Which game led to the creation of the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB)?

Long before content warnings and age ratings became gaming standards, one controversial fighting game forced the entire industry to change. As politicians and parents panicked over pixelated violence, gaming companies faced a choice: self-regulate or face government intervention. So which title crossed the line?

Reveal answer and learn more:

▼

The answer is: "Mortal Kombat"

It all started when "Mortal Kombat" made the jump from arcades to living rooms in 1993. Suddenly, parents everywhere were discovering what their kids had been spending quarters on - and they weren't exactly thrilled about the whole "FINISH HIM" business.

Nintendo tried to play it safe, replacing all the blood with what they called "sweat" (sure, Nintendo, sure). Sega, meanwhile, just hid all the gore behind a secret "blood code" - ABACABB - which exactly zero kids had trouble finding.

This caught the attention of Senator Joe Lieberman, whose introduction to the game came when his chief of staff's son eagerly showed off all the ways to dismember opponents. Next thing you know, gaming executives were standing before Congress trying to explain fatalities to politicians who probably thought Pong was still cutting edge.

The industry saw which way the wind was blowing. Before the government could drop the hammer, they created the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB). Now every game would come with helpful warnings about exactly what kind of mischief you could expect inside.

The whole thing worked out pretty well for "Mortal Kombat," though. When the sequel dropped in 1994, it proudly wore its new "M" rating while adding even more ways to finish your opponents. Nothing sells games quite like a good moral panic.