Entertainment Software Rating Board

Entertainment Software Rating Board
Founded	September 16, 1994
Headquarters	New York City, New York, United States
Website	www.esrb.org

The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is an organization that applies ratings for video games in the Americas. It started in 1994. The ESRB rates games based on the graphic material, language, references to alcohol, violence, and so on.

Some content descriptors are listed below, along with games that have gotten them. Few games get the rating Early Childhood and Adults Only, unless they were specifically made for that target audience (other than instances like the infamous Hot Coffee incident with Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and Windows.).

Ratings

The symbols ESRB uses are stylized alphabetical letters meant to indicate the game's suitability.

Unrestricted ratings

Abbreviation	Rating	Active since	Description	Age suitable
	Everyone (E) Todos Enfants et Adultes	1998	Content is generally suitable for all ages. May contain minimal cartoon, fantasy or mild violence and/or infrequent use of mild language.	All Ages (2014-present)
	Everyone 10+ (E10+) Todos +10 Enfants et Adultes 10+	2004	Content is generally suitable for ages 10 and up. May contain more cartoon, fantasy or mild violence, mild language and/or minimal suggestive themes.	10+
	Teen (T) Adolescentes Adolescents	1994	Content is generally suitable for ages 13 and up. May contain violence, suggestive themes, crude humor, minimal blood, simulated gambling and/or infrequent use of strong language.	13+

Restricted ratings

Abbreviation	Rating	Active since	Description	Notes	Age suitable
	Mature 17+ (M) Maduro +17 Jeunes Adultes	1994	Content is generally suitable for anyone aged 17 and up. May contain intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content, nudity and/or strong language.	Retailers or storefronts may refuse to sell M-rated video games to anyone under the age of 17 unless they are accompanied by a parent or guardian. ID's may be asked for proof of age.	17+
	Adults Only (AO) Adultos Únicamente Adultes Seulement	1994	Content is suitable only for anyone aged 18 and up. May include prolonged scenes of intense violence, blood and gore, graphic sexual content including nudity, and/or gambling with real currency.	Storefronts may refuse to sell AO-rated video games to anyone under the age of 18, even if a 17 year old is accompanied by a parent or guardian, is still no. ID's may be asked for proof of age. Nintendo does not allow any games rated AO to be published for their consoles.	18+

Other ratings

Abbreviation	Rating	Active since	Description	Examples
	Rating Pending (RP) Aún Sin Calificar Côté en Attente	1994	Not yet assigned a final ESRB rating. Appears only in advertising, marketing and promotional materials related to a game that is expected to carry an ESRB rating, and should be replaced by a game's rating once it has been assigned.	Upcoming video games, playable demos
	Shares Info Información Compartida	2013	Indicates that personal information which has been provided by a user is shared via third-party programs.
	Shares Location Ubicación Comparte	2013	Users of the same app can share their locations with others.
	Users Interact Interacción de Usuarios	2013	Indicates that users can chat user-to-user and may be exposed to unfiltered, user-generated content.	Social media apps
	This product does not require age classification	1994	Products with this are exempt from the ESRB system due to their content not being game related.	applications, books, subscription services

Discontinued ratings

Abbreviation	Rating	Active	Description	Age suitable
	Early Childhood (EC) Niños Pequenos Jeunes Enfants	1994-2014	Content is intended for young children. In 2014, the EC rating was no longer used for video games, they will instead be rated E.	3+
	Kids to Adults (K-A) Niños a Adultos Enfants aux Adultes	1994–1998	These titles will appeal to people of many ages and tastes. Titles in this category may contain minimal violence, some comic mischief (i.e. slapstick and gross-out comedy), or some crude language. This rating got replaced in the year 1998 by the E rating, which replaced all previously rated games that were Kids to Adults.	6+

Previous designs

Year	Early Childhood	Kids to Adults Everyone	Everyone 10+	Teen	Mature 17+	Adults Only 18+	Rating Pending
1994 – 1999
1996 – 1998
1998 – 1999
1999 – 2001
2000 – 2003
2003 – 2013			(2005 – 2013)

