Potential Concerns: Video Game Content Ratings on Reviews

The ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board) rating system is a common way for the video game industry to help parents understand the sex and violent content that may be in a video game. This system consists of two main parts: a rating symbol and a content descriptor.

The rating symbol can be found on both the front and back on the box of any video game or computer game, and are rated as one of the following:

  • Ec (Early Childhood)
  • E (Everyone)
  • E10+ (Everyone over 10 years old)
  • T (Teen)
  • M (Mature)
  • Ao (Adults Only)

In order to provide additional information to the customer, ESRB added content descriptors, which are a set of 32 phrases found on the back of the box describing content in video and computer games. These descriptors include:

  • Comic Mischief
  • Fantasy Violence
  • Partial Nudity
  • Suggestive Themes
  • Use of Drugs
  • and many others...

For the full list with detailed explanations, please refer to the ESRB Game Rating and Descriptor Guide at:
http://www.esrb.org/esrbratings_guide.asp

There is also the option for a warning in the descriptor section that states:

"Game Experience May Change During Online Play."

This warning will be listed on all MMOGs, as the inclusion of a chat room and regularly updated content are not able to be rated using this system. While it may be possible to rate the part of the MMOG that the programmers create (the storyline, use of video, the characters, etc), it is difficult, however, to rate something that involves a massive number of players in a virtual world with a chat-based interface built into the game, and potentially constant updates. The ESRB rating is based only on the initial game content itself (and not the in expansions or what goes on in the chat interface).

Studies have shown that the ratings system for video games is not always understandable or accurate to how parents rate video games. Researchers at Harvard conducted a study of a random sample of 81 games and played each for an hour and rated each. "In reviewing 81 games, the researchers found that 48 percent did not correctly identify that the game contained potentially inappropriate content." (Prange, 2004).

According to the ESRB site, "The ratings are not meant to recommend which games consumers should buy or rent or to serve as the only basis for choosing a product." (ESRB, 2005). Instead, they reccomend that parents combine usage of this rating with reviews of the game in newspapers or Web sites, and rely upon parents' "own tastes and standards and their individual knowledge about what's best for their kids."

Here is an example of a video game rating site that is available on the Web.

MediaWise® KidScore:
"MediaWise® is an initiative of the National Institute of Media and the Family, a non-profit organization."
http://www.mediafamily.org/kidscore/chart.asp?MediaType=games&place=0

Other players are in a MMOG and can technically “say” (type) whatever they want. Because of this, communication in many MMOGs, including World of Warcraft, are monitored, 24 hours a day.

If someone “says” something that is offensive, graphic, or threatening in World of Warcraft, anyone who “hears” (reads) it can report it to the staff at Blizzard (the makers of World of Warcraft) at the push of a button. Offensive players are kicked out of the game — their passwords are disabled. They can create a new identity. Keep in mind that this feature is most effective against these types of incidents when they are reported, and no level of monitoring is perfect.

The issue of offensive content from players is further examined in the Antisocial Players section.