Just like the original game. However it went to a 7 rating

[@MrTrombonebandgeek]

Both come from different eras of gaming and different sensibilities were castle crashers isnt realistic compared to a cod game where as when doom 1 came out, that *was* realistic

[@MayorofHopeville]

Technically the art style was factored in it seems. Castle crashers is way too cartoony and has to go overtime if it wanted an M. Doom is more depicted as "real" so it's fair to call it mature by default. It's like the logic of animation is for kids, but not taken to a stupid extreme and left as, "realism is to be taken more seriously when considering how it affects children's perception of reality."

[@lydierayn]

All i can say is that we need more games like "A Hat in Time". Its artstyle is pretty much universally cute and wellcoming, and can be played by anyone

[@cibby6155]

LMAO that game is rated T now.

[@imagery5425]

@@cibby6155 ?

[@cibby6155]

@@imagery5425 Look it up, and it just reinforces the point the video was making

[@PatheticTV]

Persona games: Japan: Yeah its good for 12+ America: OH MY GOD THATS SO LEWD 18+++

[@dayoki8091]

Lol welcome to asia

[@jgobea0188]

Japan basically rates their games by violence, and persona is a really weak saga violence wise

[@InkfinityOkamix3]

Persona isn’t rated 12+ in Japan. It’s rated 15+ in which 15 is the equivalent to 17 in Japan. Even the movie Battle Royale was rated 15+ in Japan as opposed to R in the US. Also Persona/Megaten seem to be rated M based purely on ideological content, not necessarily violence in the west.

[@dalzy25]

@@InkfinityOkamix3 Every persona game is rated 12+ in Japan except persona 5. Exception is Persona 4 Golden specifically which is rated 15+. Odd considering the OG ps2 release was 12+.

[@GrumpyIan]

I will also like to add that the process to get the game rated is stupid. You just fill out a questionnaire and they give it a rating based off that.

[@q-tip4723]

Honestly, a play through should be mandatory! Period! Then again, most of the people working in the ESRB are probably on the Dean Takahashi skill level of gaming.

[@q-tip4723]

@Eric Lee No. It's called hyperbole. If you paid attention in English class, you'd know how to spot one.

[@GrumpyIan]

@Some characters aren't allowed You would be surprised that most of those don't have an ESRB rating. Go on Steam and you can easily tell if a game has an ESRB rating or not. They don't have to have to do a play through but a 2 - 5 minute video highlighting the most questionable parts would definitely help them make a better call on the game's rating.

[@Mvpolivko]

I remember going to GameStop trying to buy GTA IV and had to bring my mom and the guy had to give her the whole “you’re sure you wanna get this for your 5th grader?” And I had to spend 30 minutes trying to explain how my friends and I just wanted to get to the top of the Empire State Building and parachute off

[@toastymouse8230]

As a neurodivergent person, I really appreciate what you said about the Sims franchise. I remember when my dad would let me play the Sims at his computer and he was utterly baffled at how calm and quiet it made me (this was before my ADHD diagnoses). I have been playing the Sims franchise since I was 4 years old and I *still* get absolutely sucked into playing the games as an adult now! I can remember going over to a friends how when I was 11 and they showed me their My Sims game and I was just disgusted at how simple the game was. They had super strict parents who wouldn’t let them play any games unless they had an E for everyone rating. I’m lucky that I grew up with a lax gamer dad, haha.

[@SiMBol10]

This makes me so very grateful for the level of freedom I had from my mum in terms of what I deemed appropriate for myself. It meant I was playing San Andreas at 12 and really enjoying it

[@nimbarius1800]

All of my games are digitally stored and all except Minecraft are free and I can get free games (tf2 csgo and the likes) without my parents evening knowing or caring lol.

Need for Speed Most Wanted in Europe is rated 3+ which is basically E for Everyone

[@mobythelion3882]

the PEGI system was kinda better

[@mikeshmit1363]

yeah it doesnt have letters just gives an age

@@aromaRR7 05, i think 2012 is 7+

[@cola98765]

@ still, PEGI gave this actually useful step that ESRB didn't.

