Ethical Dilemmas -- Page 3
- October 31, 2005 17:07 PM PST
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"Our policies are no different than those in place at movie theaters," says Halpin. All IEMA member companies card for M-rated games."
Essentially, retailers' reliance on the existing rating system gives the ESRB tremendous ability to affect a game's sales. But with great power comes great responsibility, which some accuse the organization of shirking.
"The ESRB presents publishers like me with the worst of two worlds," explains Mastiff CEO Bill Swartz. "On the one hand, they beat me to a pulp with their super-strict ratings. On the other, since opponents don't view their findings as meaningful, I suffer from the prejudice that videogame ratings can't be taken seriously."
Ask industry insiders, and the nature of complaints is as diverse as the range of respondents.
Some say the association assigns ratings arbitrarily. Others claim it isn't subject to any form of oversight. Still more cite discomfort over the severity with which their titles are treated. A growing number of software development houses insinuate favoritism runs rampant. (After all, the institution is funded directly by roughly a dozen publishers... specifically, the sector's biggest.)
Most tellingly, though, many express frustrations that raters' don't even know the first thing about virtual reality.
"Games are rated by a panel of non-gamers," explains another anonymous source. "Tell me what in the hell kind of backwards sense that makes?"
The short answer: as much as you read into the organization's admittedly unique approach to assessing review candidates.
Here's how the process works.
Three anonymous raters -- all part-time employees of varying ages and backgrounds, yet with no ties to the gaming industry -- are selected. Identities are never disclosed, so publishers cannot contact these parties or unduly influence their judgment.
The chosen trio, who must possess some familiarity (but not necessarily expertise) with children, review the questionnaires publishers submit, as well as all game trailers. Each inputs their conclusions independently, and based on a cross-sample comparison, the ESRB looks for consensus, or brings in additional raters until one is reached.
Publishers are awarded an official rating, and prior to a title's launch, game packaging is reviewed for compliance and titles themselves randomly screened to verify all information initially provided was accurate.
"A lot of people ask why our raters don't play games," says ESRB president Patricia Vance. "The answer is that we don't think prior education on the topic is necessary. They're everyday people, there to represent the general public and its pervading opinions."
For now, the facts certainly support these hypotheses.
