<cite>Lair</cite> Creator: Game Ratings 'A Charade,' 'McCarthyism'

The ESRB game ratings system is "a charade," says Julian Eggebrecht, president of game developer Factor 5 and creative director of their upcoming PlayStation 3 game Lair. At the Game Convention Developers Conference in Germany, Eggebrecht had some harsh words for the current system, comparing it to "McCarthyism".

It's a flat out bizarre system... It makes it even harder for games than movies because we don't have the intermediate ratings. They don't really tell you what they will object to - they just say 'well, follow the standards that have been set before', which is a problem if you want to push the envelope.

Game publishers and developers seem to be reluctant, on the whole, to criticize the ESRB. We need more people like Eggebrecht willing to point out the fact that creators are constantly at odds with the rating system, and that there are still so many subjects that video games are de facto not able to tackle.

Ratings board doesn't take games seriously [Eurogamer]