One look at Grand Theft Auto 4 and you’re probably not thinking, “Little Timmy or Susie would just love that game.” No one wants their kids desensitized to reasonless mass murder or the dreaded F-bomb, and understandably so. Let the kids be kids.
Well it turns out if you own a Windows-powered phone, you now have access to the Entertainment Software Rating Board app, where you can check out a full summary of different game ratings and content.
Currently, the ESRB app has ratings information for over 20,000 game titles, which can be accessed by searching for the game or snapping a picture of the box. The app also provides access to ratings summaries — a tidbit not included on the packaging — that can help parents understand the reasons behind a certain game’s rating.
The cool thing about this app is that it’s an app. All of this information can be found online, but that doesn’t really help a parent getting dragged through GameStop by their kid. With ESRB, parents can look up that information immediately and make the call then and there: “No Timmy, you can’t get Sexy Beach 3, maybe when you’re older.”
The app has been available on Android and iOS for quite some time now, but today marks its entrance into the Windows world. The ESRB Rating Search app is available now as a free download from the Windows Marketplace.