The ESRB Rating Search App: The Video Game Rating Summary For Parents
December 15, 2010
I'm sure LEGOs and so many non-tech toys certainly have their place on the Christmas lists of young girls and boys, however, video games are not going to be ignored at any lengths. Parents aren't always up on the latest and greatest platformers or first-person shooters, but there's no need to fret cautious parental units, the Entertainment Software Rating Board has "an app for that."
Even though the ESRB Rating Search App has been around since November 2009, the latest update adds the convenient search by photo option -- sort of like barcade scanner apps -- and the ability to share rating summaries.
The ESRB Rating Search App allows adults to get a much more detailed insight on video games before going through with giving little Timmy a copy of Call of Duty: Black Ops, for example. The app offers summaries for more than 20,000 games released on July 1, 2008 or after.
Search for games available on Apple Mac OS, Nintendo DS, Nintendo DSi, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Wii, Sony PSP, Sony PlayStation 2, Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Xbox 360, and some mobile phone platforms either using keywords or taking a photo of the primary graphic (front of the game case, etc). The Search Options even allow filtering by platform and rating.
Tapping on a search result will bring up a page with game title, ESRB rating, available platforms, and the rating summary. The rating summary is a brief description of actions that take place during the game, which seem relevant to the why it was rated as such. You can share these results via Twitter, Facebook, or email.
Curious parents can also get general information on what age ranges and characteristics involved with each rating: Early Childhood (EC), Everyone (E), Everyone 10 and older (E10+), Teen (T), Mature (M), and Adult Only (AD). Digging deeper, the ESRB also offers content descriptions for mentions of actions like blood and gore, nudity, violence, and more. All of this information can be found under the About section.
ESRB Rating Search App is compatible with iPhone and iPod touch running iOS 3.1.3 or later. Download the app in the App Store now for absolutely free.
