Entertainment Software Association Launches A New Campaign To Educate Parents On Game Ratings

The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has announced that they will be launching a new public education campaign intended to better inform parents about the game rating system.

"No one knows better than parents when it comes to making decisions about which games their children should and should not play," said Senator John Thune (R-SD) in a statement. "The video game industry makes games for people of all ages, but that doesn't mean all games are appropriate for everyone."

At the center of the campaign will be a series of public service announcements which will call for parents to become aware of the ESRB ratings on games, and also to use game console's parental control options.

In addition, the ESA will be attempting to extend the ESRB ratings system to mobile, tablet, and social games as well. Lastly, the organization will be working closely with the game retailers themselves to use both online and brick and mortar storefronts to educate parents on what the ratings mean.

The ESRB system current utilizes six ratings, from Early Childhood (EC) to Adults Only (AO). However, the most important, and generally the most commonly confused, are the Teen (T) and Mature (M) ratings.

The Teen ratings is probably the most common, and is used for games targeted at people over the age of 12. Mature games on the other hand are meant exclusively for individuals over the age of 17, and can be compared to rated R movies. In the past though, control over who can purchase Mature games, and how well parents are informed about what an M rating means, has been a murky issue.

Hopefully this ESA campaign results in a big step forward to better educating people on how to properly use the ESRB ratings system. It is an effective way to keep violent and sexually explicit games out of the hands of children, but only if parents are utilizing it to inform their purchases.