Gabe, of Penny Arcade, mentioned today that Penny Arcade is designing an ad campaign for the Entertainment Software Rating Board. He explains:
Regardless of what they think about the ESRB I've never met anyone who doesn't agree that a rating system is important. No one wants little kids playing games designed for adults. The ESRB isn't perfect but it's all we've got and we as gamers can either bitch about it or try and help.
OK, I'll bite. Gabe has obviously never met me.
1) A rating system for games is no substitute for parental oversight. I haven't noticed public libraries dividing up literature to protect children. If anything the categorization of fiction by age group for children is to steer children to literature that best matches the child's capacity to enjoy it. This is not what the ESRB is trying to do.
2) A rating system for games by an obviously backwards and regressive organization, essentially supported by large, wealthy corporations is especially a bad idea.
I understand Penny Arcade wants to help. I think they are being a bit too helpful.
Every single day parents have to make value judgements about the appropriateness of various things in their child's life: school, friends, television, books, clothes, ad infinitum. Every single day parents do just fine. The only reason why organizations like the ESRB exist is because of the continuously renewed lie that people are cavemen:
I'm just a simple caveman-parent. This world of "console games" and "computer software" frightens and confuses me! My primitive mind can't grasp these concepts.
People aren't cavemen. The ESRB wants to exercise their power by perpetuating the belief that they are.
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