Tag Archives: ESRB

The ESRB has outed the forthcoming release of Alien Breed 2: Assault.

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In what is probably the most obvious news of the day, the ESRB has handed Red Dead Redemption an M rating for its mature themes.

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The ESRB, ever the outlet for unannounced titles, has outed 15 Sony games in the works for PSP.

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Those who thought that God of War III would not contain another sex mini-game have probably never played a title starring Kratos in their life.

That’s okay though – the ESRB has a lovely description of the latest one for you, and all the sexy details are posted below the break.

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The ESRB has rated Battlefield: Bad Company 2, and in the ratings description, it notes that at one point the player is thrust into World War II before moving on to more modern combat.

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The ESRB has apologized over the “creepy voyeurism” description it gave to Dead or Alive Paradise yesterday, calling it a posting “error” and subsequently replaced the bit with a more impartial one.

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During a panel at the Montreal International Game Summit, A2M CEO Remi Racine accused some publishers of “cheating” in order to get a more favorable rating from the ESRB.

“As a developer who has worked with a lot of different publishers, we’re aware of many that have tried to cheat the rating,” he said. “They say to the ERSB that it’s a Teen rating rather than an Mature to try and sell more. You can do this just by sending them a video that doesn’t show the most violent stuff and then you’ll get the rating that you want rather than the rating you should get.

“We have to make sure that everyone behaves and that the ERSB is duly diligent. Maybe getting your game out at a certain rating will help that game, but it’s really not going to help the industry as a whole.

“Right now I don’t think the industry is doing enough to educate the audience. The ERSB is supposed to do it, but it feels like we just kind of expect these kind of industry or government bodies to do the job for us. As much as I don’t think it’s the place of EA or Activision to go off and try and inform parents on their own, a more active role needs to be taken by all participants to ensure our artists are free to express themselves and that content can be enjoyed responsibly.”

In response to the claim, ESRB spokesman Eliot Mizrachi stated that the ratings board keeps tabs on game after release, and if one is found to be in violation of the rating given – the publisher could face a fine of up to $1 million.

More through Edge, Joystiq.

Not to be outdone by Assassin’s Creed II’s timeless dialogue gem, “She cries as I fuck her,” BioShock 2′s ESRB rating has revealed the game contains the equally awesome phrase, “Fucking sodomites everywhere”.

Not strong enough for you? Hit the link. We won’t spoil the spoiler, but let’s just say there’s some language included in the 2K sequel that’d make a Welshman blush.

Some headlines are born great. The ESRB’s detailed its M rating for Assassin’s Creed II, revealing some pretty special dialogue from the free-running sequel.

“Consumers may also wish to know that the game contains strong profanity, both in English and Italian (e.g., ‘f**k,’ ‘sh*t,’ ‘c*zzo,’ and ‘m*rda’); the most explicit instance occurs when a man frantically describes a ‘vision’ — ‘I’m at the opera . . . the soprano is so beautiful . . . I’m in bed with her, she cries as I f**k her.’”

There’s more. There’s a “Captain” in it that has “page-boy fantasies”.

“The game contains strong sexual overtones,” said the ratings board.

“During one ‘seduction mini-game,’ players are able to press buttons to kiss a woman and remove her dress; with the woman’s back facing the camera, the two characters lower to bed and blow out a candle. Some scenes take place inside brothels, though no nudity or sexual acts are depicted. The dialogue contains the following sexual references: ‘So the whip or the paddle today?’ and ‘Does your wife know about your page-boy fantasies, Captain?’”

You go, Mr Ubisoft. The game’s out next Tuesday for 360 and PS3.

Activision plans to launch the ratings awareness program started by Vivendi in 2008, which will provide education and information to parents regarding children and the videogames they play.

Called The Ratings Are Not a Game, Dr. Cheryl Olson from the Center for Mental Health and Media at Massachusetts General Hospital will preside over the program, the purpose of which is to help parents make intelligent and informed decisions regarding games they allow their children to play.

