Visit the ESRB web site to learn more about the rating system, to view guidelines for parents, or to check out the ratings of specific game titles. Visit the RSAC web site at to get more information about their rating system, suggestions for parents, and in-depth articles. There is ongoing debate among researchers, educators, parents, advocates, game developers, and policy makers about whether the current interactive product rating systems are effective. We have very little research evidence indicating whether parents or others attend to the ratings when making purchases. These are all issues worthy of exploration.
Many parents do prefer some guidance about the age-appropriateness of particular content.
On the other hand, individual children do show specific preferences and developmental abilities that may or may not correspond with the age-based ratings. Content-based systems allow persons to make individual judgments about the content and focus less on age recommendations. There are clearly advantages and disadvantages to both types of systems, and so the debate will continue and future changes will likely take place. Ultimately, rating systems provide guidelines for choosing product content. Ratings are, however, only one of several pieces of information to consider.