This is Why ESRB Ratings are actually Meaningless

There is many times that the ESRB rating system has proven itself to be a flawed system when rating video games like Halo, GTA, Oblivion and many more. To the point where some people might say the ESRB rating system is actually meaningless.
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[@RocketSloth]

Had to re-upload the video because youtube is silly. thanks everyone who watched to the end to help the algorithm gods :)

[@toastbreadiq6714]

Is it because you technically showed the hot coffee mod In the original video

[@BF4ClanTBS]

@rocketSloth Honestly I think that we need to go away from an age based rating system and more towards a descriptive system. Everyone is different at any age depending on maturity level. When I was like 10 I would play shooter games and war outside with my friends no problem never had the problem of understanding the seriousness of death. But then there are adults nowadays when I hear them talk about their shooter games I think they still shouldn’t be allowed. I think descriptive would be good. For example a parent might be fine with violence, blood, gore and nudity but puts a hard line on gambling. So if the parent could just look on the back and identify what is in the game it would be much better

[@aiodensghost8645]

No wonder I'm having Deja Vu

[@a.grimes4202]

And thank *you* for reminding me how bad _WWF WAR ZONE_ is lmao Also the EDGE article you quoted or referenced or whatever? Yeah...the guy’s last name is Yee, and they were saying that he berated (as in yelled at them, basically) the ESRB over TES IV having its rating revised. Thanks for the laugh though.

[@AndersHass]

I did also wonder if I have already watched this, lol

[@LozadaPR]

kids explaining to their parents why they should play GTA

[@NeoMoonSevin]

if it were my kids im turning there console content standards setting to ( pg ) rating that will fix that shert up faster than a wipper snapper next minute mum can u take setting off well im out with the boys next min babe can i have the code for the xbox ( pg ) i want to play cod my response is beatch u dnt play video games and the kids have asked u to lie for them put that lil shert on hun 1min later yes dad hey lil shert im come home and blacken that azz boy no cod no halo got it play teletubbies the game great education ( hangs up ) 🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂👀🤣

[@Endl3ssBoy]

it's a must

[@NFSBeast2365]

LMAO

[@silashurd3597]

@@modernmarksmnhell no, I’m playing it the volume up

[@scottthewaterwarrior]

My parents wouldn't let me get it till I was 17, not much they could do when I was at a friends house though. I also let my cousins play it when they were ~10, but they weren't allowed to get guns, only drive around.

[@dood3530]

ESRB: "Gambling with fake money bad" Also ESRB: "Gambling with real money good"

[@realthat1gamer]

which is how we got a pokemon game with the same age rating as persona 3 edit: please stop liking this it keeps flooding my notifications

[@wesnohathas1993]

Fake money doesn't drive the industry now does it.

[@LisekTod]

​Actually, Peak Entertainment Casinos has been rated Adults Only because of real gambling. And it's the only AO-rated game without violent or sexual content.

[@Matt-zu2lu]

Parents: We need a way to be able to tell what games are and are not appropriate for our children!!! American Government: Okay, we made the ESRB which will tell you if what games are and are not appropriate for children. Parents: *buys their kids M rated games* Holy crap! This game is so graphic! How were we ever able to know that?!?!

[@dapperfan44]

The government didn't make the ESRB, they didn't make any of the ratings organizations.

[@Deliveredmean42]

Derp

[@frux9392]

The ESRB is not run by the government.

[@Matt-zu2lu]

@@frux9392 okay I guess?

[@ManikiMPACT]

Just tells you the parent doesn't care they just want them out of the way

[@radnwavy5531]

The fact that there's a 17+ and an 18+ rating kinda fascinates me. That's a little too granular. Why didn't they make M 18+

[@kevinr.9733]

They needed a distinction between "allowed to purchase and play with the permission of a parent or legal guardian" and "not allowed to purchase and play at all", and it would seem silly (or, at least, sillier) to have two rating corresponding to the exact same age. It's the same reason the MPA has both R (17+ unless with parent or adult guardian) and NC-17 (18+ exclusively).

[@blockygamez9389]

they should make M 16+ instead bc the content really isn't that bad

[@pedrolantyer]

the Adults only rating basically only exists so that ESRB can say to people "there's p*rn or extreme gore in this game". It's literally just it, and the system makes no f****** sense! GTA San Andreas literally went from +17 to +18 just due to hot coffee (which wasn't even available normally, you had to mod the damn thing for it to work). Torture, Murder, Strong Language, Racial Slurs, Drug use, all where in the game and it was only rated 17+, the moment someone found out that CJ could have s*x while being fully clothed they decide to change the rating

[@ozvoid1245]

Essentially, 18+ was, for all intensive purposes, there to say "I only exist because the government can't ban me."

[@exantiuse497]

@pedrolantyer The "hot coffee" incident is seriously unbelievable to me. How did they raise such a fuss about a scene where two FULLY CLOTHED PEOPLE dry hump each other, that WASN'T EVEN ACCESSIBLE IN THE GAME TO BEGIN WITH and needed the game to be modified to be seen? If these people see a kid scribbling crude drawings on a book he bought do they demand that book be banned as well?

[@catholiccontriversy]

As a kid with a mom that was pretty strict with the ratings, E10 was actually a really good rating, because when she heard "teen" she was thinking "highschool teenager," whereas E10 is "this isn't for 5 year olds but it isn't inappropriate for older kids."

[@KurapikaStan]

E10 is still kinda useless since its a 3 year range until Teenage, i feel a 7+ rating would be more useful since it could be identical to this situation while offering more use

[@catholiccontriversy]

@@KurapikaStan yeah but it's the "and 99 cents" of videogame ratings. Is there much of a difference between a high end E10 and low end Teen (such as Shadow the Hedgehog and Smash Bros)? No, but for some parents they have the "I wouldn't buy it for $20, but it's only $10, plus $9, and 99 cents" phenomenon of "I wouldn't buy my 8 year old a game that's for teenagers, but since this game is for everyone like Mario but for 10 and up it's ok."

[@AkameGaKillfan777]

​@@KurapikaStan That would be worse since it would just be 1 year over E

[@KurapikaStan]

@@AkameGaKillfan777 i get it, but i was kinda basing it off of TV ratings and how theirs a clear difference between Micky Mouse and Power Rangers but its not big enough to warrant a Teen rating so 7+ ratings are used often And also the E rating being technically 6+ as stated by the ESRB is kinda dumb since i feel their are a lot of kids and parents who see games in the E rating as for them/their children

[@SergeantExtreme]

@@KurapikaStan It's no dumber than PEGI which has a two year gap of 16 - 18.

[@joekopel]

Having worked in a gaming store chain for 6 years I can tell you, most parents don't care about the ratings. They just want their child to have the game to shut them up. Legit! Tried to explain to a parent about GTA 4 at the time and the exact response was he wants it, so I'm buying it.

[@MASTEROFEVIL]

And then they'll bitch and moan that it's exposing their child to violence

[@SimoneBellomonte]

@@MASTEROFEVIL Tbh it's just some parents acting like karens who are sadly a pretty vocal minority, I really hope they don't end up becoming the vocal majority, especially how lately the internet and gaming and censorship is going to shits lately... just look at skullgirls for example it got censored so much YEARS later despite being completely fine, I hate censorship, i hate denuvo, I FUCKING HATE THE WORLD, PEOPLE SHOULD BURN AND DIE.

