by Karen Hertzberg on Jan 23, 2008
Rated "E" for Editorial
So what makes an "M" rated game mature? Does anyone REALLY
know? MMOGs have been lucky for the most part, having not
gained the sometimes irrational attention of the morality police in
rating guidelines, but it isn't too big of a leap from attacking Mass
Effect for adult content to nagging about the long term social
implications of killing iksars in Norrath. Platform games have
had it rough and now Savanja editorializes why the ESRB isn't all it
should be and why it needs to be fixed.
The unfortunate part in all of this is the limited
knowledge the ESRB
has and how many find it completely appropriate that they pound their
gavel in judgment knowing next to nothing about any given game. They
might actually play the game, but it isn't a requirement of their
rating process, so chances are they rated the game without having ever
actually experiencing it.