Entertainment Software Rating Board

"ESRB" redirects here. For the European financial agency, see European Systemic Risk Board.

Entertainment Software Rating Board

Company type	Non-profit, self-regulatory
Industry	Organization and rating system
Predecessor	3DO Rating System Recreational Software Advisory Council Videogame Rating Council
Founded	1994 in Canada and United States
Founder	Entertainment Software Association
Headquarters	New York, NY, USA
Area served	Canada United States
Key people	Patricia Vance (President)
Website	www.esrb.org

The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is a self-regulatory organization that assigns age and content ratings, enforces industry-adopted advertising guidelines, and ensures responsible online privacy principles for computer and video games in Canada and the United States. The ESRB was established in 1994 by the Entertainment Software Association (formerly Interactive Digital Software Association), in response to criticism of violent content found in video games such as Night Trap, Mortal Kombat, Lethal Enforcers, Doom, and other controversial video games portraying excessively violent or intense sexual situations. The board assigns ratings to games based on their content, using judgment similar to the motion picture rating systems used in many countries. In addition, content descriptors explain specific types of content present in games. The ratings are intended to aid consumers in determining a game's content and suitability. A game's rating is generally displayed on its box, in its media, in advertisements, and on the game's website. By July 2012 it had assigned more than 22,000 ratings to titles submitted by more than 350 publishers.

Many retail stores prohibit the sale of unrated video games, and major console manufacturers will not license games for their systems unless they carry ESRB ratings.

History

Video games' progression into the 16-bit era brought dramatic increases in graphics and sound capabilities. Blood and gore, in particular, could be portrayed much more clearly than in 8-bit games. Whereas blood in an 8-bit game could look blocky and pixelated, in a 16-bit game, it can be an easily identified fluid graphic. The release of games such as Mortal Kombat, Doom, Night Trap, and Lethal Enforcers resulted in controversy due to violent and otherwise objectionable content. In the United States Senate, Democratic Senators Joe Lieberman and Herb Kohl, of Connecticut and Wisconsin, respectively, led hearings on video game violence and the corruption of society in the early 1990s. Their hearings charged the entertainment software industry with the creation of a working rating system within a year, threatening federal creation of a system if they failed to do so.

Around this time, the Videogame Rating Council (VRC) was formed by Sega, largely to rate its own games. In 1993, the Interactive Digital Software Association (IDSA) was formed, and the 3DO Company formed their own rating system, the 3DO Rating System, for games released on the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer. In 1994, the Recreational Software Advisory Council (RSAC) was formed by the Software Publishers Association. On July 29, 1994 the proposal from the IDSA for a rating system, the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) was presented to, and approved by, Congress In September 1994, the ESRB was established, becoming the de facto rating system for American video games. Initially, many companies who produced computer games, such as LucasArts, Sierra On-Line, and 3D Realms continued to follow the RSAC system, but eventually, all companies agreed to follow the ESRB ratings.

The rating system initially consisted of five different ratings: Early Childhood, Kids to Adults, Teen, Mature, and Adults Only. Shortly thereafter, "Informational" and "Edutainment" descriptors were added. In 1996, the rating icons were altered, adding the "Content Rated by ESRB" text. On January 1, 1998, the Kids to Adults rating was renamed to Everyone. Later that year, the Entertainment Software Rating Board Interactive (ESRBi) was formed, which rated web sites and online games. In late 1999, in order to make the rating symbols more legible, the pixelated rating icons were replaced with black and white ones. Beginning in early 2001, several content descriptors were retired and replaced. Content descriptors with "Animated" or "Realistic" distinctions in them had those portions removed. The "Skills" descriptors used for the Early Childhood rating were removed as well. A short time later, the Gaming descriptor was changed to Gambling, which itself was split into Real and Simulated Gambling in the following years.

In mid 2003, the ESRBi was closed down. On June 26, 2003, content descriptors were made larger and more legible, and newer, more thorough descriptors for violence (Cartoon, Fantasy, Intense) were added as well as a descriptor for Mature Humor. Also, the Mature and Adults Only icons had 17+ and 18+ added to their title band in order to clearly signify the age appropriateness. On March 2, 2005, after conferring with academicians and child development experts, the Everyone 10+ rating was introduced. Raters were initially hired on a part-time basis, but as of April 2007, the ESRB employs raters full-time.