[@psgamer-il2pt]

​@@MASTEROFEVILor they don't care

[@fav843]

When I worked at Gamestop, the only thing parents cared about was whether it had gay shit or not. They didn't care about violence or even naked women. The only shit they didn't want their kids seeing was gay shit.

[@lowskill2]

@@MASTEROFEVIL No i don't thinks so. I started to believe this whole rating stuff is only to generate some jobs to people that otherwise wouldn't have a job. Bad language and drug usage in a video game is nothing compared to bad language and drug usage in real life let say in a school nowadays. In some schools it's easier to get some weed then a sandwich in the bufe yet a lot of people blame GTA because of it, even tho it's not even remotely close. First we should need to keep public places in order. Like schools, pubs, parks etc. For example the first "fck you" i heard was in kindergarden... not in a video game really.

[@sandwichboy1268]

The ESRB is crazy. Modded content can pull up a game's rating but sports branding can pull down a slot machine's rating

[@toxic_revenant3]

I just think they’re easily lobbied and spineless

[@FatherTime89]

The mods that got the rating changed only enabled stuff that was already in the original game.

[@omppusolttu5799]

@@FatherTime89 Yet it was still a mod that shouldn't be accsessible without specifically downloading it. I think the ESRB just doesn't quite understand how modding works.

[@NebulatheZorua]

@@FatherTime89 but it was hidden away with no way to access it without mods ALOT of kids games have pretty harsh language in their code, but I don't think anyone would think spongebob battle for bikini bottom should be M-rated

[@johnnydjiurkopff]

​​@@FatherTime89we gonna raise skyrim's rating over 'killable children'? The base game even put loot tables in for them.

[@blikthepro972]

the problem has stopped being that kids are being exposed to violence, it's that kids are being exposed to gambling and spending money on cosmetics. if the esrb system were to be reworked, it should base ratings with gambling first and violence second, and be much more strict and punishing for gambling (example: covering half the box of the game with a giant text saying "this game contains transactions that request real money to give you a chance at winning")

[@MASTEROFEVIL]

The gaming industry would flip their shit

[@blikthepro972]

@@MASTEROFEVIL i dont see any problem with that

[@MASTEROFEVIL]

@@blikthepro972 Me neither

[@ZaHandle]

Go full cigarette packaging and show pictures of homeless people lol

[@blikthepro972]

@@ZaHandle no, that would make the homeless people famous and ruin their already ruined lives further

[@TrapeZoid_-117]

The problem with the ESRB is that it causes two different responses in parents. They either stick to it so strictly that they end up preventing their kid from playing a game they could easily handle or they ignore it completely and buy their kid the most inappropriate games on the market. It’s not that difficult to have a middle ground if you look at the box for 2 seconds. Like, my dad always checked the back of the box to see exactly why a game got a certain rating so he could decide if it was appropriate. “Rated M due to violence? Sure, he can get that one.” Or “Oh, sexually explicit content. Put that one back.”

[@RandomPersoneditz]

My mom is the strict one, I’m 11, almost 12, I am extremely mature, I read books and play games like black hawk down, red platoon, halo, etc, the other day I asked her if I could play titanfall 2, she said no because “I don’t know about people shooting people” even though I am clearly mature enough to play it

[@legometaworld2728]

@@RandomPersoneditzThat’s weird that she won’t let you play it, especially because Halo also has people shooting people.

[@RandomPersoneditz]

@@legometaworld2728 exactly

[@PikaLink91]

But see that's what I still don't get. Violence is a-okay but sexual content is not? I mean most people have seen a naked body, no?

[@ComeForth.]

​@@legometaworld2728 Aliens, not people

[@rexarn781]

When i was at gamestop one time i was about 14 and the employee legit had me call my dad to approve buying an 18+ game. That was the funniest thing ever 😂

[@Peelster1]

And then you just called your friend and said "Hey Dad, can you tell GameStop I can buy this?"

[@rexarn781]

@@Peelster1 no, i actually did call my dad and he didn't care whatsoever and allowed it 😂

[@Residentmetz]

Dont give esrb ideas

[@NobileFanfiltr]

you could have sue them nowadays for discrimination XD... like they are selling sigarettes or whiskey

[@Suckit626]

​@@NobileFanfiltrthey actually still want a parents permission if you're under 17

[@jondon1079]

The fact that KZbin forces you to censor the word "Swastikas" at 16:46 when discussing how the German rating system has become more lax as of late is some next level irony.

[@TheChestnut21]

"German Beyblades" LOL

[@hahasamian8010]

Thank you so much I was like "what the heck is he saying"

[@wesnohathas1993]

It seems any discussion about censorship made for KZbin is bound to strike something of that nature.

[@CuteNarpNarpPlush]

Ww2 history:wait im suppose to do WHAT

[@eeyorehaferbock7870]

@@TheChestnut21dude should learn how to pronounce the term “hakenkreuz”; it means “hooked cross” in German, and it’s the official term the language uses for that symbol.

[@ihatehandlestheyareannoying]

I think it'd be better if ratings were swapped out for a quick list of possibly inappropriate things a game has. This would not say "you need to be this old to play this game", just more of a "hey this game includes these things, are you ok with that?" and I think that would work much better.

[@vullord666]

Imagine parents actually parenting and just looking up information about the games their kids want to buy and watching gameplay videos or trying it themselves, or otherwise watching their kids while they play video games and making sure its not affecting them negatively… instead of insisting they get laws telling them what’s okay and then getting censorships in M rated games when they ignore those.

[@jbktpl1245]

Yeah, the censoring of M rated games will never not be stupid for me, what's even the point of the ESRB if their contributions are ignored?

[@SquarePancakes]

my parents look up the information, this lead to me not being able to play Twilight princes for a while but really it just made it more exiting to play so I didn't mind it much.

[@MrFantom_]

I never was allowed to get a game unless my parents gave me the go ahead. They’d watch play through a, read reviews etc. I wasn’t allowed to get a game such as RDR 2 until I was 18

[@SquarePancakes]

@@MrFantom_ yeah, honestly to me the more restrictive a parent is, the more loving they are as they try to protect their children. And yes I know there are exceptions.

[@MrFantom_]

@@SquarePancakes Yeah, I was still allowed to play some M rated games. It just depended on the content. I played old call of duties on the PlayStation 2 etc. lol

[@Skarz1989]

This dude called Night Trap "1992 Five Nights at Freddie's" and I absolutely can't unsee it now

[@awii.neocities]

I myself would call it FMV FNAF, but yeah I can't unsee it either

[@knumnutz75]

More like fnaf is a 2014 Night trap. I was back in 8th grade when fnaf first came out. Those were my exact thoughts "its night trap, but at a chuckee cheese"

[@plushdragonteddy]

lol ya, in the Game Grumps playthrough of FNAF, Dan has the game explained to him, and once he gets it he’s like “oh so it’s Night Trap?” i thought that was hilarious, especially given how at the time fnaf came out, it was lauded as being so unique. i mean it still was, compared to the games coming out at the time, but it’s funny that night trap did it 20 years prior lol

[@YourPoopDealer]

I feel like trying to use strict age brackets is kinda difficult, even arbitrary. Instead, maybe moving towards a system to more effectively pronounce the things in a game that might be worthy of pointing out as its own specific seal on the front. If a game has gore, have a seal on the front that has a simple outline like you'd see on warning posters with "GORE" underneath it. If it has elements of gambling or microtransactions/lootboxes, then add a "gambling" label next to the gore label. Some parents don't care about if their kid is playing a game with gore and violence, but change tune when they realize their child is being psychologically targeted with gambling. Simply slapping an M on the front might not make enough of a difference for them to notice.

