http://www.gamepro.com/news.cfm?article_id=160468
Number of mature video games down 50% from 2005
According to the Entertainment Software Ratings Board, the M (Mature 17+) ratings category represented only 6% of assigned ratings in 2007, down from 8% in 2006 and 12% in 2005.
The largest category last year belonged to E (Everyone 6+), which represented nearly 60% of all assigned ratings, up significantly from 2006. The E10+ (Everyone 10 and older) and T (Teen 13+) categories accounted for 15% and 20% respectively.
"While a handful of M-rated titles tend to garner a majority of media attention, the E rating category continues to dominate," said Patricia Vance, president of the ESRB.
Though no specific reasoning was given for the drop in mature rated video games, the growing market for family-friendly titles likely contributed.
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My comments. While I used Gamepro heading, it is not true. Ratings of M video games are down 50%, from 12% to 6%, but there are more games and ESRB says themselves that they are rating more games.
From the ESRB site:
"This past holiday season was the biggest ever for video games, contributing to record-breaking sales in 2007 of nearly $19 billion in the U.S. alone
The ESRB also had the biggest year ever in 2007, having assigned 1,563 ratings, a 22% increase over the prior year."
Also, the time period covers over a console generation shift. Since mature games, on the average, would take longer to develope than 'E' games, the majority I would think would show up later in the console's life, not in its first years.
Torturing the numbers. Hear them scream.