Rating process

To obtain a rating for a game, a publisher sends the ESRB a DVD containing footage of the most graphic and extreme content found in the game, including content related to the game's context, storyline, reward system and other elements that may affect its rating. The publisher also fills out a questionnaire describing the game's content and pays a fee (which is significantly lower for games with development costs under $1 million).

For each game, the ESRB employs at least three trained raters who collectively watch the footage sent in by publishers and recommend a rating. ESRB personnel review the footage and all materials to ensure accuracy of the rating, and a certificate is sent to the publisher. A publisher may subsequently edit the game and resubmit the footage and questionnaire in order to achieve a lower rating, or appeal the rating to a committee made up of entertainment software industry representatives. If a publisher chooses to do so, the process begins anew.

When the game is ready for release, the publisher sends copies of the final version of the game to the ESRB. The ESRB reviews the game's packaging, and a random number of games they receive are play tested for more thorough review. Penalties apply to publishers who misrepresent the content of their games, including the potential for fines up to $1 million and a product recall, if deemed necessary.

The identities of the ESRB raters are kept confidential, although they are all full-time ESRB employees who live in the New York City area. According to the ESRB website, "All ESRB raters are adults who typically have experience with children, whether through prior work experience, education or as parents or caregivers." Raters are supposed to review games as if they were a customer receiving their first glance at the game.

In April 2011, the ESRB introduced a streamlined, automated process for assigning ratings for console downloadable games as a way to address the rapidly growing volume of digitally-delivered games. Rather than having raters review each product, publishers of these games complete a series of multiple-choice questions that address content across relevant categories, including violence, sexual content, language, etc. The responses automatically determine the game's rating category and content descriptors. Games rated via this process may be tested post-release to ensure that content was properly disclosed.

Ratings

The symbols ESRB uses are stylized alphabetical letters meant to indicate the game's suitability.

Abbreviation	Rating	Active since	Description	Suitable for
	Early Childhood (EC)	1994	Games with this rating contain no material that adults would find offensive. This rating is for children ages 3-6. Games that fall under this rating are specifically intended for young children and are usually educational and will usually contain no violence, sexualities, nudity, or use of severe language.	3-6
	Everyone (E)	1998	Games in this category may contain mild, cartoon, or fantasy violence. The content is mild in impact. might also contain of mild language/lyrics, comic mischief, and/or mild suggestive themes. This rating replaced the older K-A at the beginning of 1998.	6 and up
	Everyone 10+ (E10+)	Late 2004	These games contain content that may be considered unsuitable for children under 10 years of age. The content is moderate in impact. Titles in this category may contain more of mild, cartoon, or fantasy violence, mild humor, more of mild language/lyrics, animated/mild blood, and/or more of mild suggestive themes. The ESRB distributed this rating on the late of 2004.	10 and over
	Teen (T)	1994	These games contain content that may be inappropriate for children under 13 years of age. The content is moderate to fairly strong in impact. However, they are not strictly age-restricted and children 12 and under may purchase them. Titles in this category may contain more moderate, cartoon, or fantasy violence, moderate blood/gore, more gambling, strong crude/suggestive humor, used of moderate suggestive/sexual themes, may include partial nudity, and/or frequent use of vulgar language. (T rating could be part restricted, and unrestricted depending of what game it is.)	13 and over.

Abbreviation	Rating	Active since	Description	Suitable for
	Mature 17+ (M)	1994	Games with this rating contain content that is considered unsuitable for people under 17 years of age, and persons under said age may purchase, rent, exhibit or view these games with the supervision of a parent or adult guardian. The content is strong in impact. Titles in this category may contain more blood and gore than the Teen rating would accommodate, mature humor, more gambling, intense violence, sexual themes or content, nudity, (which are often censored and stronger) and/or use of strong language. (M rating could also be part restricted, and unrestricted depending on policly stores.)	17 and over
	Adults Only 18+ (AO)	1994	Games in this category contain content that is unsuitable for people under 18 years of age, and persons under said age may not buy, rent, exhibit or view these games. The content is extreme in impact. These may include adult video games that show sexuality, graphic nudity, use of drugs/alcohol/tobacco, real gambling, and/or more violence, blood and gore than the M rating can accommodate. As of 2012, there have been twenty-one products that have received and kept the rating. The AO rating is the subject of ongoing controversy due to the extreme restrictions it places on game sales. Games from major publishers that receive an AO rating are often "toned down" in order to gain the lesser rating of M. Companies like Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo all have policies against allowing AO rated games to be licensed on their consoles. Additionally, most major retailers, even those who carry M-rated games, must never sell AO-rated titles in their stores or through their websites. Consequently, AO-rated games are restricted to the PC and Mac, and sold in limited fashion.	18 and over

Digital ratings

On October 24, 2012, ESRB announced 3 new ratings for digital games. These Interactive Elements are Shares Info, Shares Location, and User Interact.