[@elliotmurrey8293]

We have warnings for these in my country (though I haven't seen it in a while, maybe was phased out, or it's just that I don't get physical copies anymore). It seems so obvious and far clearer, it seems like common sense to do this everywhere

[@FacialVomitTurtleFights]

yes.

[@tonie5657]

Pegi works like that There is number on front but also those tags but on back at least in poland

[@Laz3rCat95]

THIS. Also, they should put gameplay difficulty and reading level labels on them too, as these are also factors that parents should consider (especially for younger kids), that aren't currently considered in ESRB ratings.

[@KyleDavis328]

I think that's why ESRB didn't really use hard age ratings as the primary marketing. Yeah, we generally recognize Teen as "13+" but it's just marketed as "Teen" and it's up to the parent or purchaser to interpret the actually appropriateness of the content for the intended audience. I think in the video it was on the back of a PEGI case, but the language-agnostic iconography used to further describe the rating I think are a lot more useful information than the overall ratings score. And in my mind, a perfect rating system would take a couple of categories, e.g. Violence, Language and Interpersonal Relations, and rate each of those on some scale. Violence for instance could have a scale like 0 - no violence at all 1 - mild cartoon violence 2 - cartoon violence 3 - semi-realistic violence (no blood) 4 - semi-realistic violence (non-realistic blood e.g. obscured, not red, or alien blood) 5 - realistic violence (with blood) 6 - realistic violence (blood and mild gore) 7 - extreme gore and violence The scale could change, those were just some categories I could think of off the top of my head. Then you would have easy indicators right on the box why a game is rated what it is. I know that different parents have different tolerances for different categories of "explicit content" Some might say most violence is okay, but don't want to hear the game swear and don't want any scantily dressed characters, so that parent's tolerance for the Violence category would be relatively high, while tolerance for the Language and Nudity categories would be quite low. Under the current system, at least in the ERSB, these "content descriptors" are very vague, and it seems like some games get rated higher than others despite having the same set of content descriptors. It's often not really a question between the two after you play both games, but sitting on a store shelf or on an online storefront there's not really much of identifiable difference past the final rating score. @@Laz3rCat95 yes, that's a good point. Especially for parents of younger children, graphic content is not the only factor when selecting a game for a child, a mild mannered but very difficult game may not be appropriate for a younger gamer that frankly isn't very good at playing games yet, not because the game has inappropriate content, but because at this time they'll probably not have fun playing. Star Wars Rogue Squadron 2 for GameCube was like that for me. It was Star Wars, I was huge into Star Wars as a kid. But it wasn't until years later that I could go back to RS2 and actually understand the game and be able to play it at all, and it sat on my shelf for a very long time as just a "cool Star Wars game that's too hard to play."

[@Qwepzy]

These rating really are pointless, Good paretning is the key. I played 18+ games my whole childhood and never wanted to re-enact it IRL!

[@NFSBeast2365]

Agreed 💯

[@someretardontheinternet]

​@@NFSBeast2365Why am I finding you everywhere?

[@lewisgrant7622]

Exactly I’ve been playing MK and GTA since I was 7 and Ive never tried to do a fatality on someone spine or rob a bank. I think sometimes parents just overreact when they see their child play something like gta or MK

[@DragonloverWV]

Agreed. Sure, I read Warrior cats, but I won't assassinate the president or try to kill someone with dogs!

[@Smith-fg1qb]

I hate how media such as video games and television shows are used as a scapegoat for when someone is doing a shitty job as a parent

[@8stormy5]

Oof, I remember having to negotiate HARD with my parents about ESRB ratings because they did (and still do) not really understand what a video game is and took those rating very strictly. Case in point, I was not allowed to buy a single-player poker game for the Wii because it was rated T for gambling... even though my dad had already taught me how to play poker.

[@jamesbailey6257]

I really do think this is the single biggest issue in the whole thing. Most people older than millennials(and even a lot of millennials tbf) don't really "get" what games are, and instead of bothering to do their job as a parent, they'd rather just look for someone else to give them a very simple easy to digest answer(which often means a wrong answer). It doesn't help that I honestly wonder if anyone who works at the ESRB/PEGI/etc are actually like... you know, gamers? people who enjoy and play video games in their spare time? It kinda just feels like it's a bunch of older businessmen who only kinda understand what a videogame is,

[@fr0styy156]

@@jamesbailey6257ratings are bs

[@KnightSlasher]

I also say a big part of it is how you're introduced and how you react to the game, like a bunch of kids played cod and halo but if they were taught right that wouldn't act violent

[@NeoMoonSevin]

kids by no means should never ever be playing cod or halo or anything to do with adult themed scenarios thats at a age were kids are still trying to understand the world around them cod n halo get a ( MA ) by my rating system splatoon would be suitable for kids that gets a ( G ) rating from me

[@KnightSlasher]

@@NeoMoonSevin lmfao

[@chasesheridan3109]

@@NeoMoonSevin well uh, i have bad news for you for half of everyones childhoods

[@E10979]

​@@NeoMoonSevinsarcasm is a dying art

[@thepotatotaxi2430]

​@@NeoMoonSevin i have VERY bad news for you lil bro...

[@nakulaman]

7:26 The man's name isn't "Yee Berates". His name is Leland Yee, and the headline is about him berating ESRB. Berates is a verb not his surname.

[@raemoend]

😭😭😭😭😭

[@_JayRamsey_]

That's hilarious

[@splat-a-tat6780]

I just want to correct for AA: Dual Destinies that the reason it was rated M was probably because of the fact that some of the anime cutscenes have a TON of blood in them compared to other entries. It’s nothing serious but it’s frequently used as a shock factor. The sequel to the game was also on the 3DS and rated T so it wouldn’t make sense the 3D feature bumped it up.

[@Acidonia150reborn]

There DS remake old a old game Called Devilish that got T rating fot that reason and the same kind of scene and its in first few seconds of gameplay though its only blood in entire game yet rest of world game got a 3+ all Ages rating.

[@stardustsdd]

When they released the rating they said it was because of the "circumstances of some of the cases". I think they were refering to how *MINOR SPOILERS* a 12 year old kid is involved in one of the cases and there's a scene where they're covered in blood. I think that's what raised the rating.

[@SJrad]

Not only that, but the courtroom bombing might’ve played a role in the m rating because fear of terrorist attacks, especially bombers, was still high in America

[@AttacMage]

@@stardustsdd and if I remember correctly, the way the blood gets on her is pretty dang gruesome. I don't think it's entirely justified as an M rated game, but it makes a lot more sense than some other ratings I've seen.

[@sheepishbaton0399]

Ah there it is, was looking for it, was wondering why he did not mention it at all.

[@ZanakinzMedia]

Gaming rating systems are ridiculous and sometimes corrupt. Any real parent should do research on games before they buy it for their children. If they don't, then that's on them for being a bad parent. Simple answers are sometimes the best....

