ESRB getting teeth

June 15, 2006 on 9:43 pm | In MMO (Live), Industry

I have long respected the ESRB rating system, and the ESA , and any group that voluntarily holds themselves to hire standards than whatever rules exist outline. 

However, there's also going to be those occasions when the rules are violated. Having rules is often not enough. Punishment is needed. As such, while the ESRB is needed and a good idea, I've previously wondered just how much particular sway it had over the industry. It seem to lack any real form of punishment for those who violate the their compliancy rules and standards.

But that appears to be changing.

<>In a presentation yesterday, ESRB President Patricia Vance said the ESRB has the power to enforce up to $1 million in monetary fines for the "most egregious offences," and could potentially suspend publisher's access to the ratings system. Most retailers will not carry games without a rating. Further corrective actions could include pulling advertising until content's corrected, stickered packaging, product recalls and "other steps the publisher must take."

<>This could be a good thing in my opinion.

I'm a big fan of the freedom of speech. However, commerce has different needs, and even the freedom itself isn't not a pure anarchist's dream. People are accountable for what they freely expect, as does an artist for what they create, as do designers, developers and publishers of video games.

For years most companies played by the rules fairly well. But it unfortunately only takes a few very high profile exceptions to this to get the attention of legislaters and professional politicians. The fallout from last year's Hot Coffee fiasco and this year's Oblivion controversy result in, yet again, everyone with a Bill to write or vote to win trying to find some way to protect our children from the evils peddled onto their computer and TV screens. 

This is a valid pursuit of course. Society must be responsible for their own, otherwise, what's the point? But there's a conscientous way to review the situation and then there's the 3-minute sound-byte quick-fix way to do so.

Writing different laws in dozens of different states wouldn't really solve anything, because there'll always be around who can ship what and where in this age of online ordering and overnight delivery.

By strengthening the ESRB, there is hope the agency can maintain the tenuous balance that exists. Letting natural market forces drive who can sell what and when forces the industry to self-regulate for an even more important reason than whether it's right or law: revenue.  We all read Take Two's adjusted revenue for 2005 after Grand Theft Auto got first bumped to Adult rating and then dumped from the shelves of the largest of retailers. Nobody wants a repeat of that.

But most would never have gotten themselves in that situation in the first place. And that's why I think strengthening the ESRB is important. There's too few exceptions to the general self-regulation that already exists to justify the cracking down by the government at large.

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