Entertainment Software Rating Board
The ESRB is the ratings system used in the United States of America and Canada. Some people criticise the ratings system for not being clear by the fact a lettering system is used rather than an age number/group. Below is a table explaining the ESRB ratings system, with descriptions of what each letter represents:
ESRB Ratings
EC — Early Childhood: A game with this rating is intended for very young audiences (usually over 3 years of age) | |
E — Everyone: Generally these games are suitable for people 6 and over. These games may have mild cartoon violence, mischief, among other non-serious actions. | |
E10+ — Everyone 10+: Added in 2005 after there were some complaints about a lack of a rating between E and T. | |
T — Teen: This class usually contains scenes that are appropriate for teenagers, however not for a young audience. A game rated T may contain mild language, small amounts of blood, and light violence. Grand Theft Auto 2 is an example and only Grand Theft Auto to have the T rating. | |
M — Mature: Games in this category contain violence, and may contain violence, strong language, and light sexual content. | |
AO — Adults Only: Contains content suitable for adults over 18 years of age. Games contain strong violence, strong sexual content, strong language, use of drugs/alcohol, etc. Many people believe that this rating is used too sparingly, usually citing Manhunt as an underrated game (it received M), and thus argue it should be used more often. | |
RP — Rating Pending: This rating indicates a game's rating is pending, and no games that are for sale ever feature this rating. It is only put on game advertisements, demo discs, etc. An example of a game RP is Grand Theft Auto IV |
Grand Theft Auto game ratings
The ESRB have rated GTA games ranging from T (Teen) to AO (Adults only). Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas]] was famously re-rated following the Hot Coffee incident, where its M rating was removed and changed to AO. A 2nd edition of the game was released shortly after, and the game regained it's M rating.
The GTA series is rated as follows:
- Grand Theft Auto 1 - M
- Grand Theft Auto: London 1969 - M
- Grand Theft Auto 2 - T
- Grand Theft Auto III - M
- Grand Theft Auto: Vice City - M
- Grand Theft Auto Advance - M
- Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - M (re-rated AO), 2nd edition: M
- Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories - M
- Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories - M
See Also
- BBFC, the British media rating system
- PEGI, the European computer and video game rating system
- ELSPA, the former British computer and video game rating system, replaced by the PEGI ratings.
- USK, the German computer and video game rating system
- OFLC, the Australian media rating system
- OFLC (NZ), the New Zealand media rating system
- CERO, the Japanese computer and video game rating system
External Links