Lots of people like to call videogame content ratings censorship, but no one’s preventing games with any type of content from being published. They all see the light of day. Under real censorship, they never would.
No, what ESRB ratings are is a guide as to what type of content to expect from a videogame. It’s meant as an aid to parents, and it’s no different than a movie rating from the MPAA. I mean, it’s not like, to buy an M-rated game, you’re require to submit to a DNA test for immigration, or anything. All ESRB ratings want to do is prevent kids 17 and under from getting hold of adult content games, just as there is a desire to keep them away from R-rated movies or access to pornographic magazines.
A lot of ivory-tower idealists will argue that kids can make their own choice, especially at 17, but most parents of teens know better. In teen years, kids only think they know it all. Of course, even some adults – especially liberals – think that of themselves long before they actually are mature. But since maturity is an individual process, and we all age at the same rate, guess what has to be the measure? That’s right, age.
Is 18 a magic number? No. Considering the behavior of most of the kids I went to college with, it should probably be more like 21, or 25. But the line has to be drawn somewhere, and since 18 is the age at which one can enlist in the armed services and go off to a foreign country to fight and die, I guess allowing them access to a little Grand Theft Auto and Hustler isn’t the worst thing in the world.