Rate This!
Games follow a much different path to rating than movies. The publishers and developers have always been very good at self monitoring, and the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is transparent about the process of rating. The ESRB’s stringent, non-partisan rating system ensures ratings are appropriate and follow precedents set for similar games.
So, it was surprising when Connecticut’s attorney general argued against the rating on the new addition to the Wii Frat Party Games by JV Games Inc. “Beer Pong” was rated T (Teen), deemed appropriate for an audience 13 and older. Yet, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal is calling for the innocuous game which depicts mild reference to alcohol consumption to be rated AO (Adults only).
Now, as most of us in the game industry know, and AO rating is meant for content that includes game play with intense violence and/or graphic sexual content and nudity. To make a comparison to movies, School of Rock was a popular movie which was rated PG-13. Blumenthal is asking the equivalent of rating School of Rock with a NC-17 rating.
“Beer Pong” which was recently renamed “Pong Toss”, does not depict the consumption of alcohol, and has no violence or sex. However, Blumenthal argues that images of alcohol in the game merits the highest rating possible.
More than anything, the call for a rating change on the game Wii game reeks of the beginnings of a dystopian science fiction novel. Some day we may look back and remember… “it all started with that super bowl fiasco, then the Wii game re-rating, then the book burnings, and look where we are now.”
/Kirsten
Leave a Reply