Content

Rating	Description	Which ratings it is used for
Alcohol Reference	Reference to and/or images of alcoholic beverages.	E, E10+, T, M, AO
Animated Blood	Discolored and/or unrealistic depictions of blood.	E, E10+, T, M, AO
Blood	Depictions of blood.	E (Mild), E10+ (Mild), T (Normal or Realistic), M (Realistic), AO (Realistic)
Blood and Gore	Depictions of blood or the mutilation of body parts.	E10+ (Animated), T (Normal or Realistic), M (Realistic), AO (Realistic)
Cartoon Violence	Violent actions involving cartoon-like situations and characters. May include violence where a character is unharmed after the action has been inflicted	E, E10+, T, M, AO
Comic Mischief	Depictions or dialogue involving slapstick or suggestive humor.	E, E10+, T, M, AO
Crude Humor	Depictions or dialogue involving vulgar antics, including “bathroom” humor.	E, E10+, T, M, AO
Drug Reference	Reference to and/or images of illegal drugs.	E10+, T, M, AO
Fantasy Violence	Violent actions of a fantasy nature, involving human or non-human characters in situations easily distinguishable from real life.	E, E10+, T, M, AO
Intense Violence	Graphic and realistic-looking depictions of physical conflict. May involve extreme and/or realistic blood, gore, weapons and depictions of human injury and death.	M, AO
Language	Moderate use of profanity.	E (Mild), E10+, T, M, AO
Lyrics	Moderate references to profanity, sexuality, violence, alcohol or drug use in music.	E (Rare), E10+, T, M, AO
Mature Humor	Depictions or dialogue involving "adult" humor, including sexual references.	T, M, AO
Mild Blood	Mild depictions of blood.	E, E10+, T, M, AO
Mild Cartoon Violence	mild violent actions involving cartoon-like situations and characters. May include mild violence where a character is unharmed after the action has been inflicted	E, E10+, T, M, AO
Mild Fantasy Violence	Mild violent actions of a fantasy nature, involving human or non-human characters in situations easily distinguishable from real life.
Mild Language	Mild use of profanity.	E, E10+, T, M, AO
Mild Lyrics	Mild references to profanity, sexuality, violence, alcohol or drug use in music.	E, E10+, T, M, AO
Mild Suggestive Themes	Very mild provocative references or materials.	E, E10+, T, M, AO
Mild Violence	Mild Scenes involving aggressive conflict. May contain mild bloodless dismemberment.	E, E10+, T, M, AO
Nudity	Graphic or prolonged depictions of nudity.	T (Rare), M, AO
Partial Nudity	Brief and/or mild depictions of nudity.	E10+ (Rare), T, M, AO
Real Gambling	Player can gamble, including betting or wagering real cash or currency.	M (Rare), AO
Sexual Content	Non-explicit depictions of sexual behavior, possibly including partial nudity.	T, M, AO
Sexual Themes	References to sex or sexuality.	E10+ (Mild), T (Normal or Mature), M (Mature), AO (Mature)
Sexual Violence	Depictions of rape or other violent sexual acts. (Is used very rare).	T (Mild), M, AO
Simulated Gambling	Player can gamble without betting or wagering real cash or currency.	E, E10+, T, M, AO
Strong Language	Explicit and/or frequent use of profanity.	T, M, AO
Strong Lyrics	Explicit and/or frequent references to profanity, sex, violence, alcohol or drug use in music.
Strong Sexual Content	Explicit and/or frequent depictions of sexual behavior, possibly including nudity.	M, AO
Suggestive Themes	Mild provocative references or materials.	E, E10+, T, M, AO
Tobacco Reference	Reference to and/or images of tobacco products.	E, E10+, T, M, AO
Use of Alcohol	The consumption of alcoholic beverages.	E, E10+, T, M, AO
Use of Drugs	The consumption or use of illegal drugs.	T, M, AO
Use of Tobacco	The consumption of tobacco products.	E, E10+, T, M, AO
Violence	Scenes involving aggressive conflict. May contain bloodless dismemberment.	E (Mild or Animated), E10+ (Normal or Mild Realistic), T (Realistic), M (Realistic), AO (Realistic)
Violent References	References to violent acts.	E, E10+, T, M, AO
Reading Skills, Fine motor Skills, Higher-Level Thinking Skills	These phrases are found only on products rated Early Childhood and indicate whether children's reading, computer, or other skills are used in these titles.	EC
Some Adult Assistance May Be Needed	Intended for very young ages	EC
Realistic Blood	Stronger version of blood.	T (Rare), M, AO
Realistic Blood and Gore	Stronger version of blood and gore	T (Rare), M, AO
Animated Blood and Gore	Gore with animated blood, or gore with no blood.	E10+ (Rare), T, M, AO
Mild Sexual Themes	Mild references to sex or sexuality.	E10+ (Rare), T, M, AO
Mature Sexual Themes	Stronger version of sexual themes.	T (Rare), M, AO
Realistic Violence	Stronger version of violence. May contain realistic bloodless dismemberment.	T, M, AO
Animated Violence	Weaker version of violence. May contain animated bloodless dismemberment	E, E10+, T, M, AO
Mild Realistic Violence	Stronger version of mild violence. May contain mild realistic bloodless dismemberment. (Is used very rare).	E10+ (Rare), T, M, AO
Mild Animated Violence	Weaker version of mild violence. May contain mild animated bloodless dismemberment	E, E10+, T, M, AO
Gambling	Betting-like behavior.	AO

Where ESRB is used

Country	Notes
Canada	ESRB is officially adopted and legislation is in place to enforce the age classification in shops where video games are sold. Legally enforced by the Ontario Film Review Board in Ontario Legally enforced by the Manitoba Film Classification Board in Manitoba In Nova Scotia, the T age rating is also enforced
Malaysia	Not officially recognized or enforced. ESRB ratings are found on official Nintendo products in this country.
Mexico	ESRB is officially adopted and legislation is in place to enforce the age classification in shops where video games are sold.
Saudi Arabia	Not officially recognized or enforced. ESRB ratings are found on official Nintendo products in this country.
Singapore	Not officially recognized or enforced. ESRB ratings are found on official Nintendo products in this country.
United Arab Emirates	Not officially recognized or enforced. ESRB ratings are found on official Nintendo products in this country.
United States	ESRB is officially adopted and legislation is in place to enforce the age classification in shops where video games are sold. A series of senate hearings in 1992 and 1994 created the ESRB

Trivia

• The first game ever to be rated E10+ was Nintendo's Donkey Kong Jungle Beat for the GameCube. This caused Sega to change parts of Shadow the Hedgehog with some language being changed and blood being changed from red to other colors, but some of the frequently used language was rated that way.
• Mortal Kombat (1993) is the main game known for the creation of the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), due to its graphic fatalities.

See also

• Computer Entertainment Rating Organization
• Pan European Game Information

External links

• Entertainment Software Rating Board at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia