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Did your parents ever care about the ESRB or PEGI ratings when buying you games?

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Nov 21, 9:17 PM
#1

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Jul 2010
5884
Did they ever care not to buy games that were not recommended for your age, or did they buy them even if they knew you weren't technically supposed to play them? Or were they totally oblivious to all that stuff and just didn't know it was a thing? Mine was pretty much the latter option. They kinda were under the illusion that all games were for kids, but I wasn't into violent games anyway, so I didn't really do anything to burst their erroneous perception either.
Nov 21, 9:59 PM
#2
Nostalgia Rules!

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Jun 2008
15829
I guess an answer like this is probably going to make me show more of my age, but at the time of me being a kid there really was no age rating system. There was something called the isda which preceded the ESRB in the early 90s, and the Sega Genesis games used to have their own rating system, but they weren't really well known at the time. Most parents probably didn't even know they were a thing. Hahaha! ๐Ÿคฃ However I would imagine that if the ESRB rating was around during my time as a child, and my parents knew about it? They definitely would have been keeping an eye out for it. ๐Ÿ‘€

Closest situation I can think of is when my mom made me take back Mortal Kombat on the Sega Genesis when she found out I learned the blood code.
Retro8bitNov 22, 5:16 PM
Nov 22, 12:51 AM
#3

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Dec 2024
37
Nope. My parents were too boomer to care. I played the original RE trilogy with my siblings when I was like 6, though we kinda screamed at the 'first zombie scene' in RE1 and we sucked at the tank controls and afair we like died at the first zombie loool.

This moment lingered on me for several months. But nevertheless, I see it as a memorable, funny sibling bonding moment.
Nov 22, 1:43 AM
#4
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Sep 2025
23
Nah never and that's a very bad thing
Nov 22, 4:40 AM
#5

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Sep 2016
23640
I guess, but probably not in my presence.
*kappa*
Nov 22, 5:15 AM
#6

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Jun 2016
13950
No my dad introduced me to Call of Duty 1 (and 2 a few years later) when I was around 5.
MEA·MENTVLA·INGENS·EST
Nov 22, 6:14 AM
#7

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Feb 2016
15813
It was a moot point because I was never interested in any games beyond my age range, except for Smash Bros.
ใใฎ็›ฎใ ใ‚Œใฎ็›ฎ๏ผŸ
Nov 22, 4:20 PM
#8
Demon Goddess

Online
Aug 2012
2829
Do it for my daughter because I don't want her exposed to stuff I was exposed too at young age. She mostly like fornite, Terraria, Rocket League, Minecraft stuff like that.
Nov 22, 5:11 PM
#9

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Jun 2016
3724
No they never cared.
I first saw a movie with topless women in it (Starship Troopers) when I was about 7 years old, fired a gun for the first time when I was about 11 or 12, and first drank a beer when I was 14 (that brand tasted horrible though so I didn't do it again until I was 25).
Nov 28, 6:47 AM

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Jul 2013
12970
I think these ratings in video games are pretty important. You don't want your kids to be consuming inappropriate content, of course.
Nov 28, 9:06 PM
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May 2012
308
Yes, my mother was absolutely draconian about the ESRB ratings.
Nov 29, 5:10 AM
best user ever

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May 2022
1348
Ehh not rlly...

when i was like 10 BASICALLY my whole family would watch me play rainbow six 3, medal of honor frontline, and halo 2 on the og xbox and no one would bat an eye. Pretty sure my grandma bought all of them for me anyways, and honestly my dad specifically does not give a FUDGE if the games i play are violent, as long as they're related to the military... (he's really into military stuff and he even decided to play some medal of honor with me one time lmao)

Though last month for SOME reason, they got really mad when my friend came over, brang his laptop, and let me play gta V on it saying it was too "violent" and "realistic" ๐Ÿ˜ญ๐Ÿ˜ญ๐Ÿ˜ญ๐Ÿ˜ญ

Yeah so in a nutshell if i play violent "military" games, nobody cares, but if i play violent games outside of that, they'll get angry -_-
Nov 29, 8:49 AM

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Dec 2007
676
Growing up the only games I ever remember my mom saying I couldn't play was Casino / Gambling games. I guess she was worried it'd lead to me getting into it for real, which I can understand some of that.
Nov 29, 9:20 AM