“I’m pleased to partner with Activision on this initiative, and applaud their consideration for parents’ concerns,” said Olson. “As a parent myself, I know there are so many things to worry about and not enough time, especially during the holiday season.”

Also being used to promote the ESRB, seven videos based on different aspects of gaming are to be released. The first two will focus on using games to teach puzzle solving techniques, and how parents can identify age-appropriate games.

“These videos give practical research-based advice on how to help your kids – and your family – get more out of videogames, and how to watch for and limit electronic gameplay,” added Olsen.

Thanks, GI.biz.

Remember all the hoohah about the cost of ESRB ratings contributing to the consumer charge for PSP Minis? It’s bollocks, according to the ratings body.

“The ESRB has a reduced fee of $800 for games that have development costs under $250,000,” said ESRB spokesman Eliot Mizrachi, speaking to Kotaku.

Obviously this “would likely apply to virtually all PSP Minis,” he added.

This doesn’t quite tally with comments last week from Fieldrunners developer Sergei Gourski, who said that, “The costs of ratings such us ESRB is significantly more then we had realized”.

Maybe Fieldrunners cost more than $250,000 to make, or something. God knows. Hit the links.

Apparently, the ESRB is adding to the high cost of PSP Minis, especially since mandatory ESRB ratings for each can cost developers $2500 green ones.

“You have to invest some money into dev kits and into getting ratings for your game,” Fieldrunners developer Sergei Gourski told Gamasutra. “The costs of ratings such us ESRB is significantly more then we had realized”.

Titles developed for iPhone can forgo dealing with the ESRB, but it’s not like the agency’s not trying to get that to happen.

For now though, Apple is the sole ratings system for the iPhone and while that may sound like a boon to developers, Sony takes three to five days for approval, while Apple approvals can take up to six weeks.

More through Joystiq.

The ESRB has revealed through the US PS Blog that Sony has embedded the board’s Video Game Ratings Guide directly onto PSPgo.

Once accessed, it provides a walk through of ratings, categories and descriptions, and provides a tutorial for setting up parental controls.

However, Sony has said even though the guide is automatically included with PSPgo when you get it, it does not cost anything to access and if you don’t want or need it on there, you can delete it.

More through the link.

Thanks, GamePolitics.

Sony’s SingStar Latino for PS2 and PS3 has been given a rating by the ESRB.

While it has a Teen rating, the description for the game given by the ESRB is rather hilarious as it mentions the videos and song lyrics included in the game.

We can’t do it justice, so here’s what we pulled from the site:

Some music videos depict women in revealing clothing (e.g., tight pants, bikini tops, bra-like tops, shirts/dresses that expose deep cleavage) and performing provocative dance moves (e.g., touching breasts and crotch, grinding and gyrating hips). One video depicts a couple, presumably nude, rolling around and kissing underneath bedsheets. The game includes a video with an extended allusion to bodily fluids: A painting depicts a pipe connected to a man’s groin and emptying a yellow fluid into a stream. As the song plays in the background (e.g., “Mi agüita amarilla…Mo ja las ca lles…Y la empie zo a mear.” [My little yellow water…It wets the streets…And I start to pee.]), a teacher pours a yellow fluid into several cups and serves them to his students, who drink heartily. …… Song lyrics occasionally contain suggestive/sexual references (e.g., “Y no me hables de sexo seguro” [And don't talk to me about safe sex] and “Ni un instinto animal que el sexo vuelva loco” ["Not an animal instinct that goes nuts for sex]).

We can’t wait to see what the ESRB has to say about SingStar Gangsta Rap should that ever come out.

Thanks for the laugh, Joystiq.

The lovely ESRB has rated some classic PSOne games that are destined to hit PSN sometime or another.

Just look at that list. Full of win it is.

• Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain
• Bloody Roar
• Cool Boarders 2
• Cool Boarders 3
• International Track & Field
• Oddworld: Abe’s Exodus
• Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee
• Pandemonium!
• SimCity 2000
• Syphon Filter 2
• Tomb Raider
• Tomb Raider 2
• Um Jammer Lammy

Thanks, CVG (via Examiner).

