- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
Posted by: Soupy21
How are the games rated?
To get a game certified with an ESRB rating, publishers fill out a detailed questionnaire explaining exactly what's in the game, and submit it to ESRB along with actual videotaped footage of the game, showing the most extreme content and an accurate representation of the context and product as a whole. Working independently, three trained raters then view the game footage and recommend the rating and content descriptors they believe are most appropriate. ESRB then compares the raters' recommendations to make sure that there's consensus. Usually, the raters agree and their recommendation becomes final. However, when the raters recommend different ratings, additional raters may be requested to review the game in order to reach broader consensus. Once consensus on a rating and content descriptors is reached, ESRB issues an official rating certificate to the game's publisher.
When the game is ready for release to the public, publishers send copies of the final product to the ESRB. The game packaging is reviewed to make sure the ratings are displayed in accordance with ESRB standards. Additionally, ESRB's in-house game experts randomly play the final games to verify that all the information provided during the rating process was accurate and complete.
That is from www.esrb.com
The game can be rated without the game being finished, however before the game is shipped, the ESRB raters will play the game (they say random meaning that they will have a few people just play the game, and not really look for certain aspects of the game to rate) and just give it an overall grade, and to see if the rating it was given was accurate.
So there you have it, the game could have been given a Mature rating, dispite it being finished. Bungie must have given ESRB all the info of whats going to happen in the game, so that they can rate the game. Whether its done or not (it could very well be done) we dont know for sure.