Changes: Entertainment Software Rating Board

Revision as of 14:16, 13 August 2021

The Entertainment Software Rating Board is an official rating system for video games that is used within the United States, Canada, and Mexico (via a cross-rating system of the General Directorate of Radio, Television and Cinematography). It was established in 1994 after the senate hearing about violence in video games (see #History).

The ESRB rating system consists of 5 ratings. E, E10+, T, M, and AO (for more information about the ratings, see #Ratings). There used to be a preschool rating named eC but that was discontinued in 2018 (see #History and #Ratings sections).

Since May 2021, the ESRB rating is used by Mexico to cross-rate games in the Mexican system.

History

Founding

The Entertainment Software Rating Board was established in 1994 in response to Senate hearings about violence in video games. It also succeeded Videogame Rating Council that was used for Sega's video games and the 3DO age ratings for 3DO video games. The original ratings were RP, K-A, T, M, and AO. K-A was replaced by E in 1998.

Later era

Originally, the letter icons were pixelated rating icons. However, in 2000, the pixel letter icons for the ratings were changed to just black. They added an E10+ rating in 2005 (see #Ratings for more info).

In 2013, the rating icons changed again, and in 2018, the eC rating was cut from the system because of the low usage and was easily replaced by the E rating, another rating suitable for children (but also for adults) (also see #Ratings for more info).

On November 27, 2020, the General Directorate of Radio, Television and Cinematography announced that they were replacing the the ESRB in Mexico. This took place in effect exactly six months later, on May 27, 2021. However, this only means that the new rating system is used for physical releases, as the ESRB ratings are still used in digital storefronts.

Ratings

Rating	What it means	From	Until
eC (Early Childhood)	Games suited preschool children. This was originally meant to be ages 3 and above but that age was changed to all ages until it was no longer used as of 2018.	1994	2018
E (Everyone)	Games suited for all ages. It was originally meant to be ages 6 and above but that age was changed to all age. Formerly known as Kids to Adults (K+A) until 1998. These games are rated A in Mexico.	1994	Present
E10+ (Everyone 10+)	Games suited for ages 10 and above. This is the newest rating in the Entertainment Software Rating Board, introduced in 2005. Rated B in Mexico	2005	Present
T (Teen)	Games suited for ages 13 and above. The highest advisory rating in Canada. Rated B15 in Mexico.	1994	Present
M (Mature)	Games suited for ages 17 and above. In the United States, no restrictions are passed. In Canada, under provincial laws, it is illegal to supply M-rated games to a person under the age of 17 years. Rated C in Mexico.	1994	Present
AO (Adults Only)	Games suited for ages 18 and above. In stores, anyone buying an AO game must be 18 years or older, and must not be supplied to children under 18. Games are rated D in Mexico.	1994	Present
RP (rating pending)	Games without a rating yet.	1994	Present

Equivalents

eC: TV-Y (US TV) and C (Canadian TV)
E: TV-G and TV-Y7 (US TV), G (Canadian/Quebec TV and movies and US movies), C8 (Canadian TV), 8+ (Quebec TV)
E10+: TV-PG (US TV), PG (Canadian TV and movies and US movies), G (with warning: Quebec)
T: PG-13 (US movies), 14A (Canadian movies), TV-14 (US TV), 14+ (Canadian TV), 13+ (Quebec)
M and AO: R and NC-17 (US movies), 18A and R (Canadian movies), TV-MA (US TV), 18+ (Canadian TV), 16+ and 18+ (Quebec)

Content Descriptors

There is an extra mark for all current ratings (E.G. violence, blood, language, sexual content, nudity, substances). ESRB has executive descriptors that very few (if any) rating systems used.

Category	Subcategories
Violence	Fantasy Violence Cartoon Violence Mild Violence Intense Violence Animated Violence (former)
Language	Mild Language Strong Language Mild Lyrics Lyrics Strong Lyrics
Suggestive Themes	Mild Suggestive Themes Sexual Themes
Blood	Animated Blood Blood and Gore Realistic Blood (former)
Sexual Content	Strong Sexual Content
Nudity	Partial Nudity
Alcohol, Drugs, and Tobacco	Alcohol/Drug/Tobacco Reference Use of Alcohol/Drugs/Tobacco
Gambling	Simulated Gambling Real Gambling
Crude Humor	Comic Mischief Mature Humor

Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB)
Current ratings Discontinued rating

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-The '''Entertainment Software Rating Board''' is an official rating system for video games that is used within the United States of America and Canada. It was established in 1994 after the senate hearing about violence in video games (see [[#History]]).
+The '''Entertainment Software Rating Board''' is an official rating system for video games that is used within the United States, Canada, and Mexico (via a cross-rating system of the [[General Directorate of Radio, Television and Cinematography]]). It was established in 1994 after the senate hearing about violence in video games (see [[#History]]).
 The ESRB rating system consists of 5 ratings. E, E10+, T, M, and AO (for more information about the ratings, see [[#Ratings]]). There used to be a preschool rating named eC but that was discontinued in 2018 (see [[#History]] and [[#Ratings]] sections).
+Since May 2021, the ESRB rating is used by Mexico to cross-rate games in the Mexican system.
-It was originally used in Mexico from 1994 until 2021. In May 2021, it was replaced by their movie and television rating system, the [[General Directorate of Radio, Television and Cinematography]].
 ==History==
@@ Line 28: / Line 28: @@
 |-
 |E (Everyone)
-|Games suited for all ages. It was originally meant to be ages 6 and above but that age was changed to all age. Formerly known as Kids to Adults (K+A) until 1998.
+|Games suited for all ages. It was originally meant to be ages 6 and above but that age was changed to all age. Formerly known as Kids to Adults (K+A) until 1998. These games are rated A in Mexico.
 |1994
 |Present
@@ Line 34: / Line 34: @@
 |-
 |E10+ (Everyone 10+)
-|Games suited for ages 10 and above. This is the newest rating in the Entertainment Software Rating Board, introduced in 2005.
+|Games suited for ages 10 and above. This is the newest rating in the Entertainment Software Rating Board, introduced in 2005. Rated B in Mexico
 |2005
 |Present
@@ Line 40: / Line 40: @@
 |-
 |T (Teen)
-|Games suited for ages 13 and above. The highest advisory rating in Canada.
+|Games suited for ages 13 and above. The highest advisory rating in Canada. Rated B15 in Mexico.
 |1994
 |Present
@@ Line 46: / Line 46: @@
 |-
 |M (Mature)
-|Games suited for ages 17 and above. In the United States, no restrictions are passed. In Canada, under provincial laws, it is illegal to supply M-rated games to a person under the age of 17 years.
+|Games suited for ages 17 and above. In the United States, no restrictions are passed. In Canada, under provincial laws, it is illegal to supply M-rated games to a person under the age of 17 years. Rated C in Mexico.
 |1994
 |Present
@@ Line 52: / Line 52: @@
 |-
 |AO (Adults Only)
-|Games suited for ages 18 and above. In stores, anyone buying an AO game must be 18 years or older, and must not be supplied to children under 18.
+|Games suited for ages 18 and above. In stores, anyone buying an AO game must be 18 years or older, and must not be supplied to children under 18. Games are rated D in Mexico.
 |1994
 |Present