ESRB Rating System

The problems right now is that ESRB is not strong enough. ESRB should be more restrictive in rating violent video games. According to Whiting, the ESRB’s decision to start hiring new gamer raters instead of non-gamer raters because “Previously, the ESRB's hiring policy has been to avoid recruiting from the ranks of actual gamers, the theory being that people soaked in game culture and aesthetics might not be the best judges of character when it came to what's appropriate for little Johnny”. Often younger teens get their hands on the video games that are made for adult consumers. I found out that the current ESRB system is ineffective in protecting children from purchasing inappropriate games (Parvaz). According to the “Video Games and Violence”
This proves the ESRB rating system lacks the power to regulate the retailers from selling M rated video games to underage children. According to “Video Games and Violence” the current rating system is not strong enough and inefficient because ESRB is run by the game industry itself, and it is a voluntary system. The ESRB rating system still has weaknesses and needs to be more accurate in rating video game policies.
First problem is that ESRB does not provide enough information to the parent or consumer before they buy it. First ESRB is establishing to help parent to buy a game suitable for their children. But the ESRB claim that it is a parents’ responsibility for their children to play the video games, but not the ESRB responsibility. According to “Video Games and Violence” the 2000 FTC report showed that 83% of violent games were bought by adults and given to children without looking at the ESRB rating
As a result parents should be able to know the rating of the game that they select for their children. In addition, the ratings consist of two parts: one is the ratings symbol which can be found on the front of the box and one on the back of the box which includes a description of the game so the consumers know what kind of video games it is (ESRB). Thus, with the creation of the ESRB rating system, parents have no excuse for not knowing the ratings of the video game their children are playing. According to Anderson and Bushman, “teens in grades 8 through 12 reports that 90% of their parents never check the ratings of video games before allowing their purchase, and only 1% of the teens’ parents had even prevented a purchase based on its rating”. Since parents cannot blame violent video games for causing their children’s aggressiveness, because the ESRB rating system provides content description for parents to choose the video games that are right for their children and families to play. However, parents often do not really understand what the ESRB rating symbols mean. According to Wood, “Studies show that the majority of parents buying games for their kids do check the game's rating, but unfortunately, not all of them know about or understand the ESRB rating system.” The current rating system is too confusing for parents to understand and event