Best Buy taking charge of game ratings

As I wrote on last week, Best Buy Co.,Inc. (NYSE: BBY) has decided to partner with Common Sense Media to publish detailed ratings on video games in an effort to educate parents of the details of video games. In my opinion, the current ESRB rating system is woefully inadequate about informing parents about the specific details of any video game.

With video games being such an all-consuming distraction for kids, not to mention being a billion dollar industry, a simple letter rating system just won't suffice.

A single "rating" that does not provide an objective and detailed explanation of the aspects, contents and suitability of a game does not provide enough information for informed parents to make the best decision. In an age of media assault, the fact that Best Buy will soon make a very good alternative available speaks volumes about the retailer.

Like Best Buy, many parents have lost confidence in the current ESRB ratings system and would like more on each game. From what I can tell, the ratings some games are given seem inappropriate for the content, and in any case the system lacks consistency. In trying to lull parents into its stores for games (and maybe a flat-screen TV while they're there), Best Buy is making a great merchandising decision here. Now, it needs to execute the advertising plan and let parents know that Best Buy should be the only place to buy video games for that new Sony PlayStation 3 or Nintendo Wii.