This Just in From the ESRB
I sent an e-mail to the contact adress on the ESRB website on November 2. Here's what I asked them:Do you have a length of time mandated for the game footage a publisher submits to you for review? Would the average be longer than an hour? Thirty minutes? You guys seem to provide quite a bit of information on how games are rated, but I can't seem to find this piece.
Fast as light, I received their response--on January 4.
In answer to your question, each game submission is different. Publishers are required to disclose all pertinent content for consideration in the assignment of a rating, and the length of the submission tape may vary depending on the amount of pertinent content in each game. For instance, simple puzzle-type games may have significantly less pertinent content than a first-person shooter game, and the length of the submission will typically reflect that difference.
In other words, there are no submission guidelines, really, just an honor system. That works fine for penny candy at the local drugstore, but a multi-billion dollar entertainment industry is not going to be able to keep their head in the sand. Like I've said previously, I fully expect them to roll out a new ratings system by the end of this year to forestall federal legislation.
In positive news, they did apologize for the delay in answering my e-mail.
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