[@q-tip4723]

@@mobythelion3882 Honestly, it really is. The ESRB is full of incompetence and arrogance.

[@bobdeclor528]

The only issue i have with kids playing mature games is that they may not understand some of the themes and story elements in those games. I see that with myself with movies i saw as a kid versus when I watch them now and so many things went over my head as a child

[@Kaceydotme]

Absolutely, but I think that subtle stuff gets worked into kids media so so often, while stuff that is deemed "not for kids" is only not for kids because they're treated as if they're incapable of understanding it.

[@keiz_]

I’d still rather have the ESRB than the government rating our games and dictating what content isn’t aloud in games, which is almost what happened before the ESRB was formed.

[@Natalietrans]

It still should be critizird as it's better then shit and only shit

[@audiobotguy0357]

I don't think the government would have rated games themselves, they would have outlawed them full on. That was very much their plan in the early 90s.

[@ElyseHorvath]

You most definitely hit the nail on the head with this it served a purpose at first but lost its purpose Also I absolutely love you mention Nuro diversity I’m autistic and sims (as well as my sims I always made bacon themed everything) (for that mater so was Disney’s extreme skate adventure) was definitely a big part of my childhood from sims 2 all the way up to now I’ve alway loved building and creating from making houses of *just* toilets to actually making a family and doing it the “right way” or just building some crazy house and starting over My parents were strict about game ratings I didn’t really play any M rated games till I moved out and bought my very first Xbox (I only had Nintendo growing up) and my first “big boy” game was call of duty WWII mind you I’m 24 😬

[@SuperFlashDriver]

My older siblings from the 90s were able to play M rated games as early as 12 and 14 years old. Mind you my oldest brother was in middle school, while my sister graduated 5th grade and went into 6th grade. So my oldest brother was able to get M and T rated games, while I just stuck with E and E10+ because, well, they were more fun to play with than T or M rated games. The Only T rated game I really enjoyed was Super Smash Bros. Melee and that's it. Even NFS HP2 was E rated. And even then, Halo or First Person Shooter games didn't interest me until the Zombies craze came out. I was always a person that liked doing arcade high scores (Namco Museum and Intellivision games comes to my mind) so seeing games taht have a story or missions to do, meh, it was too much for me as a child and would rather just play or do stuff for fun. I do that still to this very day, although it's slightly different nowadays compared to decades prior. And I'm 27 mind you and stopped buying video game consoles and games for a while until 2020. From there, I moved on to doing PC gaming for the remainder of my life.

[@allergyjelly]

Something else I personally think the ESRB should do is add a 15+ or 16+ of some kind. The gap between T and M is absurd and sometimes it ends up dooming games targeted towards teens to an M rating.

[@FrameLinks-kd1yh]

My parents weren't ever too big on policing the games I played. I think they knew I was able to understand the difference between reality and fiction. How do I know this? They let me watch House and Law and Order S.V.U. with them around the age of 10

[@RoboJay-jq3cu]

My parents always held to the ESRB. I couldn't play E10 until I was 10, couldn't play T until I was Teen, and couldn't play M until I was an adult. I am only now getting back to playing a lot of the games I wanted growing up, like Skyrim, Halo, and The Outer Worlds. And honestly? Most of them are a lot more tame than the fear mongering ever led me to believe.

[@cattycyoutube]

People need to be more aware of the ratings and descriptors for them to actually be more effective.

[@Manglet762]

If only the rating went into more detail as to WHY they have that rating, something they could put on either the back of the box or the Store Page that gives a quick summary...hmmmmmm

[@cattycyoutube]

​@@Manglet762 They could also just do the research themselves. ESRB has the summaries on their websites, it's not that hard to view them. Problem is people are lazy and so they can't even be bothered to read the descriptors.

