With the release of Grand Theft Auto IV and all of the attention it has been receiving about its content, I wanted to visit the ESRB rating system to help shed some light on the uninformed.  There are quite a few different ratings a game can receive.  E (Everyone), E10+ (Everyone 10+), T (Teen), M (Mature) and a few more.  I’ve had a few parents approach me asking for my opinion on buying the game for their 13 or 14 year old kid and I was really surprised at my response.  I told them that I wouldn’t recommend it.  I wouldn’t allow my daughter to play it even if she were 13 or 14 so I responded with that in mind.

There are some things in the game that even I had to ask if it was too much.  Controversy is what this game has been about and apparently that’s not going to change.  GTA IV is rated Mature.  Let’s look into the game and break down its rating shall we?

Mature titles are meant for those who are 17 years of age or older.  Titles in this category may contain intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content and/or strong language.  Intense violence includes graphic and realistic-looking depictions of physical conflict.  It may involve extreme and/or realistic blood, gore, weapons and depictions of human injury and death.  Blood and gore includes depictions of blood or the mutilation of body parts.  Sexual content includes non-explicit depictions of sexual behavior, possibly including partial nudity.  Strong language includes explicit and/or frequent use of profanity.

I took this information from the ESRB and simply put it into one paragraph for easy reading.  For a title like Grand Theft Auto IV, you could throw in quite a few more content descriptors like Drug Reference, Mature Humor, Sexual Themes etc.  Should we expect a 13 or 14 year old to process things of a violent or sexual nature as well as a 17 year old?  Yes, I know that today’s society even some 8 year olds know about this stuff but work with me here.  Anyone younger than 17 years old shouldn’t be playing this game because a Mature rated title is clearly not intended for them.

Adult Only titles are meant for those who are 18 years of age or older.  Titles in this category may include prolonged scenes of intense violence and/or graphic sexual content and nudity.  Intense violence includes graphic and realistic-looking depictions of physical conflict.  It may involve extreme and/or realistic blood, gore, weapons and depictions of human injury and death.  Sexual content includes non-explicit depictions of sexual behavior, possibly including partial nudity.  Nudity includes graphic or prolonged depictions of nudity.

Some people in the media have suggested an AO rating for GTA IV and once you digest the rating system, you’ll probably find little reason to suggest their argument makes no sense.  It does make a small bit of sense on some scale judging by the descriptors above.  What exactly is the difference from 17 years old (Mature) to 18 years old (Adult Only)?  I’d say a few million dollars.  Most retail chains have a policy that doesn’t include the sale of titles with an AO rating from the ESRB.  One has to wonder how many checkmarks short on the rating checklist was GTA during the grading from the ESRB panel.

The keyword in both of these descriptions is “prolonged”.  Once you get more familiar with the rating system, you’ll see that Grand Theft Auto IV’s saving grace was that it went away from any lengthy use or depiction of sexual content, nudity or violence.  Yes, the ability to do so is there but that’s only at the player’s discretion.  You have to choose to do some of these things in the game and although the tools are there, it’s not depicted in the game for a prolonged period unless there’s a trigger.  And yes, you are the trigger.

In other words, you’re not being fed a consistent image via cutscene and you’re not able to walk the streets to see prostitutes constantly giving BJ’s in the alley.  And the fact that you don’t constantly see it with no trigger is what likely saves most Mature rated titles from being Adult Only.  What I’m hoping for is that parents get themselves familiar with the ESRB ratings of these games.  Know how to operate the parental controls on the Xbox 360.  There is information available and ways to help make the right gaming decision for you and your home.  All it takes is a little effort and willingness to know. 

Grand Theft Auto IV is a violent game that has a lot of “in your face” depictions that I wonder myself if they’re really needed.  Did Rockstar go too far?  Did they push the limits of what is acceptable in a video game?  Would it be GTA without it?  I don’t make the big bucks to answer that so all I can do is restrict the effect that it has in my home.  I control the effect of Grand Theft Auto IV and I hope the information here will help others out there control it too.