In September 1994, the Entertainment Software Rating Board officially began rating video games in North America, a practice it continues to this day. Although the ESRB's 30th anniversary won't officially take place until September 16, its employees decided to celebrate a few weeks early by releasing a new song, E is for Everyone, which playfully explains the purpose of its game ratings.
As stated on the ESRB's official website, this song was inspired by the educational melodies of the animated series Schoolhouse Rock from the 70s and 80s. It can be assumed that the animated singers in this video are based on real people who work for the ESRB, but the video does not credit them by name. The song's lyrics also explain how the ratings process works, the four main ratings, and how the Advertising Review Council's regulations apply to displaying ratings in game advertisements.
The only thing the song doesn’t touch on is the circumstances that forced video game companies to use the ESRB in the first place. In 1993, opportunistic politicians capitalized on titles like Mortal Kombat and Night Trap to whip up a public frenzy over games with graphic or gory content that they claimed were marketed to children. Congressional hearings were held, and the industry was dragged through the mud. To avoid further backlash, Nintendo, Sega, and third-party publishers agreed to adopt the now-ubiquitous ESRB rating system.
According to the ESRB, the board has assigned “more than 16 million ratings to games and apps” in its 30-year history. In a statement, the ESRB also expressed gratitude for the video game industry's support and promised “to continue to develop and refine the tools we offer to help keep children's video game experiences age-appropriate in the future.” But we suspect there won't be new songs every year.