A game for everyone
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — A 9-year-old walks into a video game store, is handed a Playstation 3 controller by Buster Posey and promptly belts a drive off All-star right-handed pitcher Ryan Vogelsong.
It’s fantasy, sure, but there’s a message.
After a San Francisco Giants workout last week, Posey and Vogelsong spent four hours filming a public service announcement for the Entertainment Software Ratings Board. The non-profit organization assigns content ratings to video games as guidelines for parents, much like the Motion Picture Association of America does with movies.
But whereas the MPAA’S ratings of G, PG, PG-13, R and NC-17 are commonly known, the ESRB’S remain relatively obscure — from EC, which stands for early childhood, to AO, the label given to games meant for adults only.
“You’re trying to raise awareness for parents about checking the rating symbol in the front of games and the content descriptors on the back and showing parents how accessible this really is,” Posey says.
In the ad, Vogelsong asks the kid’s father whether he has checked the rating on the box of a game he’s about to buy, which is rated T for teens and might not be suitable for his son. The dad opts for another game while his kid gets the better of Vogelsong playing MLB 12: The Show. Its rating? E, for everyone.
— Jorge L. Ortiz
dailypitch.usatoday.com