Other ratings

Abbreviation	Rating	Active since	Description
	Rating Pending (RP)	1994	This symbol is exclusively used in advertising and marketing materials. It indicates a product that has not yet been assigned a final rating. However, once a game is rated, all advertising for a game must contain its official ESRB rating. Depending on their content, some games supplement their RP rating with the disclaimer, "May contain content inappropriate for children".

Former ratings

Abbreviation	Rating	Active	Description	Recommended for
File:ESRB - K-Av2.svg	Kids to Adults (K-A)	1994–1998	This category indicated titles with appeal to people of many ages and tastes. Titles in this category may contain minimal violence, some comic mischief (i.e. slapstick and gross-out comedy), or some crude language. This rating was replaced in 1998 by the E rating; subsequently, all games with a K-A rating are considered to be E-rated.	All ages

Content descriptors

Content Descriptor	Game Contents	Ratings will be seen
Alcohol Reference	Reference to and/or images of alcoholic beverages	T, M,
Animated Blood	Discolored and/or unrealistic depictions of blood	E10+, T,
Animated Blood and Gore	Unrealistic depictions of blood and/or mutilation of body parts
Animated Violence	Unrealistic depictions of aggressive conflict. This was replaced with the descriptor Cartoon Violence
Blood	Depictions of blood	T, M,
Blood and Gore	Depictions of blood or the mutilation of body parts	T, M, AO,
Cartoon Violence	Violent actions involving cartoon-like situations and characters. May include violence where a character is unharmed after the action has been inflicted	E, E10+, T,
Comic Mischief	Depictions or dialogue involving slapstick or suggestive humor	E, E10+, T,
Crude Humor	Depictions or dialogue involving vulgar antics, including “bathroom” humor	E10+, T, M,
Drug Reference	Reference to and/or images of illegal drugs	T, M,
Edutainment	Entertainment. This may have been replaced by the descriptor Comic Mischief
Fantasy Violence	Violent actions of a fantasy nature, involving human or non-human characters in situations easily distinguishable from real life	E, E10+, T,
Gaming	Shows gameplay. This may been replaced by the descriptor Simulated Gambling
Intense Violence	Graphic and realistic-looking depictions of physical conflict. May involve extreme and/or realistic blood, gore, weapons and depictions of human injury and death	M, AO,
Informational	Learnable Information
Language	Mild to Moderate use of profanity	E10+, T, M,
Lyrics	Mild references to profanity, sexuality, violence, alcohol or drug use in music	E10+, T, M,
Mature Humor	Depictions or dialogue involving "adult" humor, including sexual references	T (rarely),M, AO
Mature Sexual Themes	Explicit and/or frequent sexual references. This was replaced by the descriptor Strong Sexual Content
Nudity	Graphic or prolonged depictions of nudity	M, AO,
Partial Nudity	Brief and/or mild depictions of nudity	T, M,
Real Gambling	Player can gamble, including betting or wagering real cash or currency	(doesn't say. possibly AO)
Realistic Blood	Realistic depictions of blood
Realistic Blood and Gore	Realistic depictions of blood and/or mutilation of body parts
Realistic Violence	Realistic depictions of aggressive conflict. This must be replaced by the descriptor Intense Violence
Sexual Content	Depictions of sexual behavior, possibly including partial nudity	M, AO,
Sexual Themes	References to sex or sexuality. It may include Partial Nudity.	T, M,
Sexual Violence	Depictions of rape or other violent sexual acts	(doesn't say. possibly AO)
Simulated Gambling	Player can gamble without betting or wagering real cash or currency	E, E10+, T, M,
Strong Language	Explicit and/or frequent use of profanity	T, M, AO
Some Adult Assistance May Be Needed	A Early Childhood Descriptor
Strong Lyrics	Explicit and/or frequent references to profanity, sexuality, violence, alcohol or drug use in music	T, M, AO,
Strong Sexual Content	Explicit and/or frequent depictions of sexual behavior, possibly including nudity	M, AO,
Suggestive Themes	Mild provocative references or materials	E, E10+, T, M,
Tobacco Reference	Reference to and/or images of tobacco products	T, M,
Use of Alcohol	The consumption of alcoholic beverages	E10+, T, M,
Use of Drugs	The consumption or use of illegal drugs	T, M, AO,
Use of Tobacco	The consumption of tobacco products	T, M,
Violence	Scenes involving aggressive conflict. May contain bloodless dismemberment	E, E10+, T, M,
Violent References	References to violent acts	E10+, T,