[@IHitTheWater]

I don't see any problem with people playing games out of there range, the video games cause violence debate is debunked, and most games with high age ratings simply use it to make better stories or more realistic and or stylized combat. My parents don't care what games I play, and I consider them the farthest thing from bad parents. Playing mature games has even helped me grow as a person, and think about more complex things. If I were to only watch and play things made for me I would probably be half the person I am now.

[@TheElcollin]

I think it's a reach to call the ESRB corrupt for their ratings. If you're talking about the Chinese OGEC, there's a lot more corrupt parts of the chinese government than their VG ratings board lol.

[@vulpinemachine]

I never look up ratings when buying games for myself or for my kids. They're useless. Instead I just research whats in the game or I know the devs and their approach to making games so I know exactly what to expect. It's nice to have extra information, and I'm always on board with that. Like having just a content descriptor with no rating. Perfect. Just tell me what's in it, nothing more. I'll figure it out myself after that. But a "rating"? Yeah no thanks. No one gets to decide when my kid is ready to handle a topic. I'll decide that. Some topics they're overly infantilizing on, others they're far too provocative and aggressive with exposure. And beside each kid is different and they process things at different rates. Sometimes a topic becomes too heavy for them when it wasn't before, because now they understand something new about the world, and so you can regulate that thing in their life until they've developed the capacity for handling it again. (People forget that rubber banding is a thing that happens in psychological development as well which...how the heck does the ESRB account for that? like...they can't). Anyway, it's my job, not theirs. The end.

[@vulpinemachine]

@@IHitTheWater I have no idea how old you are, but I'm gonna guess if you're this articulate, you're probably fine with almost everything out there.

[@ZanakinzMedia]

@@vulpinemachine Agreed. A truly responsible parent would educate themselves on the product beforehand. Of course kids can always sneak and get it but that's not on the parent now. It's good to see other people with similar mindsets on this.

[@chiffmonkey]

I think the only games that should be rated 18 are outright pornographic, involve gameified sadism or include loot boxes. And ban the sales of random draw products aimed at children in general.

[@detective2221]

Any nudity should be 18+, my opinion.

[@chiffmonkey]

@@detective2221 The legal age of consent here is 16, so that just seems silly to me.

[@GeneralNuisance00]

​@@detective2221 rq what's your opinion on art galleries

[@d0rban]

And remember: age ratings don’t substitute proper parenting

[@yamo511]

ESRB: you're not allowed to see some tiddie but you are allowed to develop a gambling addiction from lootboxes

[@KyleDavis328]

To be completely fair. They do have a notice on the box that states that there is in-game purchases with random mechanics. They're not unwilling to hide them, but the fact that they completely backtrack on one of the core motivations to label a game as Ao because daddy EA wants to start gambling addictions as young as possible is kind of ridiculous. I think it's kind of ridiculous that the most offensive, actually harmful, and greediest mechanics introduced in gaming could have all been avoided by making real-money loot boxes an instant Ao. And for those who don't know, it was mentioned briefly in the video itself, but essentially every retailer in the US has gone in together on a ban of the sale of Ao rated games, so the only places you'd be able to find a _properly_ rated FIFA game is in the shady adult video store somehow still in business.

[@SadoMessiahLP]

My Mom was extremely strict about Age restrictions in everything. To the point where it was just ridiculous. I got a Final Fantasy Game for the DS (Don't know what its called, it was sortof like a strategy game) that was rated 12+ for my 12th birthday. Because my birthday was on a weekday we celebrated 2 Days before it on the weekend and I got the game there but I was not allowed to play it until 2 Days later because technically I wasn't 12 yet. Talk about bad parenting...

[@katashworth41]

I had that but with a film, Christmas 2001 I got Bridget Jones Diary on DVD (I feel so old typing that) but my mum said I was allowed it as I was almost 15 (it’s rated 15 which means no-under 15, I had seen it in the cinema but she didn’t know that) cos my birthday is 10 days after Christmas. Glad she didn’t know I’d watched The Exorcist when I was 12, though the rating of that film here is a whole other can of worms.

[@will5459577]

In the UK we also use the BBFC, the British Board of Film Classification. They rated our video games before PEGI became widespread. You had U, PG, 12, 15 and 18 ratings so sometimes you had this weird thing where one game would be a PEGI 16 in one store but an older copy could be a BBFC 15.

[@stevenbobbybills]

I had copies of the earlier Assassin's Creed games that had a BBFC 15 rating on the box. Good thing, too, since my parents wouldn't have let me play them if they were 18 rated.

[@will5459577]

@@stevenbobbybills Yes! I was thinking of the original AC I had the same thing lol in Gamestation they had a PEGI version and a BBFC one on the same shelf

[@zalabit927]

ESRB rating decisions are as convoluted as retcons onto retcons in comic books.

[@firestrikerii810]

Not

[@NuclearWaffle0]

Nah, the issue isn't that parents are ignoring / not taking the ESRB's rating seriously . It's that parents don't even understand or know what the ESRB is. When I was a kid, I can't think of 1 adult who bought me a game that actually looked at the rating and said "no, it's M for mature." The only time I ever got denied a game if it was just infamously known like GTA. Or the game stop employee woke up mad and decided to read off the contents on the game to my parent or adult with me (that's a joke I know they're required to do it)

[@ForOne814]

I mean, it's up to the parents. If they don't care, that's also fine. My parents checked what games I played, but they never stopped me from playing games just because of the rating. They didn't let me play games that gave me nightmares, but I got nightmares from stupidest stuff, not from what you'd expect. I was playing GTA:VC when I was 4 years old no problem, didn't have any issues with that whatsoever. But some cheap quest game for teenage girls scared me for some reason, lol. Kids are weird.

[@combineshowcases]

Same, I wish people would stop hating on parents for not understanding things like this

[@venems24]

Nah I'm sorry but it's a parents job to know what they're kid is doing and what they're consuming. Parents need to take responsibility and learn about their kids entertainment

[@swilleh_]

​​@@ForOne814i had a nightmare after a game that was "teaching" me english (english is my second language). I have no idea how old i was. Dog shit game tho. How was i supposed to know any of those words when i just started going to school? (this is just my guess when it happened) I really hope that my mother believed that i had a nightmare because i deleted that game that morning/day. Character was probably some witch.

[@arocantplay]

1= Fun for the whole family 2= Like a low PG-13 movie/ high PG movie 3= Borderline PG-13/ R 4= Explicit, but proven not to make kids crazy 5= Time To Talk about plug and outlet/ In game purchases 6= The creator of this game needs to be in therapy ?= Not Rated *Edit= 2 and ?

[@snozer6966]

Though I would modify your system just a little bit, I do think a number system rather than a letter or age system could be better. Instead of 7 being unrated I think the symbol of RP or UR would be fine since 7 could imply that this game is some fucked up shit when in actuality it's a Mario game that just hasn't received a number yet. You make it a 0 then a similar problem happens in reverse.