The Federal Communications Commission has started researching a possible universal rating system to include games, mobile content and television in response to the US Congress investigating current laws are doing enough to protect children from harmful content.

Enter the ESA which says that the FCC has no jurisdiction in games.

According to Rich Taylor, senior VP for communications and industry affairs at ESA, current ESRB ratings are “considered by parents, family advocates, the Federal Trade Commission, and elected officials as the gold standard in providing caregivers with the information they need to make the right choices for their families.”

Taylor feels a universal rating would “confuse consumers, violate the Constitution’s first amendment, and are a solution in search of a problem.”

The FCC maintains control over television an radio in the US – basically airwaves. How games would fall under this category is unknown, unless the FCC lobbies to get more power in its court.

More through Joystiq, via Bloomberg.

Assassin’s Creed: Discovery is real. We’re sure now. The ESRB has spoken, and it doesn’t lie. Ever. Here’s the ESRB’s description of the game, courtesy of GoNintendo.

“This is a side-scrolling action game, set during the Renaissance, in which players assume the role of an assassin fighting against an enemy group known as the Templars. Players traverse rooftops and alleyways, employ stealth attacks to kill targets, and engage in combat by using swords and throwing daggers.”

“The stealth attacks represent the most intense instanced of violence and usually require players to sneak up on targets unnoticed. When players stab enemies in the back or chest, a blade unsheathing noise can be heard as the target falls to the ground and disappears.”

So that’s that.

The lead writer for Dragon Age: Origins, David Gaider, has explained the brothel bit in the game that the ESRB described back in July.

According to Gaider, there is no animal sex in the game – just humor.

“OK — there is humor in Dragon Age,” Gaider told D’toid. “When it comes to a dark game, I think there should be light moments, as well. The light should exist next to the dark for contrast, if nothing else, right? Have some funny moments, have some easy moments. That way, when it does get dark, you need a gut-punch. Then it feels that much more visceral to play.

“In this case, I think it’s even in the ESRB statement, if you go to [the brothel], and you’re talking to the madam, she’s like, ‘what are you interested in?’ One of your options can be ‘surprise me,’ and if you say that, she sends you to your room — and it’s part of a larger quest; it’s just sort of one element of it — there are a number of random things that, when you walk into the room, you will find something there to surprise you.

“There can be a pair of nugs on the bed. Nugs would be these little subterranean bunny pigs you find down in the dwarven cavern. If you click on them, it says, like, ‘the nugs refuse to look you in the eye.’ Or, there’s a transvestite dwarf with, like, lipstick and stuff. He sort of deadpans and he’s like, ‘Yes, the earth moved. It was wonderful.’ So there’s no bestiality. I guess somebody could suggest that because they put animals in my room that it was suggested that bestiality could occur. It’s just played for humor. That’s all.”

Day one purchase.

Shadow of Destiny has been outed by the ESRB for release on PSP.

Konami has not officially announced the title for the US, but a Japanese version was officially announced last month for a UMD release October 1 – same day as the PSPgo is expected to ship to North America and Europe.

Kotaku has all the goods on this, along with the ESRB listing for Contra Rebirth on Wii, which was announced in early July.

According to this ESRB listing for Warner’s Scribblenauts, you can type in “vomit” and a “grey lump” appears on the DS screen. Classy.

If you missed the hullabaloo surrounding DS’s Scribblenauts at E3, the listing explains the premise clearly:

This is a puzzle game in which players navigate a series of traps, puzzles, and enemies to collect stars scattered throughout the colorful levels. Players have the ability to summon different objects by writing/typing in the word (e.g., bike, spaceship, lion) and watching it come to life. If multiple words are entered in a sequence, different whimsical scenarios can be triggered: a bicycle can be used to jump over a baby; a bulldozer can clear away a shark; and cabbage can be fed to dinosaurs.

You’re going to be seeing a lot more on this in the very near future. It’s out later this year.

Via NeoGAF and Joystiq.