Note 1: Some Descriptors may have "mild" on it, which means that this descriptor is used, but not that often. Also, this website will help with the descriptors if you go to http://www.esrb.org/index-js.jsp

Note 2: Also, when some of the descriptors has no rating beside their information, that means those descriptors are no longer used.

Rating equivalents to the PEGI and the CERO ratings

As the ESRB is North America's Game Rating System, it can be compared to the ratings set up by the PEGI and the CERO.

EC (Early Childhood) and E (Everyone) ratings - Equivalent to the PEGI's 4 rating, and the CERO's A (All Ages) rating.

E10+ (Everyone 10 and up) - Equivalent to the PEGI's 7 rating and the CERO's B (12+) rating.

T (Teen, 13 and over) - Equivalent to the PEGI's 12 rating and the CERO's C (15+) rating.

M (Mature, 17 and over) - Equivalent to the PEGI's 16 rating and the CERO's D (17+) rating.

AO (Adults Only, 18 and over) - Equivalent to the PEGI's 18 rating and the CERO's Z (18+) rating.

Mobile App Ratings

In November 2011, CTIA - The Wireless Association announced that the ESRB had been selected to develop and administer a rating system specifically designed for mobile apps. Founding storefronts for this initiative include AT&T, Microsoft, Sprint, T-Mobile USA, U.S. Cellular and Verizon Wireless.

The "CTIA Mobile Application Rating System with ESRB" assigns ratings via a brief questionnaire that assess the app's content, similar to the one devised by the ESRB for console downloadable games. The ESRB app ratings use the same age rating icons (with the exception of the "Early Childhood" category) and similar content descriptors as the ESRB's traditional game rating system. Apps are also assigned notices that advise of other elements parents might want to be aware of, including the sharing of the user's location or their personal information, or possible exposure to user-generated content. According to a guide posted on ESRB's website, these notices include "Shares Info," "Shares Location," and "Users Interact." Participating storefronts "may display any or all of the components of an app's rating prior to download and/or utilize this information as filtering criteria."

As of September 2012 the ESRB had assigned ratings to more than 100 mobile apps and its ratings could be found in the Windows Phone Marketplace, T-Mobile Mall, and Verizon Apps - which was the first to adopt ESRB ratings for all apps available in their storefront.

Advertising & Marketing Guidelines

In addition to assigning ratings the ESRB also enforces guidelines that have been adopted by the video game industry in order to ensure responsible advertising and marketing practices. These include ensuring that game packaging and advertisements properly display rating information and restricting where ads for games rated T or higher can appear. This allows the ESRB to restrict video game advertising "to consumers for whom the product is not rated as appropriate." The industry's enforcement of advertising and marketing guidelines led the Federal Trade Commission to recognize ESRB as having "the strongest self-regulatory code" of all entertainment sectors in its 2009 Report to Congress.

Video game publishers agree to abide by these guidelines when they receive a rating from the ESRB, and this agreement empowers ESRB to impose fines and other sanctions in cases where a violation of these guidelines has occurred. While ESRB guidelines technically apply only to the companies that submit their products to be rated, online retailers such as Steam, Xbox Live Marketplace, PlayStation Network, and the Wii Shop Channel ban minors from downloading game demos or trailers for games rated Mature or Rating Pending.

