Video Games Revised Ratings System News

Dom

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The video game industry has unveiled a revised rating system featuring more prominent rating displays on game boxes and more detailed information on the kinds of violence featured in some titles.

The Entertainment Software Rating Board said in a statement issued on Thursday that depictions of violence in games would be described by one of four new categories depending on where the action falls between slapstick caricature and more realistic portrayals of injury and death.

The new, more detailed ratings system comes as the video game industry is fighting off attempts by some local governments to ban the sale of violent games to minors.

The ESRB said that as of Sept. 15, it will require new, more descriptive rating information on the backs of game boxes. Also as of that date, the "Mature" and "Adults Only" will be changed to show the minimum recommended ages for each of those categories.

The ESRB said its "cartoon violence" label will apply to games in which violent acts happen to animated characters, while "fantasy violence" will apply in cases in which a scenario clearly distinguishable from reality.

The ESRB defines "intense violence" as bloody, gory and realistic-looking depictions of human injury or death, while "sexual violence" covers the depiction of rape.

Patricia Vance, the head of the ESRB, told Reuters that a major goal of the revisions was to keep the rating system current with the aging gaming population.

"I think certainly one of our goals is to stay current," Vance said, as the age of the average gamer grows from the teens to the late 20s. "The system has to grow with that as well."

Vance also said she hoped local governments would not use the new ratings classifications to pursue further legislation.

"We certainly hope it won't come to that," she said.

The Interactive Digital Software Association, the industry trade group that started the ESRB, recently won a ruling in federal appellate court striking down a St. Louis ordinance that would have banned the sale or rental of violent games to minors.

The IDSA is also seeking an injunction against the enforcement of a Washington law that would bar the sale of games depicting violence against police officers to minors.

____________________
Source: Y!News

digerati

You know this won't be the end...the parents will keep needing something to blame.

craig588

Well I guess animated violence applies to all games then becuase I have never seen real people in my games.


OR: Fantasy violence could apply to all games because I never am able to run around while sitting in a chair.

Yeah, ratings mean nothing. My mom, who is very concerned about violence, hasn't checked a game or movie rating seince I was 10. She stopped becuase she realized I was smart enough to tell the difference between a movie and real life. People then respond to me saying I'm just blaming the partial victems, the parents. Whoa, whoa, hold on a second. If the parents can't knotice that the children are starting to act much differently from normal kids, I don't really think they will even remember they had kids two weeks after the media calms down about the incident. They probably were only vaugely aware they had kids before becuase they treated them with more respect than many adults recieve. They never checked on them, they never noticed they were bringing weapons around with them, or threatening people. If an adult was to do that they would be evaluated by a phsycatrist, and most likly be put in a mental hospital. The parents weren't partial victems, if anything they were bystanders that hoped that nothing will effect them if they just ignore it.