[@AttacMage]

I think it makes sense to keep the old esrb rating system up to e 10 or so, and then once you hit Teen, just stick the tags they already have on the rating label as plain old content warnings. Age of Calamity is teen because you kill a lot of bokoblins in a really large scale, while BotW and ToTK are e10+ because it's smaller scale, even though BotW's got more content warnings on the label. Just toss a T+ rating or something on it with the content labels and it sends the message: "If you don't want your kid playing a gory game, don't play this. If you're ok with them playing a more sexual game, then play this." There are also filtering systems for PCs and whole networks that can filter by content tags, and this would allow for more integration with that while preventing the dumb outrage going on in some states like Utah and Texas as well as the UK and other countries where they want to require picture ID to access certain content, and it would help the people of those states realize there are better solutions already widely available.

[@GameyRaccoon]

"low PG-13" you mean PG??

[@KitOkunari]

​@@snozer6966 use a question mark for unrated instead of number.

[@wesnohathas1993]

5 and 6 are the real standouts here. Those are some warnings applicable even to adults.

[@intuitionedits2.032]

I had a T rated disc of Oblivion and was confused asf when I got older and someone INSISTED it was m rated. Also, for YEARS the only M rated game I was allowed to play was Halo. And that point about Halo 3, I've always felt Halo pre-Halo 5 that Halo didn't deserve the M Ratint

[@ThomastheDankEngine8900]

Halo games should have been rerated as Teen, but I think Microsoft paid the ESRB to make it M rated so their console would look hardcore.

[@intuitionedits2.032]

@@ThomastheDankEngine8900 honestly would not surprise me

[@megaheroes3611]

@@ThomastheDankEngine8900 I played the Master Chief Collection on my Series X and I find nothing M about it. Guess they want to make Xbox more adult than Sony's PS2 and even more man than the "childish" Nintendo GameCube. You just hit the nail in the head!

[@Daynger_Fox]

I think maybe because of the body horror of the flood, all games with the flood in them are rated M

[@ZorroCeleste1]

@@Daynger_Fox - Curiously, ODST and Reach are M, but have no Flood; and Halo Wars has Flood but it's T.

[@PixelzNcreatureZ]

I had a kid once trying to buy GTA San Andreas and I said no, or his parent has to give permission. He left and came back and his mom was pissed at me. (I guess she was previously sitting comfortably in the car) yelling about saying he plays "war games" all the time. (lol, war games) I said "well in this game, you can get with hookers bur it's okay because u can kill them and take your money back." she said "oh hell no" and he started to cry. And that made me smile

[@E10979]

Retail man, I get it

[@mongstyt9946]

Am sure that Kid must have played it somehow

[@PixelzNcreatureZ]

@@mongstyt9946 every kid has a friend who has them

[@davebob4973]

i kinda feel bad for the kid thats gotta be too much for just 1 kid to handle

[@ianvanwyk3707]

What I find mind-boggling is that the law makers find it more acceptable for 17 year Olds to be exposed to violence, but lost their minds at the mini game imitation of a natural act 😂.

[@scandathepole723]

Though some violent games like Hatred and a rare copy of Manhunt 2 are AO

[@thebignacho]

It's funny especially since most teens by 17 have seen or experienced way more sexual things irl or online

[@samtime2711]

The best way reason I think one act is wrong or morally black and white, while the other thing is not as clear-cut or very morally grey

[@PoisonIvory088]

What is the natural act?

[@PoisonIvory088]

@@thebignachoim sacred what yall saying i swear ima loose my crap if yall are trying to normalize that thing

[@MelStaub]

In Australia Halo has basically held an M rating since the third entry the only exceptions being the MCC (which holds a MA15+ rating) and Halo Wars (which has a PG rating), I specifically remember Left 4 Dead 2 (which was heavily censored until a few years after release) causing a re-evaluation of the rating system same with F.E.A.R. 2 Project Origin (which ended up releasing uncensored in the end which is surprising since the gore is still pretty detailed even by today's standards), I think the first R18+ release was Dead Island Riptide or Metro Last Light but I could be wrong

[@steelbear2063]

Australia is whacky with game ratings. Didn't your government ban Mortal Kombat? Like come on, Australia of all the places

[@SmileyAI69]

God of War Ascension was the first R18 game

[@Wakapat_YT]

The MCC holds an MA15+ rating because Reach is Included.

[@MelStaub]

@@Wakapat_YT Halo C.E and 2 are MA15+ as well

[@MelStaub]

@@SmileyAI69 Cheers, I always wondered what game was the first

[@icecoldnewz]

My kid brother is 11 and keeps playing M rated games I try to convince my parents to not buy any for him but he gets angry misbehave and lies for games so now everyone fights and now my kid bro is ignoring me until I buy him more games

[@ForOne814]

I mean, I'd do the same if some asshole tried to stop me from playing games I like. Thank God my parents were always adequate and bought be good games even when I was a kid. Original MW2 and CS:S made my childhood what it was, among other games.

[@weegaboo]

I do recall one time that a cashier told my mom some of the specifics of a game I was playing and why it would be bad. I feel like that should happen more often. Although, that would probably only ever happen at a game store and not the usual places games are bought.

[@emptytrashben2375]

Walmart sells guns and 17+ games, but refuses to sell 18+ games.

[@cryptidproductions3160]

There's also been cases of games that dropped from AO to Mature simply due to what the ESRB considers extreme content changing. The version of Indigo Prophecy on Steam is the uncensored "Directors Cut" but the ESRB gave it an M-rating despite having the content they asked to be cut to avoid an AO back in 2005 restored

[@victim2077]

And the very same game in it's uncensored form was given 16+ by PEGI and sold everywhere in Europe (strict Germany included).

[@mralexhernandez]

I watched some of the most graphic films (Terminator, RoboCop, Scarface, etc) and played some of the most controversial games like GTA, Mortal Kombat, Manhunt and such growing up and I never once considered committing anything I saw in said media in real life nor am I “aggressive”. The most you’ll get is me shouting at the TV when I lose (mainly cause I’m trying to 100% a game and some games like to pull some bs on you every now and then). It’s all about instilling proper values/morals in your children and teaching what’s reality and what’s fantasy, at the end of the day. Blaming any form of media for individual actions is just ridiculous (that can be said for lots of issues, too)

[@CronicasVideojogos]

I have a very good idea to protect our kids: Parents actually informing themselves about what they are giving to their children, giving attention to what they are playing, talking about the game with them, playing with them or getring involved somehow. Letting the game be a social tool, improving family bonding and not just a thing that makes the kid quiet for a while. Kids depend on us, adults, to know how the world works. If a kid plays GTA, maybe it's because his parents play with him/her, and know he/she just wants to drive/walk around, or maybe it's because the kid wants to play because school friends said the game was cool. Parents need to be involved! Parents need to be teachers! And to teach, they need to know what kids are playing and talk about it. And if the kid "only talks about games" then, share other topics with them, since they are sharing their important thing, share yours. It's called social interaction, it used to be a thing at home.

[@jamesbailey6257]

I know this isn't your point but it's so crazy how far out of their way people go to just avoid typing "they" lol, like no one says "he/she" or"him/her" irl, they just say "they". I I guess it's the physical act of typing it/seeing it written that makes people go "oh no, that's a gay word, I can't use that!" but it really is silly.

[@infinitespace2520]

​@@jamesbailey6257actually most formal documents and parental advisories actively avoid using they, as he/she sounds much more appropiate for that style of writing. I do agree that avoiding they is silly though.