Controversy

Overrating

The ESRB has been noted for frequently overrating video games, giving a game a rating of as much as two grades higher or more than the rating given by the rating organization in its country of origin. For example, the games God Hand, Metal Gear Solid: Digital Graphic Novel, Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3, Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 and Samurai Shodown: Sen were all rated B by the CERO, which would technically give them T(13+ or E10+) ratings in North America. However, they were all rated M (17+ - equivalent to CERO's D rating) by the ESRB, a difference of 1-2 grades. However, the Japanese culture does tolerate violence in video games more than the Americans and Europeans. A more prominent example is Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne, which was rated A (all ages) by CERO but M (17+) by the ESRB, a difference of 3 grades. Ar tonelico Qoga: Knell of Ar Ciel, Dead or Alive Xtreme 2, Wolfenstein 3D, Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams, Sexy Poker, Zone of the Enders HD Collection, the aforementioned Nocturne and Persona 3 (Persona 4 received 16+), and many European RPG's with blood in them were also rated M, even though they were rated 12+ by the PEGI. However, this is usually due to the game in question featuring some nudity, which Americans generally find to be less inappropriate than Europeans do. Also, many games that received 7+ rating by PEGI received E10+ rating by the ESRB, despite the PEGI's 7+ rating actually being closer to the ESRB's E rating, which indicated games appropriate for 6 and up. However, this is mainly due to the wide gap between the E and E10+ ratings. A game that is deemed too strong for the E rating is rated E10+. Also, the ESRB is likely to get sued if a parent thinks that a game is rated too low. (Brain Dead 13 is one example of getting a K-A rating (pre-1998 equivalent of an E rating) in spite of frequent and extreme cartoon violence and overly sexual content, which can be too strong for children; this was later remedied in 2010, albeit in the iPhone port and other iOS ports, where it was given a 12+ on the App Store, equvalent to either a T or E10+ rating. [1]) Outside the United States, however, it is hard to sue a large corporation. Also, penalties may be high if one loses a lawsuit. Sometimes video games will be rated T despite the content of the game seeming to line up more appropriately the E10+ rating. This is because some video games that would probably receive an E10+ now were rated before the E10+ rating existed, and, by default, were rated T. Nevertheless, video games often have objectionable content censored out for the European and Japanese audiences, while video games almost never have content censored out of them for the North American audience. On the other hand, many video games have not been overrated (from the standpoint of American cultural beliefs). Most kids' video games have been given the E rating. Some of these video games have been given a 7+ by PEGI, such as Wii Sports, Super Mario World (Virtual Console release), and Sonic Adventure (PSN/XBLA release). Also, most shooters, many of which contain blood, were rated T, while being given a 16+ by PEGI. So at many times, PEGI has rated games higher than the ESRB. (Another example is the USK, which was based in Germany: while Brain Dead 13 was given a K-A rating, as stated above, the USK has given it a 12+ rating due to objectionable violence and sexual content. [2]) Although CERO has been known to rate video games equal to or lower than other companies, CERO has also rated some video games higher than the ESRB. For example, many street racing video games that have been given an E or E10+ by the ESRB have been rated B by CERO. Also, Sonic Adventure 2 was given an E by the ESRB (this game came out before the E10+ rating existed. The Xbox live arcade/PS Network rerelease was rated E10+ due to bad language in some of the music), but was given a B by CERO. A better example is Infamous, which was given a T by the ESRB and a Z (equal to the ESRB's AO and PEGI's 18+) by CERO.

Violence, Gore and the AO and M rating

The ESRB has often been accused of not rating games harshly enough for violence and other related themes. Games such as Harvester, Manhunt, Rise of the Triad, Mortal Kombat, and Soldier of Fortune, which have shown gruesome violence, received an M rating. Many critics have claimed that these games deserve the AO rating and were given the M for commercial reasons. The ESRB states that it rates games AO when warranted - even due to violence. It also states that consoles do not license AO-rated games and only sell Rated M games, and that retailers generally choose not to sell AO-rated games, and that both of those factors cause publishers of AO-rated games to revise and resubmit them in order to obtain the more marketable Mature rating. Rise of the Triad in particular, received the highest violence descriptor: "Wanton and gratuitous violence" from the Recreational Software Advisory Council, which was mitigated by its M rating by the ESRB. The Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Ontario, their respective provincial governments classified Soldier of Fortune and Manhunt as films, and gave them "Restricted" ratings, limiting their sale to adults.

The ESRB has only given out the AO rating for violence alone twice: first for Thrill Kill (which was canceled after the developer was bought by Electronic Arts), and then for Manhunt 2. The Punisher was never officially given the AO rating, as it toned down its violent content (by placing the offending scenes in black and white) to receive an M rating. Manhunt 2 was edited before release in order to qualify for an M, though an uncut PC version has since been released with an AO rating. Of particular concern to the ESRB was a scene depicting castration, which was removed entirely from the M-rated console versions of the game. Thrill Kill received an AO rating with content descriptors for Animated Violence and Animated Blood and Gore, but was never released after the original publisher, Virgin Entertainment, was purchased by Electronic Arts.

