ESRB
 2006 – present logo |
|
| Non-profit, self-regulatory | |
| Industry | Organization and rating system |
| Predecessor |
3DO Rating System Recreational Software Advisory Council Videogame Rating Council |
| Founded | September 16, 1994 |
| Headquarters | New York City, New York, U.S. |
|
Area served
|
United States, Canada (except Quebec) and Mexico |
|
Key people
|
Patricia Vance (President, CEO) |
| Website | www |
The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is a self-regulatory organization that assigns age and content ratings, enforces industry-adopted advertising guidelines, and ensures responsible online privacy principles for computer and video games in the United States, nearly all of Canada, and Mexico. The ESRB was established in 1994 by the Entertainment Software Association (formerly the Interactive Digital Software Association), in response to criticism of controversial video games with excessively violent or sexual content.
The board assigns ratings to games based on their content, using judgment similar to the motion picture rating systems used in many countries, using a combination of six age-based levels intended to aid consumers in determining a game's content and suitability, along with a system of "content descriptors" which detail specific types of content present in a particular game. The ESRB maintains a code of ethics for the advertising and promotion of video games—ensuring that marketing materials for games are targeted to appropriate audiences. In 2011, the ESRB began offering a system to automatically assign ratings for digitally-distributed games and mobile apps, which utilizes a survey answered by the product's publisher as opposed to a manual assessment by ESRB staff. Through the International Age Rating Coalition, this method can generate equivalent ratings for other territories. The ESRB also offers an online privacy certification program for websites and mobile software.
The ESRB ratings system is effectively a de facto standard because of the collective leverage of the Board and the video game industry: major console manufacturers will not license games for their systems unless they carry ESRB ratings, most retail stores enforce ESRB ratings, and also do not carry any games which are not rated by the organization. The ESRB rating system is primarily enforced on a voluntary basis by the video game and retail industry, and is not enforced under federal laws in any of the countries where it is actively used—however, in some parts of Canada, provincial laws require retailers to enforce the ESRB ratings system, with enforcement of these laws handled by regional film ratings boards.
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Wikipedia