All of ratings:
Unrestricted Ratings
Active since:1994
Desription:
Games with this rating contain no material that adults would find offensive. This rating is for children ages 3 and over. Games that fall under this rating are specifically intended for young children and are usually educational and no Violence.
Active since:1998
Description:
Games in this category may contain mild cartoon or fantasy violence. The content is mild in impact. This rating replaced the older K-A at the beginning of 1998.
Active since:Late 1994
Description:
These games contain content that may be appropriate for children over 13 years of age. The content is moderate to fairly strong in impact. However, they are not strictly age-restricted and children 13 and under may purchase them. Titles in this category may contain violence, suggestive themes, crude humor, blood, simulated gambling, and/or frequent use of vulgar language.
Active since:Late 2004
Description:
These games contain content that may be considered suitable for children over 10 years of age. The content is moderate in impact. Titles in this category may contain cartoon or fantasy violence, mild language, animated blood, and/or mild suggestive themes. The ESRB distributed this rating on October 1, 2004; the first game to receive the rating was Donkey kong Jungle beat.
Restricted ratings:
Active since:1994
Description:
Games with this rating contain content that is considered unsuitable for people under 17 years of age, and persons under said age may purchase, rent, exhibit or view these games under the supervision of an adult guardian. The content is strong in impact. Titles in this category may contain more blood and gore than the Teen rating would accommodate, intense violence, and sexual themes or content (which are often censored) and strong language.
Active since:1994
Description:
Games in this category contain content that is unsuitable for people under 18 years of age, and persons under said age may not buy, rent, exhibit or view these games. The content is extreme in impact. These may include adult video games that show sex and graphic nudity, or more violence, blood and gore than the M rating can accommodate. As of 2012, there have been twenty one products that have received and kept the rating. The AO rating is the subject of ongoing controversy due to the extreme restrictions it places on game sales. Games from major publishers that receive an AO rating are often "toned down" in order to gain the lesser rating of M. Companies like Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo all have policies against allowing AO rated games to be licensed on their consoles. Additionally, most major retailers, even those who carry M-rated games, do not sell AO-rated titles in their stores or through their websites. Consequently, AO-rated games are restricted to the PC and mac, and sold in limited fashion.
Other Ratings:
Active since:1994
Description:
This symbol is exclusively used in advertising and marketing materials. It indicates a product that has not yet been assigned a final rating. However, once a game is rated, all advertising for a game must contain its official ESRB rating. Depending on their content, some games supplement their RP rating with the disclaimer, "May contain content inappropriate for children
Active since:1994-1998
Description:
This category indicated titles with appeal to people of many ages and tastes. Titles in this category may contain minimal violence, some comic mischief (i.e. slapstick and gross-out comedy), or some crude language. This rating was replaced in 1998 by the E rating; subsequently, all games with a K-A rating are considered to be E-rated.
