Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night Has Been Rated by the ESRB

Awesome... it would have been nice to have an "M" rating but most Castlevanias have been T ratings, so I'm good with this... and hopefully we will be playing this game very soon! So hyped!!! (yes, I'm still hyped)

One of my visions for this game is for today's teenagers to discover it like I did with SotN and the other games. Teens of course still want M games, often more than what's appropriately rated for them, but I'd still love for it to be discovered in that way by a new generation. And when that happens, we have a brighter outlook because of it.

I remember Donkey Konga 2 getting a T rating. I believe that was just because of lyrics. Seeing a Phoenix Wright game as M can make sense due to some parts having graphic depictions of violent crime but it's still honestly a bit of a surprise. To me having an ESRB rating means that we are getting close!

This is very encouraging news! Unless I'm mistaken, ratings are only given shortly before the game launches. We might get ROTN sooner than we thought.

About the ESRB itself, it is as i said on the chat, it is mostly based on NA values and standards. As a diehard defender of freedom of expression, i usually dislike certain exaggerations of NA culture regarding sexual content. We have lots of examples, specially on STEAM and Google Play, where games that are mostly ecchi, with nothing but boucing breasts or panty shots, may be enough to be blocked or banned, or, when such games get a high rating from ESRB, while, let's say, games like GTA, where you can steal cars, kill innocent people and commit several violent crimes, may get a lower rating and/or not be banned or blocked on services such as STEAM.

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That aside, ESRB site and Wikipedia article about it, says this:

"To obtain a rating for a game, a publisher submits a detailed questionnaire and a DVD containing footage of the most graphic and extreme content found in the game to the ESRB, including content related to the game's context, storyline, reward system, unlockable and otherwise "hidden" content, and other elements that may affect its rating. They may also provide printed copies of the game's script and lyrics from songs in the game. The footage is reviewed by a team of at least three raters, who discuss what the most appropriate and "helpful" rating for the game would be, based on the footage and details provided. Raters represent various demographics, including parents, along with casual and "hardcore" gamers".

"When the game is ready for release, the publisher sends copies of the final version of the game to the ESRB, who reviews the game's packaging, and a random number of games they receive are play tested for more thorough review. The ESRB typically posts rating information for new titles on its website 30 days after the rating process is complete; in 2008, in response to incidents where this practice inadvertently leaked information about games that had not yet been announced, the ESRB began to allow publishers to place embargoes on the release of ratings information until a game is officially announced."

"In April 2011, the ESRB introduced its Short Form, a free streamlined, automated process for assigning ratings for console downloadable games as a way to address the rapidly growing volume of digitally-delivered games. Rather than having raters review each product (the Long Form), publishers of these games complete a series of multiple-choice questions that address content across relevant categories, including violence, sexual content, language, etc. The responses automatically determine the game's rating category and content descriptors. Games rated via this process may be tested post-release to ensure that content was properly disclosed. The survey-based method is also used in the ESRB/CTIA and IARC rating programs for mobile apps. The ESRB planned to phase out the Short Form for digital-only games, instead directing those developers and publishers to use the similar free questionnaire-driven IARC program, which was being adopted beyond mobile app stores, including the Nintendo eShop and PlayStation Store, as a requirement for posting."

"In response to concerns from Sony on the growing number of indie game titles that were receiving physical releases alongside retail ones, the ESRB began instituting new rules around August 2017 that any retail product was mandated to undergo the standard Long Form review for the game, disallowing the use of the Short Form for such titles. Alongside this, ESRB introduced a "value tier" for the Long Form review process for games developed at lower budgets (under $1 million), with a cost of $3000 for obtaining the retail rating. This decision has impacted the choice of several boutique indie game publishers, who have either cancelled plans for retail versions or had to stop selling retail versions to comply with the new ESRB rules."

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Considering all that, if i got it right, ESRB rating of Bloodstained DOES mean that the game is close to be released because the rating must be done when the game is mostly complete.