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This week, when the ESRB reported new ratings guidelines, and two senators seem pleased, but if you're curious how a game like Fallout 3 gets treated in the more descriptive write-ups, be warned, because they can be so specific they give away huge parts of the story.
The Entertainment Software Rating Board today rolled out a new set of game rating summaries on their website geared toward parents looking to find out more information about the games they're letting their children play.
Of all the smacktalk that goes on in the video game industry, we didn't expect these two parties to have a go at each other. Between developers, studio heads and console manufacturers — and occasionally community director versus producer — there's plenty of fodder for mudslinging fun. The most recent episode of GameTrailers' "Invisible Walls" podcast, however, is just kind of a bum out. It touches on a recent request from the ESRB to various media outlets, including GameTrailers, that they pull any and all Fallout 3 trailers.
The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is joining forces with child-rearing journal Parenting to help confused parents get a handle on what games are suitable for their children.
The partnership will see Parenting.com host a series of articles explaining both the ESRB rating system and the parental control options that can help prevent kids playing age-restricted games. The site will also offer a 'Video Game Safety' search widget that will show the ESRB rating for any of the 16,000 games in the system's database.
"Video games are actually among the easiest of media for parents to control," said ESRB President Patricia Vance, "and for the readers of Parenting it just got even easier."
For a full explanation, presented using the medium of the press release, hit the jump.
More Fallout 3 advertising dramas! First it was subway adverts being pulled, now it's a bunch of online trailers, Bethesda politely requesting that a number of websites, including Shacknews (though, it must be noted, not us), remove any and all Fallout 3 trailers they'd ever posted, saying only the request was being made "in connection with ESRB's advertising guidelines". Guess there's something in those trailers that's not supposed to be in there. Good thing the ESRB acted so swiftly, and locked this down before the game was released, and...oh.
First the good news. Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe is still great fun. We played it from the comfort of the Kotaku couch this week and had a blast. Now the bad news. That amazing Joker fatality, the one where... well, if you haven't seen it yet, we'd suggest you watch it now. It's awesome.
Siliconera has been poking around the ESRB website again, and have discovered with the help of their commentors that not only has Street Fighter Alpha 2 and the vastly superior to just about everything Alpha 3 have both been rated for the PlayStation 3. This surely means that they will be joining Street Fighter Alpha in the PlayStation Network's stable of classic PSOne titles. Of course when they'll show up is anyone's guess, as it took the original Alpha the better part of a year to go live after it was rated.
Arstechnica reports that the so-called "Lullaby Trailer" above, is verboten for US release per the ESRB. Said Electronic Arts to Arstechnica: "This is called the Lullaby Trailer, and is banned here in the US (well not banned, but wasn't approved) by the ESRB because well, it's pretty gory. EU was allowed to have it and Gametrailers posted it up."
I know I've been really sweet on Dead Space lately, but vids like this earn it. So what's the verdict here gang? There's a decapitation, and a de-legging, and a buncha bodies, and floating blood and gore, and a zombiefied Isaac. The worst part of this, for me, is the pained singing of the lullaby. Please, pairing bloody violence with a child's song? So overdone.
Granted, this is intense (for a trailer anyway) and I can't imagine it being shown on television. But why is this trailer a no-go for U.S. release, but OK for Europe?
Two Dead Space Trailers, One the ESRB Doesn't Want You to See
[Arstechnica]
Hey, geeks and otakus, there's good news on the edutainment front, as the Entertainment Software Ratings Board has given ratings to a slew of new games, including Ubisoft's My Japanese Coach. Yes, now that you've mastered the Spanish and French languages via your Nintendo DS, your next challenge is the tongue of the Japanese people. Finally, the mysteries of Rhythm Tengoku's menu screen will be unlocked to me! It's a perfect compliment to your fansubbed anime of choice.
Also making a rated appearance at ESRB.org is Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty, the PlayStation 3 game that can't seem to keep its existence a secret. Surely, the title must be announced at E3 next week.
Finally, in other exciting news, Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium has been rated for a Wii release, meaning its Virtual Console appearance could be just months to a year away.
It's happened far too many times for me to recount, or even try and dig out links to them, but it usually goes a little something like this: someone finds a rating on the ESRB's website for a game nobody has heard of, and suddenly, its cover is blown. Developers are sad. PR types are making frowny faces. We're left with an announcement, but no details or screens. It's a common occurence, and also one about to be scrubbed out, as - at the behest of publishers - the ESRB are introducing a new means of submitting a game for rating, whereby publishers can request to have a title's entry in their database kept hidden until a specified date (obviously until the PR team announces it themselves). Score one for the marketing guys!
ESRB Reins In Premature Game Leaks [Next-Gen]