GameSpy has suggested that Grand Theft Auto III (their 2001 Game of the Year) received such treatment from the ESRB, saying "Counter-Strike is merely Cowboys and Indians writ large. When you get right down to it, deathmatches are just elaborate games of Tag. GTA 3 is a Thug Simulator... [GTA 3 is] absolutely reprehensible. This is a game that rewards you for causing mayhem. This is a game that is about causing mayhem. It's a game that rewards you for killing innocent people by the dozen."

Twenty-three products have been given the AO rating without revision for a different rating. Peak Entertainment Casinos was rated AO for unsimulated online gambling. Two were given for violence, as aforementioned. The remaining 20 AO games were given rated thus for sexual content or nudity.

Same-sex relationships

While some video games and video game series released in Japan will feature same-sex themes or options that allow players to have same-sex relationships with NPCs, some developers will remove such content from the game entirely when submitting it for ESRB review in the U.S., typically out of concern of receiving a more mature rating. The Harvest Moon series, for instance, has featured the option to have same-sex relationships only in the original Japanese releases. Another example can be found in The Sims series; while the Windows versions are notable for their inclusion of same-sex relationships and marriage, GBA and Nintendo DS ports of The Sims games will not allow the player to have any romantic interactions with members of the same sex.

Hidden content

Main articles: Hot Coffee minigame controversy and ESRB re-rating of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

In 2005, members of the mod community discovered that the PC version of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas could be modified to unlock an incomplete sex minigame known as "Hot Coffee", which Rockstar North had decided to leave out of the final game. The discovery of the minigame caused California State Assemblyman Leland Yee to rebuke both Rockstar and the ESRB, arguing that the ESRB was not doing its job properly. US Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Joe Lieberman also expressed their disapproval. Rockstar initially claimed that the minigame was created by the mod community and was not a part of the original game. This was disproven when it was discovered that a third-party cheat device could be used to unlock the "Hot Coffee" scenes in console versions of the game. Following an investigation the ESRB changed its rating from M to AO, setting a precedent that games can be re-rated due to the presence of pertinent content that exists on the game's disc, even if that content is programmed to not be playable without modification or unauthorized use of a third-party cheat device. Although this made Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas the best selling game to receive an AO rating, Rockstar soon released a patch that disabled the modification on PC versions and re-released the game as Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Second Edition. The new release disabled all access to the "Hot Coffee" mini-game and was given the game's original M rating by the ESRB as a result.

In 2006, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion had its rating changed from T to M due to "more detailed depictions of blood and gore than were considered in the original rating, as well as a mod that, if accessed through a third-party modification to the PC version of the game, allows the user to play with topless versions of female characters." The game's publisher decided not to re-release the game to remove the hidden texture, stating that it believed the original rating was the most accurate assessment of what parents should expect from the game.

Rockstar Games' Manhunt 2 was postponed for three months in the United States and several other countries due to its initial AO rating from the ESRB. Numerous edits brought the rating down to M. Less than a week after the release, it was discovered that the PS2 and PSP versions of the game could be modified to erase the patches that censored the violent content. Rockstar Games has since claimed that even with these modifications, many of the scenes were toned down from the original version submitted to the ESRB for rating. As a result, the ESRB chose not to change the game's rating from M. Ultimately, an AO-rated PC version was released by Rockstar as a download exclusive. Similarly, The Punisher was hacked into to allow uncensored kills, and the PC version had patches to remove the filters and intensify the violence.

News leaks

The ESRB typically posts rating information for new titles on its website 30 days after the rating process is complete. This can cause a game's existence to become public information before its official announcement. As a result, the ESRB implemented a process by which publishers with concerns about this practice can request that information about the game not be posted to the ESRB's website until a specific date.

See also

• ACB, the Australian media rating system
• CERO, the Japanese computer and video game rating system
• GRB, the South Korean computer and video game rating system
• PEGI, the European computer and video game rating system
• USK, the German computer and video game rating system
• Censorship in the United States
• Federal Communications Commission
• Motion Picture Association of America film rating system
• Television content rating systems
• TV Parental Guidelines (US television rating system)
• Video game controversy

External links

• Official website - ESRB.org