The Entertainment Software Ratings Board has announced a new online feature designed to help parents decide which video games are appropriate for their children. New “ratings summaries”, available through the ESRB’s web site as well as a new mobile web site, will provide clearer explanations of content for video games rated since July 1, 2008. In a news release from the ESRB, president Patricia Vance says:

“Research shows that the vast majority of parents who purchase games for their kids are aware of and regularly check ESRB ratings, but parents can always use more help when
making choices as to which games are right for their children. With our new rating summaries, which provide exclusive and unprecedented insight into the nature of the content that triggered a given rating assignment, parents will be that much more empowered in making those choices.” 

This move from the ESRB has received praise from supporters of stricter video game legislation, including Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Joe Lieberman, as well groups like the PTA and the National Institute on Media and the Family.