# Why didn't the ESRB adopt the MPAA's rating system for games? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [January 11, 2010, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-the-esrb-adopt-the-mpaas-rating-system-for-games/524527 "2010-01-11T17:39:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2010, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-the-esrb-adopt-the-mpaas-rating-system-for-games/524527/1 "2010-01-11T17:39:45Z")
The question is pretty much in the thread title. It seems to me like they could’ve avoided having to educate everyone about the meaning of a new rating system by just using the one that everyone is familiar with. Were there IP issues? Was it just a case of not-invented-here? Or was it something else? ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2010, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-the-esrb-adopt-the-mpaas-rating-system-for-games/524527/2 "2010-01-11T20:41:03Z")
Except for the addition of eC, they seem to line up: [ul] [li]G = E[/li][li]PG = E10+[/li][li]PG-13 = T[/li][li]R = M[/li][li]NC-17 = AO[/li][/ul]Considering it is a different organization, it makes sense that the ESRB ratings have different names. Edit: Sorry, I just realized I misunderstood your question. You are taking it for granted that the ratings line up, but are asking why they used unique names instead of reusing the MPAA names. [Wiki](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motion_Picture_Association_of_America_film_rating_system) offers this: > [@](#): > > The MPAA has trademarked each rating so that the ratings are not used outside of motion pictures.