ESRB And PTA Join For Game Rating Awareness Campaign

In its latest effort to educated the public on its game-rating system, the Entertainment Software Rating Board has launched a new campaign with the national Parent Teacher Association to enable local PTAs to educate the community on the ratings system. Under the agreement, the brochures, which outline the meaning of each rating category, encourage parents to be aware of the rating when making a purchase, and suggest more open discussions with children about their gaming habits, will be distributed in the millions to 26,000 PTA groups across the country. The ESRB claims that in addition to its radio, print, and TV ads that it employs to raise awareness of the ratings system, this new partnership with the PTA is among the most extensive "ground level" campaigns for communities in the country. Said ESRB president Patricia Vance, “ESRB is always pursuing ways to educate parents about the rating system, and we’re incredibly pleased that the PTA has stepped up to participate in those efforts in such a meaningful way.” She added, “Ratings can only be effective if parents understand and use them, and though our research shows that most do, we can all agree that more can and should be done. This campaign will not only help drive home the message to parents that they should be actively involved in choosing games for their families, but also provide them the knowledge and understanding of the rating system to allow them to make informed choices.” The brochure itself can be viewed online via the ESRB website in both English (pdf) and Spanish (pdf).