[@jamesbailey6257]

@@infinitespace2520 No they don’t. They has been the correct way of referring to an unidentified gender since the 14th century, any English teacher will tell you they is the correct way of writing it as “he/she” is clunky and strange. I’m sure you can find some very outdated formal writing places that prefer that but formal writing, mainly for science, is not normal prose. Just write they.

[@jamesbailey6257]

@@infinitespace2520 also, most conventions are actively working on changing the holdouts that have this stance, since, again, it’d incorrect. They has been the correct way of stating a singular unknown gender for centuries now.

[@infinitespace2520]

@@jamesbailey6257 Didn't have to write a paragraph bud, I said I agreed with you that it is silly, and you're getting really close to making me disagree out of spite. Plus your comments are completely unrelated to the OP.

[@TheChaosDragoness]

First M-rated game I played was Mortal Kombat 4 on N64 when I was about 8 or 9, never wanted to rip someone's leg off and beat them to death with it like Quan Chi. First M-rated game I personally owned was the first God of War on PS2 for my 12th birthday, never wanted to stick blades down people's throats or disembowel them. Wanna know why? Because my parents were actually parents to me and raised me with sense.

[@combineshowcases]

You seriously think that just because a kid wants to kill people in a game they aren't being raised well? Come on, we proved years ago that just because a kid wants violence in a game doesn't mean they are a psychopath with no sense in real life.

[@TheChaosDragoness]

​@@combineshowcases I never said anything about kids being psychopaths because they weren't raised well, now you're just putting words in my mouth. It’s all about instilling proper values/morals in your children and teaching what’s reality and what’s fantasy at the end of the day. Blaming any form of media for individual actions is just ridiculous.

[@corey2232]

Australia has a surprisingly strict rating system. I remember hearing about so many games being banned or rejected outright, or being sent back for heavy censorship. Always wondered why they were specifically so prude when it came to content in games.

[@SwiftSwelter]

I think it's because they are more interactive

[@sporeham1674]

​@@SwiftSwelterthat's their actual reason, yeah

[@MrBunt]

Australia was special, because they didn't hand out their 18+ rating for games. So the strictest rating for games was 15+. As they deemed "violent games" not suitable for a 15+ rating, they were basically banned. They changed it in 2013 to allow the R 18+ rating which allows most stuff except most sexual stuff.

[@pafnutiytheartist]

I'd love rating agencies to give 18+ ratings to everything that features in-game purchases in any capacity.

[@andreas4010]

I'd say yes to loot boxes purchased by micro transactions (vs dlc)

[@IHitTheWater]

As a 14 year old, I can't tell you how many mature rated games I have played

[@ItsZYX]

Ong lmao, I've played so much doom, GTA, and basically every call of duty game

[@DragonloverWV]

Game ratings Shmame ratings

[@Superluminal_30000]

I just bought Doom Eternal for my 12 year old brother😅

[@IHitTheWater]

@@Superluminal_30000 good man

[@nonyplayz1]

Ill list for yall gta 3 gta vice city gta san andreas gta V (finished the game) doom call of duty (one) call of duty united offensive call of duty modern warfare 2 call of duty black ops 2 watch dogs south park the stick of truth south park the fractured but whole and many more

[@charlimarcel9698]

Its crazy to me how my parents wouldn let me play on my brother PSX/PS2 games like resident Evil, syphon filter, splinter cell, metal gear solid or SOCOM, but they had no problem letting me play halo or unreal tournament on PC, and more crazy to think they bought me the xbox 360 in 2008 with Gears of war but they wouldnt let me play GTA 😂

[@BackwardSabotage]

Two extra pieces I find interesting: -The PS3 had it's own rating system where the games were classified into "levels", and the level was embedded on the disc/download itself. The idea was you could configure the console to only run games up to a certain level, which I find kinda neat. The problem was that there's no official documentation (that I could find) telling what each level represents, the way to check a game level was too cryptic for a normal parent to find (press triangle on the games icon and check properties), and there was no other place to check it. Unsurprisingly it failed to the point almost no one knows about this feature. -Latin America seems kinda left out. Gaming really started to take off in the mid 2010s and the most countries in the region still really don't care. Recently Chile started to step in, but since games are imported with esrb rating, the government requires retailers to put a sticker on the game case. Not the on the foil that covers it brand new, THE GAME CASE ITSELF AND IT REQUIRES TO TAKE AT LEAST 25% OF THE BACK COVER. You could damage the case trying to remove it. Imagine the controversy this caused.

[@awii.neocities]

The game levels are documented for the PS3. It's in every single game manual, describing the level of intensity and adult content a game has, although it's still somewhat vague.

[@legometaworld2728]

@awii.neocities Interesting but I haven’t been able to find these in the manuals, where are they usually?

[@awii.neocities]

@@legometaworld2728 Second page if I remember correctly.

[@FantasyNero]

ESRB, Pegi & every rating company are actually Meaningless, i was 6 years old playing so many Kids & Adults, Everyone, Everyone10+, Teen & Mature i don't remember if there are Adult only game ratings i played but it doesn't show on the game cover, even there's a lot of adult stuff in games, i enjoy every game of my childhood.

[@crunchybombed2614]

The halo games should be rated T! They aren’t super graphic compared to many pg13 movies

[@slashinghades7347]

Agreed. I was pretty confused back in the OG Xbox days when I seen that Oddworld Strangers Wrath had a lower ESRB rating than Halo 2.

[@Acidonia150reborn]

They said it was because blood did not disapear or stayed on walls was the reason for a M in Europe most the series rated 16+ though.

[@invokedbyred]

Haven’t I already watched this before? 🤔

[@cruxnajii2056]

My thoughts exactly.

[@alejandrocardenas9032]

Yep probably some copyright issue in the first video

[@Rocco049]

Yeah it’s a repost

[@Shockwerk]

@invokedbyred That sounds *almost* like Promise's first verse or something. 🇦🇺🎸🎹

[@xX_JuanCena_Xx]

You didn't have to use an 'unathorized third-party tool' as you said in 6:31 to do that, you could use the official Construction Set.

[@sonicfanboi9619]

Super Smash Bros: Melee has a "T" rating because "E-10" didn't exist until 2005.

[@Infaymoose]

as a minor, i can state that nothing i have seen or heard has affected me in a game, i have remained the same after seeing nudity, blood and gore, violence or language.

[@xlixity]

It's been meaningless since it's inception and is nothing more than a way for politicians and "concerned citizens" to pretend they accomplished anything. My dad only had one requirement: get good grades and take out the trash. Do that and he'd personally go and buy me Mortal Kombat Trilogy or GTA III, handing me the game in front of the cashier.

[@aStupidGecko]

I always thought how it was funny how the only difference with M and A was literally just one year

[@mbdg6810]

Thats why age only makes no sense. Content descriptors are better

[@detective2221]

We dont care

[@wesnohathas1993]

One year of age for millions in earning potential just sounds so ridiculous when you lay it out on paper.

[@deepmind5318]

Smash bros kept getting the Teen rating for 2 more games and suddenly reverted to an E10 rating when the Wii U smash bros released. I mean, seriously ESRB, is Mario hitting Pikachu E or Teen?.

[@Acidonia150reborn]

All of them in Europe was rated Pegi12 but the first one rated by Pegi was 7+ then rest was 12+ same with Kingdom Hearts series.

