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| Making Sense of ESRB Ratings |
| November 23, 2007 at 4:40pm |
Wondering what's appropriate for your
family?
Now that video games are replacing dolls and toy trains as holiday staples,
chances are your kids or nieces and nephews have a few games on their wish
lists. But if you’re not an avid gamer, how do you decide which games are
age-appropriate for them?
The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) ratings can help you determine
whether a game is appropriate for your young ones. You’re used to movie ratings
from the Motion Picture Association of America, and just as those are designed
to help you with your movie selections, ESRB ratings are designed to help with
your video game selections.
Here’s a short synopsis of the ratings that appear on games you’ll find at GameStop and what they mean:
EC: Early Childhood
These games have content suitable for ages 3 and older, and they do not contain any material that parents
would find inappropriate. Picture a cat and mouse holding up a frying pan and singing
"This is a pan. This is a pan. P-A-N. That spells pan."
E: Everyone
These are generally considered suitable for ages 6 and older, and they may contain minimal
cartoon, fantasy or mild violence and/or infrequent use of mild language. Now picture the
mouse dropping the frying pan on the cat’s toe.
E 10+: Everyone 10 and Older
Titles suitable for ages 10 and older may contain more cartoon, fantasy or mild violence, mild language
and/or minimal suggestive themes. Now the mouse hits the cat in the face with the frying pan, causing
the cat’s face to mold into the shape of the pan.
T: Teen
Teen-rated titles have content that may be suitable for ages 13 and older. They may contain violence,
suggestive themes, crude humor, minimal blood, simulated gambling, and/or infrequent use of strong language.
The mouse hits the cat with the frying pan, causing the cat to use a term that might not be permitted at your dinner table.
M: Mature
Mature-rated games are usually suitable for people 17 and older. Titles in this category may contain
intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content and/or strong language. This time, the mouse uses
the frying pan to decapitate the cat and blood gushes from the open wound. Children under 17 are not
allowed to purchase Mature-rated games at a GameStop store without a parent being present.
RP: Rating Pending
When you’re shopping on GameStop.com, you may see “RP” on promotional materials for a game that is
not yet released and is awaiting its final rating from the ESRB.
In addition to the above categories, you can find ESRB-assigned content descriptors on the back of
the game box which give you further information about specific elements that may have triggered a
particular rating category or you might be interested in knowing about.
Although all of these ratings are designed to help you make an informed purchase, they are not intended
to be the sole factor in determining what’s best for your own kids. The best rating system is the parent
who is aware of what his or her kids are playing, and perhaps even joins in once in a while. To learn more
about ESRB ratings and the content descriptors that determine them, click here.
You can also visit http://www.respecttheratings.com/ to find much more information on choosing the games that are right for you and your family.
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| Vote Now! Their Fate is in Your Hands |
| November 21, 2007 at 3:22pm |
Click on the picture to see the finalists.
Although the deadline has passed to enter our
Machinima Contest,
presented by the United States Navy, you can still see the finalists
and vote until November 30 for the video that you think best
captures the feeling of playing SKATE.
The top two videos were
culled from all of the submitted machinima videos, and it's up to you to decide who will win the coveted Grand
Prize, which is valued at over $4,600, not including the
commemorative plaque.
So what's in it for you? You can feel the surge of power coursing
through your veins as you determine who will be pronounced the King
of Machinima, and who will be taunted until your throat is hoarse. Plus,
you get to see a couple of cool videos. Sorry, there's no
commemorative plaque for that, but you get the satisfaction of
knowing you made a difference.
You can also get you own copy of SKATE,
and use its video-capture capabilities to see if you can top these
videos. The easy-to-use feature allows you to capture footage to share
with your friends. Then perhaps you can pronounce yourself the Supreme King of Machinima.
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| Holiday Hint-Dropping |
| November 20, 2007 at 9:44am |
We have an easier way for you to drop hints.
The holidays are quickly approaching, and the time for subtlety has passed. The hints
you drop need to land with a resounding thud that says, "Don't even
think about getting me socks."
You could dress up like the Ghost of Christmas Future from the Dickens novel and warn
potential gift givers that they will suffer an excruciating fate if they don't give
(your name here) a (your gift here.) If you're not into cosplay, you might send pre-written
thank-you cards, and then inform your friends and family that you are psychic. If you absolutely
want to make sure that you get exactly what you want in your favorite color, just go ahead
and buy your gifts and include invoices in your holiday cards.
However, the best way to maximize your holiday hint-dropping with a minimum of effort is
the GameStop Holiday Wish List.
Your Aunt Edna probably doesn't remember whether you have an Xbox 360 or a PS3; so you need
to help her out. Simply check off the games you want, and then you can e-mail your list to
her and up to three others who are eagerly waiting to hook you up for the holidays. If Aunt
Edna doesn’t have e-mail, you can also print out your wish list and tuck it into the pages of
Look magazine, like Ralphie from A Christmas Story.
So cancel that order for the skywriter, and check out the
GameStop Holiday Wish List.
Aunt Edna will thank you.
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