[@gaminglakitu]

This was a great change of pace for a video! I totally agree with sentiment that the ESRB needs to change it's ways a bit. Talking down to younger kids is really dumb, because little kids wren't dumb, thry just don't know any better. Great job on the video!

[@q-tip4723]

They don't need to change. They need to fuck off into the shadow realm!

[@sethroberts2485]

Kids aren't any dumber than adults, they just lack experience.

[@gaminglakitu]

@@sethroberts2485 Exactly my point

[@MCChubbyUnicorn]

I've had a teacher that thought it was a bad thing that my parents would let me play teen rated games. My parents know exactly what it was that I was playing. It was never content that involved things that didn't need to be regulated. I think that the metroid games were pretty non-violent. Especially the 2D ones I would play every morning before school. ESRB and similar are just a joke these days. In the respect of tv and movies, f*ck them too. Those ratings are also dumb and useless.

[@yotubeification]

I mean the systems aren't totally useless. Just flawed. Some games very much earn a mature rating but others don't quite.

[@rexyhuskins1023]

My mum told when my brother was 2 I couldn't play gran turismo 4 because it was a 3 rating and it would scare him 😂😂😂

[@p_Hak]

I don't blame your mum, that pace car still scares me

[@cesarromero3983]

eCEET MAoRP

[@jonnyrawket8158]

Blockbuster on a Friday with family, man the 8 year old early 2000’s me felt called out.

[@julioblessedsince08]

At this point I forgot the esrb even existed since I just buy all my games digitally.

[@RobotGuy405]

Don't forget how this rating system has conditioned many gamers to completely dismiss a game if it isn't M rated

[@lordeilluminati]

I still think an adaptive rating on a game could be a good idea. The only game I saw doing something similar is Gears 5. It doesnt turn into a teen game miraculously, but many things such as swearing and blood can be turned on or off. Overall this game was very focused on accessibility so even if I dont tend to like shooters that much, I really enjoyed the game.

[@scottoleson1997]

I’ve played through gears 1 and 2 and have 3 but got burnt out on the series. Does it get better or is it just mostly the same?

[@facundoriquelme3731]

@@scottoleson1997 gameplay wise it's the same

[@scottoleson1997]

@@facundoriquelme3731 right but do the characters or multiplayer modes or horde get any better?

[@facundoriquelme3731]

@@scottoleson1997 horde mode its better in my opinion

[@supergoodadvice853]

@@scottoleson1997 It just depends, really. 4 is a good game, but the newest set of Gears games aren't nearly as fun as the first 3. And 5 is an open world game. For some reason.

[@drunksupportcharacter]

Heh, Theres also some backwards logic to this too, my version is gonna be about the PEGI Ratings but the point is still there, Do note though in the UK at least you only get asked for age if it has a BBFC rating.... Or you are like 3 years old without your parents and you buy a 16+ PEGI game o.o Anyway Back just after the PS3 release someones gran obviously said they would buy there grankid a game, he was about 12 and He picked up the game HE WANTED, And it was GT4 ... And his gran says "That games for kids, Its 3+ shouldnt you get something your own age?" I cant remember what dimension i facepalmed in that day, but he did walk out the shop with the game anyway :) Back when Manhunt was released, My dad told me, "I dont care what games you play because I dont see you going out and *Redacted for algorithm* someone" i was 11 when that was released, and my mom would watch me play it, and ask me to "redact" people in certain ways if you are familiar with the game :) and over here most parents are happy to buy their kids GTA, But manhunt was a big nonono. I dont think i have ever been censored by my parents or family in my life actually, i was playing mortal kombat on the megadrive / genesis when learned that i could get my cheeto stained hands on the controller.

[@Sickcrazyneet]

1st off you can say kill on the internet, especially on a fucking and 2nd manhunt is a game about being a guy who kills people for a snuff film director, I'm pretty sure that's way worse than shooting at npcs with an rpg

[@mikaruyami]

The rating system in the UK has always been seen more of a general guideline than an rule for media. Only really being there so retailer's can cover their ass. This is why a parent is required to be present when someone underage is getting a game/movie as it puts responsibility onto the parents and the only parents that get upset with these sort of media are the one that can't even be arsed to actually parent.

[@q-tip4723]

My mom was the same way, but gave up when I turned 16. At that point, the first M-Rated game I played was Splinter Cell: Double Agent. My dad understood to some extent my mom was being unreasonable and knew that the ESRB were incredibly stupid. I have promised myself to never do what my mom did to me.

[@Spooks_FGC]

I just got a job and bought my own games. Got more m rated games than anything else and still not 17.

[@cienkitv2854]

"Or just give us something to hold on to" *Shows Garrus* Oh believe me i'd hold on to that! All night long

[@zenniththefolf4888]

Instead of rating with letters, age should be the rating. And even then there'd be outliers. So instead of a rating it should be a recommendation. Have better labels for what's actually in the game and you'd have a perfectly benign rating system imo.

[@noahnave8882]

Instead of the rating, what if they put a QR code on the box that would have examples of gameplay and cutscenes?

[@PakieVSRG]

that's GENIUS!

[@xavis7617]

And parents would figure this out how? If they're stupid enough to complain about the M-rated game they gave their undisciplined crayon muncher "corrupting the youth" then they're well beyond stupid enough to not know what a QR code is.

[@uselesschannel51]

"The ESRB is a failure" Ah yes, the floor here is made of floor

[@RealEnerjak]

My parents actually got me GTA 3 and SA when I was a young teenager.

[@mtallmen184]

I find it funny that Crazy Taxi was rated T even though Way Down The Line had an uncensored f-bomb in it

[@MosoKaiser]

PG-13 logic? One single uncensored f-bomb allowed? :D

[@onihaiena6152]

Well, Jet Set Radio Future did have an f-bomb in a song and was rated T for "strong lyrics"

[@InkfinityOkamix3]

@@onihaiena6152 nope, that song in question with the f-bomb had the f-bomb censored out. Source: played JSRF religiously and listen to Cibo Matto.

[@theofficialhankhill3280]

@@InkfinityOkamix3 yep, I've never heard an f bomb in birthday cake in game

[@its_heeho]

My Grandparents thought video games didn't have stories until one of them watched me play Metal Gear Solid 3.

[@whattheheck1000]

I turned 13 the Christmas before Elder Scrolls Oblivion came out. I got one of the T-rated copies less than a month before it was re-rated. I thought the re-rating was BS for the same reason; they were re-rating it over mods, not the game itself. I remember always hoping my parents wouldn't see the M rating when we went to game stores, though this was about the time that they really started allowing me to play M rated games. I think my mom saw the M rating eventually, but understood that the M rating was from mods and not the game itself. January 27, 2021 6:51 pm

[@elporko523]

Nice

[@alessiobenvenuto5159]

Thank god my parents didn't even known what a videogame was supposed to be.

[@007Zachman]

I remember back when there was a K-A (Kids to Adults) rating as well. Anyone else remember?

[@user-bo6vy5eg8g]

That just got changed to much simpler "E for everyone" that makes way more sense

[@need4speed5353]

My mom thinks that Minecraft is almost too violent for me. I'm literally 16.... please help me

[@panzer2781]

Only thing I can say is in 2 years they can't control you

[@Bu11yMagu1re]

All of ESRBs shortcomings are endemic to any entertainment rating system due to their arbitrary nature.

[@AManAndHisKebab]

I sometimes sit up and wonder who got it worse, The ESRB or PEGI

[@q-tip4723]

Depends.... which one is run by a government.

[@AManAndHisKebab]

@@q-tip4723 both, only difference is Pegi is run by a combined government of EU nations

[@RodrigoroRex]

PEGI has numbers so that's it for me

[@AManAndHisKebab]

@@RodrigoroRex and colours, can’t forget them either

[@Ssnake_Eeater]

@@AManAndHisKebab and that voice in an add ''pegi 18''

[@melonyswife]

Yo thanks for putting a cw for sexual violence here, even tho it doesn't apply to me I really appreciate that you care :)

[@ALUCARD-us3il]

The ESRB chairman is also the CEO of Take2 interactive(a gaming company known to work with 2k games(another company)), just let that sink in.