[@AkameGaKillfan777]

Smash Bros ratings make no sense. The only ways Melee and Brawl are more violent than 64 are because of better hardware and graphics, and still not by that much. But for some reason Smash 4 and Ultimate are E10 rated even though they have the same level of violence and certain "suggestive" themes? You've got to be kidding me.

[@mechadeka]

The E10 rating literally did not exist when Melee released.

[@aidangilmore4946]

The problem of the ESRB being to harsh is that they look at a game and blood, gore, and nudity get’s shown either M or Ao is put on the game. Feedback from an audience could help this problem as they would report violence, blood, gore, nudity, gambling and rate how bad it is.

[@SoupRoutine]

I'd imagine Halo 3 (and other Halos) received an M rating due to the existence of the body horror space zombies. That wouldn't explain Halo 4 though, I guess.

[@s0n4r89]

Halo 4's M rating was probably because of that cutscene where the scientists disintegrate

[@SoupRoutine]

@@s0n4r89 oh yeah, good point.

[@WonderfulWorldOfSuit]

In Australia, Halo 1, 2 and Reach where MA15 (Basically M for you), while 3 and 4 actually got M (Basically T for you). No clue why but think it might be due to more blood splatters from humans in 1 and 2 which isn't as present in 3/4, and the assassinations in Reach at times being brutal with audio that someone probably mistook for bones crushing

[@user-kv2gv6mh7q]

My parents let me play m rated games when i was 7 and never really cared

[@E10979]

Which ones?

[@user-kv2gv6mh7q]

Mw2 gears 2 gears 3 mw4 halo 3 halo 2

[@stef-ruvx]

It’s so silly if you think about it, M 17+ then the next tier up Ao 18+ .. like you’re really going to mature so much in 12 months..

[@DJMigrane]

Hearing "unaccessible" instead of "inaccessible"(the correct word) drove me nuts.

[@Nockblock]

It would be nice to have a system where the people or the Internet pool their resources to give parents as much information as possible and then just let him buy whatever they want to buy, including the really inappropriate stuff, because that should have just as much of a chance to be bought as anything else.

[@Canad1anKronic]

I got excited that this might be a top 10 or 100 list of clueless ratings by different ratings boards 😂 Already watched but ill play it in the background

[@liam7903]

Japan having strict rating laws for videogames while having oversexualized girls dressing up in anime outfits advertising restaurants in Akihabara, extremely low age of consent and other sexually degenerate things

[@ProdMattButler]

When you brought up gambling the first thing I thought of was how in Pokémon FR/LG, a criminal syndicate literally holds Pokémon hostage for you to gamble your coins away in slots to get them. Great video!

[@alle7540]

It’s funny how gambling is supposed to be AO but it’s in literally every tripple A game nowadays.

[@honolulublue72]

Here's how i believe rating systems should be handled, throw them all in the trash and have parents actuality do their job in raising their kids. I have 3 sons, aged 9, 8, and 5. I decide what content they see because I pay for and have complete control over every electronic device they use. I don't believe in censorship in general so I'm pretty open with them and allow them to consume fairly "mature" content when I feel like they are able to comprehend what is happening and that it's nothing more than fantasy. I believe in actuality talking with my kids and determining what they are ready for myself instead of blindly following some ratings board.

[@jellyface401]

I tought they gave that ace attorney the M rating because of the terrorist attack.

[@ThatIckyGuy]

One thing I found interesting about Ratchet and Clank getting T in early years and a lower rating in other countries is that E10+ got introduced about a decade or so ago and ever since then, all the R&C games got an E10+ rather than a T, showing that they were too much for E, but not deserving of a T.

[@theselloutstreamers]

Instead of giving a m rating or stuff like that I think we should just list the content in the game

[@dapperfan44]

They already do that. The ratings help easy categorization. Same with movie ratings.

[@GoeTeeks]

The only solution I can think of is for actual gamers who are also parents of children to take control of the ESRB, who have a better idea of what the effects of playing games with "inappropriate" material had on them as kids. Who even sits on the board right now?

[@arguekayes]

A huge shock to me when i was growing up, mid 2000s, was a kid i became friends with who lived down the street. His parents only allowed him to play E rated games then later T rated when he was older. Meanwhile my childhood i played everything because my Mom and Brothers never really cared for the rating system. They bought me GTA San Andreas, Diablo 2 and Saints Row 2 when i was like 10.

[@kicur0]

What's the difference between new and old video?

[@NeoMoonSevin]

depends what u mean your question can lead down many roads be specific

[@CrocvsGator]

Oh God, Nighttrap really IS just 1992 FNAF.

[@sierrakobold6896]

The E rating came about in '98, the turn of the century change was going from the spay paint style logo to solid black which occured in Q3/Q4 of '99

[@jstyxx4110]

8:51 the actual reason for this was due to one of the cases involving self-harm. It’s not the “3D” 13:40 The part of Halo 5 that was changed is that players don’t bleed when shot in that game. 23:52 They had to change it to “Pipe”

[@realthat1gamer]

i'm not sure dual destinies being rated m was the self harm thing because one of the cases in spirit of justice also involves self harm and that still got rated t

[@gorilla9793]

I wish there was a better system. Some parents, like my mother relied heavily on the ESRB rating. As a result I couldn't play Halo until I was 15 because they were consistently rated M (though thankfully Halo Wars was Teen so I could play that). Also she read an article about the "hot coffee mod" and drew the conclusion that rated M games had hidden content in them. Now that I'm adult and played many more M games it's strange that Halo got an M rating for so long and that it shared this rating with games like GTA IV which is much more deserving of the M rating. I guess the human blood was the main factor because I see they removed that in more recent titles.

[@vaderman212]

The only way to fix this is to have parents sit down, look at some gameplay and determine if it's kosher or not. That's really all I can think of. I mean, had my dad actually done that, I could have had Halo: Combat Evolved instead of Peter Jackson's King Kong or Star Wars Republic Commando. Weird times.

[@NOTABOT2KChann]

Idk if it was just my local GameStop, but they had a little screen at the counter next to the ds games where you could look up information like what games were in-stock, a game's rating, and sometimes there'd be a sort of demo video about the game. Although, stuff like that was totally discontinued because that's all stuff you could just look up now

[@steelbear2063]

Republic Commando is pretty dope though

[@davebob4973]

its weird halo a game with star wars level violence got an m rating while republic commando a literal star wars game with violence got a t

[@theparagamer786]

@@NOTABOT2KChannI don’t think it’s just your local GameStop. I’ve heard of those before and they used to be very common.

[@berkan5578]

I‘m very glad that the Pegi and USK/FSK systems are simpler to understand. Even if the decisions aren't any less weird

[@TemplarBlonic]

“ESRB was never taken seriously” except by my old friend whose mother was so cultishly ferverous over him never seeing anyone do any minor amount of violence(siblings pushing each other playfully) to the point of banning something like Diary of a Wimpy Kid… but was fine with him watching R rated action flicks with his dad.

[@dr.virus1295]

It's not the player's age but their mental capacity, to recognize that it's a game and not reality.

[@Helfirehydra]

It seems like the people who are making the rule about video games. Don’t have the mental capacity to understand the difference between reality and not.

[@DJJruGs]

I remember having Jak and Daxter and not being able to get Jak too because it was teen. I'm very thankful the game store worker told my mom Jak 2 should be rated E so she let me get it.

[@detective2221]

Technically she shouldnt have let you get it though

[@cymes82]

I remember the outcry when *Carmageddon* came out. The devs responded by having the pedestrians turned into zombies (everyone got turned green) in subsequent releases of the game . They still left their screams of terror in , when you mow them down with your vehicle.

[@watching7721]

Germany forced the developers to turn the pedestrians into animals

[@emanthedeman867]

Good thing none of these rating boards knew about GameShark. I ran wild with that thing and playing those Smackdown vs Raw games

[@jasonbraun127]

What annoys me so much about all this "protecting children from dangerous media" nonsense is that what's actually harmful to a child can vary wildly between different kids. A rating system can help but for it to actually work you NEED a parent that knows their child. So in every single one of these scandals the attention is shifted away from the thing that's most important (the parents) to outside forces who are forced to restrict the ways non-children are consuming media in order to "protect the kids." It frustrates the hell out of me sometimes.

[@jamesbailey6257]

Yep, that's what pisses me off so much about ratings systems. Why should artists being censored and stifled, and adults should be forced to consume media differently, because some random couple don't want to parent the child they had. It isn't fair, and don't come up with the "PROTECTING THE KIDS!!" bullshit like that's something you actually care about now. I'm sorry but these systems just shouldn't exist, do your job as a parent and read about something before you buy it for your kid, if you don't think it's good for them don't buy it. Crazy how simple that is

[@mbdg6810]

@@jamesbailey6257the ratings should exist, (content descriptors is a nice start) but they shouldn’t change as if kids are the most important thing to worry about for games more suited to adult audiences

[@dillon1012]

Honestly PEGI is a way better ratings system. Seeing 3+ 7+ 12+ etc is both easier to understand at a glance and more well spaced out then the E, E10, T, M and AO that ESRB uses. If you want to encourage parents to parent, you have to make doing so as easy as possible. The lack of understanding contributes to the amount of knee-jerk censorship that only ends up hurting everyone.

[@catholiccontriversy]

14:20 speaking of "online communications are not monitored by esrb," there were so many explicit user avatar banners in mario kart ds. At least a dozen times I was flipped off while racing. Lol

[@awesomeocelot7475]

I still don’t understand why the AO rating exists if retailers and consoles refuse to sell the games…..

[@CrookiNari]

In Australia, any shop that sells movies, tv shows or games has infographics near the shelves or on the front counter from the ACB explaining what each of the ratings mean. All our ratings are colour coded, the content warnings are on the front of the box next to the rating itself, and MA15+ and R18+ also have the word "restricted" underneath the rating itself to hammer in the point that you need to be at least 15 or 18 to buy or hire the thing respectively. I don't know if that level of specificity would help any other country, or even really how effective it is here, but you can't say the ACB hasn't covered its bases.

[@awii.neocities]

Either way the ACB sucks ass. For some reason Australia bans a shit ton of games no matter what, and any game with drugs in it immediately gets an R18. Also I feel like most R18 ratings here are because the games they rated are known for gore, or because it was just introduced and they felt way more trigger happy with the R18 ratings then they do now.

[@CrookiNari]

@@awii.neocities I'd rather the ACB be there and function as it does rather than media classification being a confusing free for all like it is in America. That being said, we really need to reform classification standards and save RC for actually illegal material.

[@DeafeningCha]

The first video game I ever played is rated M, although it wasn't back when I initially played it. It wasn't even rated, because the ESRB didn't exist. But there my 3 year old self was, playing Wolfenstein 3D in 1993 and calling Hans Grosse "Gutentag" because that's what he said upon seeing you (and because the bad guys seemed to introduce themselves by name in cartoons often)

[@PoisonIvory088]

Bro we know u lying

[@ibeast2959]

​@@PoisonIvory088exactly nobody remembers playing a video game at 3 yrs old especially if it's 25+ years ago😂

[@Konataware]

3 years old playing Wolfenstein 3D and remembering it, wild 😂

[@PoisonIvory088]

@@ibeast2959 lemme guess, they also remember working out as a 3 year old

[@DeafeningCha]

@PoisonIvory088 LOL that would be awesome. Unfortunately my other memories from 3 are way more dull than that, like trying to pour milk on my cereal for the first time and over filling it, or losing my green plastic helicopter toy underneath the oven and not being able to reach it. All of them are just a few random seconds of life that have stayed with me for whatever reason, thankfully they're positive memories

[@andrewgochenaur5647]

Different content but very informative and well researched!

[@alejandrovallencci]

It’s pretty funny to me that Pegi 18 is the highest age rating, and it’s standard for most games that get an M17 in the U.S, but an AO rating in the U.S is a death sentence for a game

[@cradica]

What about USK/FSK 18?

[@kai_alex]

27:02 im a gamer and gaming has helped me have an outlet for when im angry. when i was going through stuff as a kid i went to video games to help have at least one place to go to manage my anger and i still do that to this day. i feel video games made me less violent if anything

[@LocalDiscordCatgirl]

Not ESRB but Rimworld was forced to be removed from Steam and was banned in Australia because our review board because it depicted drug use. It’s now rated R18+.

[@ponponpatapon9670]

why is it that when it comes to video games, governments turn into nanny states?

[@kalt7990]

Just accurately list what the games contain without the age rating. That way no game is rated incorrectly and any concerned parent will be forced to actually read the contents in order to make a decision if it's appropriate for their kids or not.

[@watercat1248]

I agree

[@mechadeka]

Americans can't read.

[@He4rtl3s5]

In Australia it's weird, cause games rated teen are either pg or M, and games rated M are rated as M - recommended for mature audiences, MA15+ or R18+, so it's kinda hard to tell what age is appropriate for most games in australia

[@simbadg13]

One of the things i never understood was my parents wouldn't allow me to play gta v as a teen but were ok with gears of war 3. Like i can execute another player by shoving a flame thrower in there stomach and have fire come out of their mouth and hands. Blow up people with their limbs flying off. Execute a guy by punching them over like 20 times and the final punch blows their head up and many more. But oh boy i better not play the game that doesn't even have dismemberment. Like the only kinda bad thing was the torture part and that wasnt even that bad. just shows how media can just spread misinformation. Like we have games that are just a straight up serial active shooter simulator games but never hear the news saying anything about that

[@dog-ez2nu]

7:25 ''Yee Berates'' That's not his name, that's the article saying that Yee 'berates' the ESRB. Yee being Leland Yee.

[@MelodyGoad]

Yee has a yee-yee-ass haircut :p

[@Somnifuge]

You know, the guy who campaigned against video game violence, who turned out to be an _arms trafficker_

[@rotundmonibuv5103]

Lmao how did he manage to read it that way?

[@GamesbiteRtDL]

After playing the Kirby's Return to Dreamland Deluxe Arena and seeing the Final Boss, I too think the ESRB ratings are useless

[@coffee0093]

I remember pre-ordering Halo Reach limited edition at the mall with my allowance, and they required my dad to be there when I paid for it, and a few months later when I went to get it on release, I had to get my dad again to take it home even though I already bought it

[@BaxterAndLunala]

The ESRB was effectively formed with a primary reason being Mortal Kombat.