ESRB+Ratings


 * ESRB Ratings Guide **[[image:http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQWD1Bh23SE_LzcvPB69fo04QF5eO5uyOogiEeqNmJG67IVmecK&t=1 width="192" height="113" align="right"]]

Formed in 1994, the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is the most well-known organization to assign content and age ratings to video games. These ratings make it easy to tell what games are appropriate for which age groups, and especially which titles should not be given to minors.

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**Rating Guides**

The [|ESRB] gives all video games one of 7 ratings. These ratings are:

__Early Childhood (EC)__- These games are meant for children up to 5 years of age, and are usually geared towards education. __Everyone (E)__- These games are appropriate for people of all ages. There is usually either no violence or very mild or cartoon violence. __Everyone 10+ (E10)__- Games with this rating contain more instances of violence and mild language, but should be suitable for children ages 10 and up. __Teen (T)__- Titles given this rating are not intended for any children under 13 years of age. These games may include more intense violence, blood, suggestive themes, and instances of strong language. __Mature (M)__- Games with a mature rating contain content that may not be suitable for persons below 17 years of age. This includes intense violence, blood, gore, strong language and sexual content. __Adults Only (AO)__- These games are not meant for any persons under the age of 18. These games have either long scenes of intense violence or strong sexual content and nudity. __Rating Pending (RP)__- Titles labeled Rating Pending have been submitted to the ESRB but are still awaiting a final rating. This rating is only given to games prior to release. In addition to these 7 ratings, there was previously a rating titled __Kids to Adults (K-A)__ which was replaced by the Everyone rating in 1997.

**Parent Responsibilities**

When buying games for your children, it is important to monitor the ratings and content of the games. Titles given a 'Mature' (M) or 'Adults Only' (AO) rating are not intended for younger players, with most stores refusing to sell Mature titles to children and teens under 17 years of age. In addition, most major retailers simply do not carry titles with an Adults Only rating. It is the parent's responsibility to monitor the types of video games their children play. As long as parents keep games with unsuitable content away from children who are not ready for it, there should be no need for censorship in video games, just like with movies.