[@popozakolak]

TakeTwo doesn't work with 2k it owns 2k

[@ALUCARD-us3il]

@@popozakolak I stand corrected, by my point still stands

[@awii.neocities]

ok i'll let the sink in my home

[@nokiot9]

I wish my mom saw this when I was 12. They wouldn’t let me get forsaken for PC because of the rating. “Blood and gore” to a 90s Karen-mom means instructive and bloody sadomasochism, apparently.

[@DeusMachina_EXE]

Man, this brings me back. My parents were pretty chill when it came to the games I played though. They watched to make sure it wasn't super crazy stuff of course. I got to play mass effect at the age of 14, halo CE at the age of 11, and a dos game called Necrodome at the age of 9. Sure I played mature games, but more often then not I played Nintendo games because I enjoyed them more.

[@Dennis_Ryan_Lynch]

Completely agree, I also hated being treated like a kid and even now hate seeing others treated as kids, and I don’t think I really “broke free” so to speak from my mothers strict ness till I was about 18, I had the kids my sims for the wii (which I loved) but without even doing any of her own research just decided one day I shouldn’t play it because she heard bad things about the rest of the series, complete bogus

[@PandamoniuGaming]

I hate how I read it as "Ceet Marp" when it showed all the ESRB ratings together on the screen

[@gabenewelltheprotector3548]

My dad had me playing resident evil when i was like 3. I beat gears of war with my dad when it came out when I was 6. I got lucky that my dad was a gamer, and was pretty keen and scaring the shit out of me when i was younger lol.

[@omegawario7479]

I had to argue with my mom for a month to get a monster hunter game when I was 9 because it has blood in it yet pretty much no offensive content whatsoever. I ended up loving that series so much that I'm not sure where I would have ended up today without it.

[@lord_vwphaeton1883]

The main problem isn't the ESRB. It's the public. My dad got me the God of war games for PSP (Chains of Olympus and Ghost of Sparta) and my mom didn't mind. Mind you, I was Ten at the time (16 now). It's the misconception that videogames causes violence etc etc etc. ESRB isn't necessarily the problem, but it isn't helping anyway. I feel, this could be solved if the people involved in the rating system were young enough.

[@thatguy7155]

I've never seen people waiting years just to play yoshi's island

[@Pinglen]

Remember when Among us with rated 16+ simple because of the kill animations and the fact people could swear (even though there is censor chat)? thank god they lowered it to 7+ because my mom wouldn't budge about letting me have the game

[@LazyJesse]

Kacey: *has to hide the games he's actually playing* Me: *was set up by my dad to play Half-Life 2 at 2 years old."

[@haruhisuzumiya6650]

I played half life 2 when it was on xbox

[@alexalbuquerquerodriguesal108]

Lol, the first computer game (praticly the first game) I ever played was Half Life (the original) with my brother, damn good times.

[@awii.neocities]

@@haruhisuzumiya6650 damn, how laggy was it

[@haruhisuzumiya6650]

@@awii.neocities I was able to beat it that was round about the same time as Half Life 2 aftermath

[@cannonfodder4000]

I always think of how God Hand, a game without a single drop of blood in it, got an M rating

[@kaylahope6566]

When the MySims music started playing, I got ridiculously happy. That series (specifically the first game, Kingdom, and Agents) was one of my favorite things to play as a kid. I'd definitely never give it to anyone as a replacement for The Sims proper, but I think that it's absolutely worth spending your time on. Even at 16, I find these games very enjoyable. Nostalgia definitely plays a part in it, of course, but I'd still recommend Agents especially to those around my age.

[@Senkushi]

I remember my parents barring me from playing TF2 because they saw someone get gibbed. I was in high school. Why. I genuinely asked for the ability to play the game again for my birthday that year and argued SO hard that the rating doesn't matter and literally every other younger kid I knew had more violent and gory games.

