Dear Peter,

Thank you for contacting the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB). We are always interested to hear from those who use the ratings, and appreciate your taking the time to contact us with your thoughts and comments.

The ESRB does its best to ensure that the rating process is meticulous and thorough. At least three specially trained raters review actual footage from each game submitted to the ESRB. The raters examine the game's most extreme content, evaluate its context and overall intensity, and use their own good judgment to recommend the rating they believe will be most helpful to consumers.

In the case of Mass Effect the raters determined that the M (Mature 17+) rating with content descriptors for Blood, Partial Nudity, Sexual Themes, Violence was most appropriate. According to the publishers submission for Mass Effect, there are two non-interactive videos that depict a discreet love scene between the main character and his romantic love interests. Breast profiles can be seen during one of the videos. There is a scene in a bar where female characters wear thong underwear. This type of content is likely to have contributed to the rating and content descriptors ultimately assigned by the raters.

ESRB does its best to provide reliable information about a game's content, but we also encourage parents and all consumers to do their own independent research, via game packaging, websites, magazine reviews, and other sources, to see if a game is appropriate for their family. Ratings can only be a guide and we hope that you will continue to use the system.

We hope information is helpful, and thank you for writing.

Regards,

Entertainment Software Rating Board