Question
Take a game like GTA IV. Why don't they give the same rating for playing on-line?
The online play is as violent as the offline play. I could understand a lower rating if you can't visit prostitutes and nude dancers in online mode. (I don't know if these "features" are accessible online.)
Take a game like Modern Warfare 2. There's no difference between playing online and playing offline. In my opinion, this game should be rated offline and online with the same rating.
Not that I'm not criticizing the violence in the game. I just want to understand why online gaming is not rated.
Answer
The ESRB doesn't rate online play because there is no way to predict what you'll hear and see online: theoretically, they'd have to rate every game with online play as AO because every game could potentially have content they'd rate that way. (Conversations about "graphic" sex, for example, or people exposing themselves on their webcams.)
The ESRB site explains it this way:
Online Rating Notice
Online-enabled games carry the notice "Online Interactions Not Rated by the ESRB." This notice warns those who intend to play the game online about possible exposure to chat (text, audio, video) or other types of user-generated content (e.g., maps, skins) that have not been considered in the ESRB rating assignment.
It isn't very helpful, but it's probably a precaution against legal action (for not warning people that gamers might say bad words online - there have been lawsuits filed for similarly frivolous reasons before).
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