GameInformer

That's right, I said it!

I believe ANY and ALL games that includes online gameplay *with voice chat should automatically be rated Mature, regardless of content.  And yes, that includes games like Madden.

If a developer wants their online game to avoid the Mature rating then they should have to leave out the voice chat feature.  (the Wii shows that voice chat isn't essential)

Also, I think that Microsoft should take the morale high ground and demand that the ESRB start putting the Mature rating on their XB Live sub cards.

And finally, I think the ESRB should just bump up the M-rating age from 17 to 18.  The age of a legal adult.

If these changes were made it would force parents to take notice and ask retailers "Why are they doing this?"  Maybe then parents would see that online voice chat isn't a place for children.  Maybe then the adults who play these games could finally start enjoying themselves again.

What say you??  I'm ready!  Bring it on!

Most video games arn't for children. I enjoy the  verbal violence in most online games like MW2 and gears. It makes for a more fun time. But sometimes it is just bad.

I don't think the whole M rating will do anything but hurt game sales.

Besides, an M rated for Madden for online interactions? That's just insane.

They have a warning in most online video games.

Thats rediculous!  that would mean any games with voice chat would be mature, including younger games like viva pinata! i think that you should be able to turn off voice chat in some games, just because some people are just freaking anoying, but not making  it M just because it has voice chat! and making the M rating 18+ instead of 17+? why thats one year apart and its not like these games are R  rated movies!

dude this is so wrong on so many levels that i can not even begin to yell at you

the only thing i will say is the only reason a person would do this is because they are just an angry person who gets beat by little kids in madden and you find the most petty way at getting back at them. its called the mute button use it

If your wondering where i got my great assumption its in the last sentence "Maybe then the adults who play these games could finally start enjoying themselves again."

but i know  the type you are so i will paragraph by paragraph disect this because it is wrong

just because you can talk does not mean that it is rated M

typically most people who play games aside from sports games do not swear to often also you can mute voice chat or just not by your kid a headset

you just assume everyone plays wii  and instantly knows what your talking about  you need too elaborate on this point

given that there is a V CHIP IN THE FRAGGING  XBOX i do not believe xbox live should be limited. This is also bcause you need a parents email adress can shut of gore limit m rated content and can limit friend requests. basically you can keep your kids as safe as you want. so the parent has no excuse. not to mention the fact that the live marketplace has stuff thats kid friendly. and all the mature content on the market place is regulated as well

i fail to see the big difference between the age of seventeen and eighteen basically it would be more work than its worth to change it

pritty much i beleive that you think this way because you are anoyed by children. given that i am an adult and i enjoy games now. these changes are not

needed to make games more enjoyable

Currently, it reads on the ESRB website:

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Online Rating Notice

Online-enabled games carry the notice "Online Interactions Not Rated by the ESRB." This notice warns those who intend to play the game online about possible exposure to chat (text, audio, video) or other types of user-generated content (e.g., maps, skins) that have not been considered in the ESRB rating assignment.

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I honestly believe it should stay that way, and I think parents should take the time to read it, instead of our game ratings going extreme. I'm saying this as somebody that is 19 and could technically play these games under your proposed plan. It's just plain nuts.

In fact, something as extreme as this would stop gaming as a lifestyle altogether. It's almost as extreme as the beliefs as Jack Thompson.

Awful parents are going to let their kids have these 17+ games whether we like it or not.  I highly reccommend the use of the mute button.  The whole argument is bogus.  The harder you make something to get, the more people will want it.  

I'm on the fence about your opinion on the rating, but I really dislike playing online games like CoD:MW2, GoW, with kids. It makes me uncomfortable to know there are kids listening (and joining) in adult conversation and I feel like I am prevented from even using my mic because then I will have to censor myself. I don't really curse...darn is probably the worst thing out of my mouth...but I just wish parents would not let their kids play these games online. If thee was a way to filter games by age, I would def. opt for that at least.

@ EnchantedDaisy

Technically, our rating system is supposed to filter people by age in the first place, but that system is apparently not working now, and whose fault is it? THE PARENTS... And who gets blamed? The games' developers...

@ littlejoe

You say the Wii has proven that voice chat isn't essential, but also note that it is the least popular system when it comes to online gaming in the first place.

If you spit out numbers to me, saying that the Wii is the most played system for online gaming, note that ratio-wise, comparing the number people playing online to the number of systems purchased, the other two systems are far superior in numbers of online players.

Everyone is using words like "should" and "could", but that's not the way things ARE.

Talking to annonomys people online is something that children should not be doing.  I know the old, cliched arguments "hit the mute button", "turn the parental controls on", blah, blah.  On paper that's true, but that is not what is happening.  Online there are unsupervised children using language and saying things their parents would never allow, they are talking to people who their parents would never allow to talk to in person.

What's happening is kids are lying to their parents saying that they always play without a mic or only play with their friends.  But we all know thats not what is happening.  And everyone here knows it.

Let's face the honest truth here, there are stalkers online.  They can be anywhere, even on online video games.  A 17 year old can say "Suck my @#$%!" to a 20 year old, but the other way around and it's considered illegal and sexual charges can actually be pressed.  That's why I think the M ratings for online games should just be bumped up to 18.

Will it solve it completly?  No.  But it would definatly make parents scratch their heads.

Oh...@micheal rylander;

Come on dude.  This has absolutly NOTHING to do with getting beat by kids online.  This is a saftey issue.

I really don't think these changes would accomplish much.  The biggest thing that would change the online landscape is parents actually paying attention to what their kids are up to.  No number of limitations placed by the ESRB can substitute for parents doing their jobs and moderating what their kids do and what games they play.

Everyone already knows that parents are supposed to be moderating what their kids play.  Everyone already knows that parents need to pay attention to what they are buying for their kids.  And truthfully, parents don't really have a problem with a games CONTENT.  They don't really have a problem exposing their kids to extreme violence and sexual themes.  But if they knew what really goes on ONLINE then they would have a problem.  Little kids have a 360 or PS3 in their room playing online behind a locked door.  And if they knew what their kids were saying and/or what was being said to them I can promise you that they would have a real problem with it.

@ littlejoe

The thing is though, the ESRB cannot assume that everything said online is M-rated. They can only rate the concrete things that they can see and hear in the game's  package.

Making games rated M based on online interaction is just plain ridiculous. It would be like making a Disney movie rated R because some teens in the movie theater's audience are exclaiming pure obscenity.

Like the movie theater, could you report users that are simply trying to be offensive? Most of the time, yes.

I think your propositions are extreme and would not accomplish anything. It would only show that video games are corrupt, thus resulting in lower sales. However, I would understand making it a requirement to have the ability to report users online.

Xbox should also make it impossible to create new accounts on the 360 during a user's bantime, if it hasn't been done already.

Again, that's the fault of the parents for neglecting to moderate what their kids are up to.  Who's fault is it when parents allow Jr to play Xbox or Playstation online without randomly (preferably secretely) watching/listening to what Jr's doing/saying?  Who allowed Jr to play their video games behind closed doors?  It falls on the parents every single time.

Well sense the majority of online games are already rated M and kids still get on. The kids who do get online are usually the ones with the parents who don't care, so I doubt raising up the rating age would do much.

I do think we need to get the younger kids off live though. Maybe they should have a voice test when you sign up to see if you hit puberty.

@ Jc17580

That wouldn't work for some people.

I am 19 and still sound like a 14-year-old.