The ESRB
Ratings are important classification information about a content. At a glimpse they
can help you chose the best and safest contents for your children, yourself,
and your whole family. Read this article and find out how are they determined,
and how to make the most out of them!
The ESRB
Rating Guide
The
Entertainment Software Rating Board Rating Guide, or ESRB for short, is a
ratings code that provides specific data and information about the about almost
any digital content, including video games and apps for different devices and
platforms.
This rating
can be of great use to parents. They provide important information related to
the video game or content. Due to the rating being displayed with a convenient
seal encasing a letter or code that specifies the rating, these ESRB ratings
allow you to choose the best suited content for their child.
How are
ESRB Rating Guide contents composed
These ESRB
codes are composed by three parts:
- The
Interactive Elements include the
interactive or online features of the content. These are its ability to connect
and interact with the Internet and/or other users, sharing locations or data,
the ability to place purchases, and more.
- The
Content Descriptors are the details
regarding the contents, languages and more that could be of concern to parents
and users in general.
- The
Rating Categories are the summary of
all other aspects, and they classify the product or content into the categories
you’ll see in the seals, as detailed below.
ESRB Ratings
for your consideration
The ESRB
ratings are as follows:
- eC – Early Childhood. Contents suited for 3 year old
children and older.
- E – Everyone. Contents suited for people of all
ages. However, they can include mild violence and/or strong language. Be
cautious when choosing E-category products for small children.
- E+10 – Everyone 10 and above. Contents can have strong language,
minimally suggestive themes and/or mild violence. Best suited for children of
the age of 10 years and above.
- T – Teens. Contents are best suited for
children of the age of 13 years and above. May contain violence, crude humor,
suggestive themes, blood, gambling and strong language.
- M – Mature. Contents are best suited for young
people of the age of 17 and above. May contain violence, blood, sexual contents
or strong language.
- A – Adults only. Contents are best suited for legally-aged
people, most likely 18 years old, or older. May contain intensive violence,
graphic sexual contents, gambling, or other contents not suited for children.
- RP – Rating
Pending. Contents haven’t yet received its final ESRB ratings. Most often
seen in advertisements, marketing or promotional contents from games and
contents not yet released to the market.
Want to know more…
To learn more about the content descriptors and other important information about the ESRB Ratings and enjoy a brief introductory video
following this link.