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Sep 2018
14720
My parents used to be gung ho against m rated games, but I convinced them to get me Persona 5 when it released.
Nov 29, 9:28 AM

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Jul 2013
12970
The ESRB ratings are now irrelevant since I'm now over the age of 18 years old, just saying.
Nov 29, 10:04 AM

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Aug 2017
1454
I wasn't allowed to play M-rated games until I was 12, and even then it could only be at my friends' houses on games they owned (my first being Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare). The first M-rated game I actually owned was Fallout 4, which I got to pick out on my 17th birthday.
Some of you never watched Bakugan Battle Brawlers on TeleToon in 2008 and it shows.
Nov 29, 1:28 PM

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Oct 2025
263
My mom respected my freedom and she never cared about ESRB ratings. Unless the cover is explicit maybe.
Somebody kiss Potato. D:<
Nov 30, 1:40 PM

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Sep 2017
3472
Nope, probably because they didn't know what they were

My mom bought me GTA Vice City Stories when I was 10 lmao
Nov 30, 4:41 PM
Nostalgia Rules!

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Jun 2008
15829
Reply to Damuzen
Nope, probably because they didn't know what they were

My mom bought me GTA Vice City Stories when I was 10 lmao
@Damuzen

Dang bro, if only the rest of us could be so lucky! ๐Ÿ˜‚
Nov 30, 5:58 PM

Online
Feb 2010
13504
Reply to Retro8bit
@Damuzen

Dang bro, if only the rest of us could be so lucky! ๐Ÿ˜‚
@Retro8bit You could kinda look over a game's box and tell if it was going to be appropriate or not! ':D I wonder if with games like RE, the box/case gave enough clues about how violent the game actually was?
Dec 2, 4:31 PM
Nostalgia Rules!

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Jun 2008
15829
Reply to Shishio-kun
@Retro8bit You could kinda look over a game's box and tell if it was going to be appropriate or not! ':D I wonder if with games like RE, the box/case gave enough clues about how violent the game actually was?
@Shishio-kun

Yeah they're definitely are exceptions to the rule when it comes to the box art, and then there are some like Conkers Bad Fur Day which can be very deceptive.

I remember a friend of mine once bought me a copy of Rumble Roses for the PS2, and they were only around 14 years old at the time, and nobody at Gamestop questioned anything. ๐Ÿคฃ

Dec 10, 6:44 PM

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May 2023
878
Reply to DesuMaiden
I think these ratings in video games are pretty important. You don't want your kids to be consuming inappropriate content, of course.
@DesuMaiden
every single kid movie is loaded with jokes about penises and defecation and those are never "inappropriate" but parents get all puritanical about little johhny seeing a video game or anime cleavage
Dec 12, 12:51 PM
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Oct 2024
160
Reply to foxes_are_neet
@DesuMaiden
every single kid movie is loaded with jokes about penises and defecation and those are never "inappropriate" but parents get all puritanical about little johhny seeing a video game or anime cleavage
@foxes_are_neet Dude anime cleavage and sexualization is different from raunchy humor, those innuendos and raunchy jokes are to make people laugh and while the other is for older people to be aroused, you don't want to show a 13 and under boobs until they're older.
Dec 12, 1:22 PM

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May 2023
878
SOT_Daemon said:
you don't want to show a 13 and under boobs until they're older.

No, what you show those 13 and unders instead is a year of wildly graphic sex ed in school where you torpedo their little minds into the crotch realm. But that's okay because it's "education" hehe. And of course dicks, buttholes and cuss words in kid movies are just good clean fun! Nothing to see here folks. The real problem is those video games and japanime corrupting the youth.
Dec 12, 1:29 PM

Online
Feb 2010
13504
Reply to SOT_Daemon
@foxes_are_neet Dude anime cleavage and sexualization is different from raunchy humor, those innuendos and raunchy jokes are to make people laugh and while the other is for older people to be aroused, you don't want to show a 13 and under boobs until they're older.
@SOT_Daemon

True..!





Rare foxesRneet L... the fight continues!

Dec 12, 3:16 PM

Offline
Jul 2013
12970
Isn't ESRB ratings the only thing that matters for purchasing video games for children/teens?

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