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Do you know what ESRB stands for?
ESRB. No, it’s not a deadly virus, and no, it’s not some sort of weird new drug on the streets. If you’re a gamer, you’re probably familiar with the symbols associated with the ESRB and you’re probably aware that the acronym stands for the Entertainment Software Rating Board, the organization responsible for properly judging the age level appropriateness of computer and console games.
If you have children who are into playing video games, it’s important to be aware of the ESRB rating system and the standards by which it rates games. This is especially important with Christmas and Hanukkuh right around the corner, because the holiday season brings with it the endless gaming- and gadget-oriented wish lists from this new generation of kids, tech-savvy from the age of three.
Now I don’t know about you, but while my son isn’t quite old enough for video games at just under two years old, I am the sort of parent who’d like to stay on top of the violent, sexual, and other mature content my child is exposed to, whether it’s on the Internet, on television, or on the Wii. I’m sure that there are some parents who’ve unknowingly bought their kid a game or two with content they’d later find to be a little more racy than what they’d normally allow their child to be exposed to, or maybe you weren’t too sure of a game and so you didn’t buy it, only to find out later that it would have been perfectly okay with you if your kid played it. That’s why ESRB ratings are helpful in making parents more informed consumers.
As far as the ratings go, they range from EC (Early Childhood), games appropriate for children ages 3 and older which don’t contain anything that parents may find inappropriate, to AO (Adults Only), a rating reserved for games that feature content suitable for adults 18 years of age and older, only.
Ratings symbols are further supplemented with content descriptors, located right next to them, and these give you a better understanding of why the content was given its rating or why a game is a T (Teen) instead of E (Everyone). You can check out a breakdown of all the ESRB game ratings and see a list of the content descriptors on the ESRB website.
Well what if little 9-year-old Johnny decides to sneak Manhunt 2 into the House and play through its gory stages on the sly? What some parents may not be aware of is that they can use the built-in parental control features in their children’s consoles to allow or deny a games to be played according to its ESRB rating.
The Wii, Xbox 360 and the PS3 are all equipped with password protected parental control functions that will enable you to lock out games and DVDs based on their ratings and even limit certain online and multiplayer activities depending on your preferences.
For more information, visit the resources section of the ESRB website.
Technorati Tags: ESRB, parental controls, video games, gaming consoles, security controls, ESRB ratings
This article was originally published by Kristina on BlogCritics.org.
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[...] Mama Divas have a great article that explains an additional bonus these ratings can provide for you and your family. The Wii, X-box 360 and the PS3 are all equipped with password protected parental control functions that will enable you to lock out games and DVDs based on their ratings and even limit certain online and multiplayer activities depending on your preferences. [...]