2010 has been a great year for video games. Numerous franchises have seen revivals, sequels and re-inventions. There have also been a wide array of new titles that have been really great.
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But the question remains, how do you know what to get? Some games are not made for children and during the holiday shopping season it’s easy to get caught up in the spirit and forget that it’s important to pay attention. Almost all games on the market have a rating on them from the ESRB showing you, at a glance, what age group the game is made for.
ESRB Rating Symbols
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EARLY CHILDHOOD
Titles rated EC (Early Childhood) have content that may be suitable for ages 3 and older. Contains no material that parents would find inappropriate. |
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EVERYONE
Titles rated E (Everyone) have content that may be suitable for ages 6 and older. Titles in this category may contain minimal cartoon, fantasy or mild violence and/or infrequent use of mild language. |
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EVERYONE 10+
Titles rated E10+ (Everyone 10 and older) have content that may be suitable for ages 10 and older. Titles in this category may contain more cartoon, fantasy or mild violence, mild language and/or minimal suggestive themes. |
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TEEN
Titles rated T (Teen) have content that may be suitable for ages 13 and older. Titles in this category may contain violence, suggestive themes, crude humor, minimal blood, simulated gambling, and/or infrequent use of strong language. |
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MATURE
Titles rated M (Mature) have content that may be suitable for persons ages 17 and older. Titles in this category may contain intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content and/or strong language. |
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ADULTS ONLY
Titles rated AO (Adults Only) have content that should only be played by persons 18 years and older. Titles in this category may include prolonged scenes of intense violence and/or graphic sexual content and nudity. |
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RATING PENDING
Titles listed as RP (Rating Pending) have been submitted to the ESRB and are awaiting final rating. (This symbol appears only in advertising prior to a game’s release.) |
Pan Europe Game Information
If you’re in Europe then you’ll be seeing the PEGI symbols. Most are straight forward and give you an exact age on them so as not to be confusing. With so many member countries it was difficult to create a system that worked for everyone so in come countries a game is rated 12 while in others it’s 13.
PEGI also uses the following content descriptors
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Violence |
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Fear - May be frightening for children |
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Language |
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nudity and or Sex or sexual behavior |
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Drug use or references |
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Depicts scenes of Discrimination |
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Gambling references or simulations |
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Online Generally not regulated |
Now that you’re well informed about the game rating systems, let’s get to the games!
Other GDN Holiday Guides:
If you’re looking for recommendations on what to get a gamer, check out our Gift Guides:
The Staff guide will include gaming items and staff recommendations that are under the $100 mark.
The Game Guide will feature all the hottest games of the year, plus the highest rated games that were reviewed this year at GDN.
The Non-gaming Guide (Nov. 21st) will feature items that aren’t exactly gaming-related but that would appeal to a wide range of gamers and fall into common interests or just downright cool gear.
The 2009 Stock Stuffer Guide - Video Game Gift Ideas Under $25.
