Has the ERSB gone to far?

Sir Games-A-Lot · Post by **Sir Games-A-Lot** » Sun Sep 04, 2005 10:28 am

I do not know if any one has encountered this, but the other day I was in wal-mart and was looking at the Plug-n-play tv games and noticed that all the Texas Hold e'm poker boxes had "M" stickers over the printed "E" and an "M" sticker on the back with the descriptor "simulated gambling". I was almost going the bring one to customer service and ask if it were some kind of prank, but I decied I didn't want to look to dumb so I just left them.

For me this seemed like a rather extreme recall considering that there are games out there that involove gambling and do not even get a descriptor. (ones that come to mind: Paper mario: has slot machines and lotteries, Knights of the Old Republic: You recieve money from bets when you duel and place bets when playing the Pazaak card mini games)

Any way what do you guys think does a plg n play poker game realy deserve an "M" rating?

(Oh on a happier note the same walmart has Atari flash back 2's should I gat one?)

Post by **bicostp** » Sun Sep 04, 2005 10:34 am

Yes, bringing a Texas Hold-Em game up to an "M" rating is a bit extreme.

About the FB2: YES! GO GO GO! Go buy one!

(I'm still looking for one...)

halo2rules · Post by **halo2rules** » Sun Sep 04, 2005 10:34 am

ok this is where i draw the line. i mean the gta hot cofee was slightly reasonable (though i shouldve bought the game b4 they took it out

) but honestly, SIMULATED GAMBLING!!! WHO GIVES A FLYING RATS ASS!!! I MEAN CHILDREN DONT EVEN KNOW HOW TO PLAY POKER, WHY IN THE HELL WOULD THEY BUY A GAME THAT THEY DIDNT KNOW HOW TO PLAY! I MEAN IF THEY ARE GIVING THAT GAME A RATING OF M, SHOULDNT GAMES LIKE DISNEY SKATEBOARDING ADVENTURES BE RATED M ALSO?!?!? sry got a little emotional there. but this is still retarded! lets riot ESRB until they give games proper ratings and stop removing things that where an awesome addition in the first place!!!

Weebl · Post by **Weebl** » Sun Sep 04, 2005 10:46 am

Perhaps they're just playing it safe for awhile while they're still under so much speculation. Just a thought here, you said that children don't know how to play poker, so why would they buy it? Well then, that is the cause of the rating not being "E". Its not for everyone. I dunno, that was a kind of weird thought, and I don't know what their justification for making it "M" was, but I'm still behind the ESRB.

Jeff · Post by **Jeff** » Sun Sep 04, 2005 11:14 am

halo2rules wrote:ok this is where i draw the line. i mean the gta hot cofee was slightly reasonable (though i shouldve bought the game b4 they took it out ) but honestly, SIMULATED GAMBLING!!! WHO GIVES A FLYING RATS ASS!!! I MEAN CHILDREN DONT EVEN KNOW HOW TO PLAY POKER, WHY IN THE HELL WOULD THEY BUY A GAME THAT THEY DIDNT KNOW HOW TO PLAY! I MEAN IF THEY ARE GIVING THAT GAME A RATING OF M, SHOULDNT GAMES LIKE DISNEY SKATEBOARDING ADVENTURES BE RATED M ALSO?!?!? sry got a little emotional there. but this is still retarded! lets riot ESRB until they give games proper ratings and stop removing things that where an awesome addition in the first place!!!

Actually, DSBA shoudl be rated T cause its a Disney port of Tony Hawk PS4.

Post by **SpongeBuell** » Sun Sep 04, 2005 12:07 pm

I've seen it before as well. To make things worse, look at this

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6832196003

same "controversies" but this is rated E. Look at the bright side: this may cause people to stop paying attention to the ESRB

vb_master · Post by **vb_master** » Sun Sep 04, 2005 12:07 pm

Yes the ESRB has gone too far. I hate looking at those stupid EC, E, E 10+, T, and M stickers with the slitest infringement on the back! Comic mischief, who cares?!

Conn · Post by **Conn** » Sun Sep 04, 2005 12:40 pm

ESRB is doing a fine job. Sometimes their rating don't make sense (How did LoZ OoT get E, but SSBM T?), and GTA SA should've been kept at M. But otherwise it's completely fine.

This poker game doesn't deserve M though. T at highest. If a game like, say, Harvest Moon used gambling then YES the rating should be raised.

G-force · Post by **G-force** » Sun Sep 04, 2005 2:04 pm

I don't care. I'm 17 so those friggin rules don't apply to me!

extremesonic · Post by **extremesonic** » Sun Sep 04, 2005 4:01 pm

G-force wrote:I don't care. I'm 17 so those friggin rules don't apply to me!

unless of coruse you want to buy the "hot coffee" edition of GTA:SA which is AO(18+).
Mario party has gambling in it, and it says on the rating box(i think) that it contains mild gambling(or simulated). They do a fairly good job on most games, others there waaay off the mark. I find it wierd that most games with graphic blood or nudity get M, ever go see a 14A movie??? Last 2 i saw all had sexuality and nudity in it.

Lucretius · Post by **Lucretius** » Sun Sep 04, 2005 5:14 pm

I'm with G on this, AND I don't care to play those other games anyway. I'm cleared!

shmagoogin77 · Post by **shmagoogin77** » Sun Sep 04, 2005 8:27 pm

those poker thigs are a waste anyway
you can just okay it on the computer with real people

Post by **SpongeBuell** » Sun Sep 04, 2005 8:37 pm

Oh yeah, another thing to throw into the pot: The keyword here should be SIMULATED. There is only a one year difference (in most states) by this logic between the time you can play this game and the real thing. Also, how else should you keep track of your score? One game after another isn't the same as one game after another +scorekeeping. It's like pacman without the high score or anything. It's just not right! [/rant]

Turbo Tax 1.0 · Post by **Turbo Tax 1.0** » Sun Sep 04, 2005 10:42 pm

all ratings are meaningless except M, that is the only rating i wouldnt want a young kid playing

daguuy · Post by **daguuy** » Sun Sep 04, 2005 10:47 pm

no, i know of some M games that are perfectly suitable for young kids. i think T rated games are fine for everybody and M games are good for people 10+ and A games should be for 15+