[@bobofthekerbals9797]

I feel like you didn't stress enough how it also forces people who want to make serious games cram a ton of mature content in to just so it won't be passed over by older individuals who see a younger rating on it.

[@kamik7372]

I think in general age ratings have stopped making sense. We are exposed to more extreme stuff at younger ages now, and any kid with a browser can see all manner of things, so I don't see why it's suddenly so much worse when it's in a game. It's just because the people in charge didn't grow up with this media, and see it as wrong. It's not wrong, just different. And it's impossible to stop. There is no way to stop someone viewing certain content if they really want to.

[@DaDualityofMan]

This just makes me appreciate the old Lego games even more because they had to adapt storylines that were marketed to children in spite of featuring stuff like people’s faces melting off and beheadings but still made the stories coherent and gameplay fun for all ages, and they even managed to make the ESRB come up with a new rating.

[@ChrisPoindexter98]

Dang. I only just watched you for Half-Life 2 Xbox playthrough to sleep to many moons ago, and now you got big, meaty, wonderful video essays, full of relevant and in-depth analysis about wide-ranging topics? Congrats, girl! 🤯

[@V3x4ti0n]

**Me remembering poker in Super mario bros Minigame** **Me also remembering how much I played it** **Me realizing why i'm so good at poker nowadays**

[@awii.neocities]

luigi taught you how to play poker cool

[@TheEpicDiamondMiner]

Just so you know, the ratings are suggestions, not requirements.

[@antekknapek4635]

but to parents they sure as hell are requirements.

[@mattwolf7698]

Yes they are, A 16 year old can't buy a M rated game at a store, probably the same with a 12 year old buying a T rated game but they would probably be more lenient there as there's no way to ID him.

[@TheEpicDiamondMiner]

@@mattwolf7698 Yeah, but they can get that game if someone else who is older buys it for them. Unlike if someone under 17 wants to watch an NC-17 movie. Also, it says suitable, not required. Also, unlike the M rating, there’s nothing legally preventing anyone under 13 from buying a teen rated game, so you’re wrong in that way. Maybe research before you try to debunk someone. And before you ask, I’ve been to GameStop and they said that there’s nothing preventing anyone under 13 from buying a teen rated game.

[@newginslab6993]

In this decade I’d love to see an actual AO rated game made by a AAA studio. Even with an M rating, studios have to cut back a lot, so it’d be interesting to see a game go all out artistically. Imagine games like Spec Ops: The Line or a GTA game with an AO rating, there’s so many themes and stories about humanity or corruption or evil that you could do without the barriers of censorship. Sadly, I don’t see it happening, but I still hope. “AO, the last frontier of video games.”

[@barock502]

I think its Not so much about violence. I mean Doom and Agony are pretty much one of the most brutal games out there. AO rating is, almost given in scenes with exessive porn (like a fully rendered Sex scene where you can see everything), or mentally and physical toture to the fullest.

[@HorrorCritical]

The reason you don’t see many triple AAA companies not making AO rated games is because when your game gets rated that rating, that game doesn’t get promoted, advertised, or sold in stores. Meaning it’s a death sentence for that game when it’s rated AO

[@chickenoverlord853]

Honestly i think the esrb should focus more on trigger warnings like sexual assault, sh and suicide mentions, gore isn’t a issue for a lot of people but triggers are a major issue for a lot of people, myself included. I don’t wanna have to spoil a game for myself to see if itll set me off or not rather than them just marking it on the lable.

[@lordkuso2710]

Lets be honest, we would all pronounce it "gran-thefthoto" as kids

[@ManiacX1999]

That Shadow the Hedgehog analogy hit a little too close for home for me

[@walkintobrickwallsfordays8756]

The only m rated game I got to play as a kid was mortal kombat 2 only because it was on a plug and play system that had a 13+ rating

[@uHnodnarB]

Great video! Loved it and how in depth you went!