Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) leverages PointAbout for iPhone App

ESRB, the Entertainment Software Rating Board that rates video and computer games, wanted a way to give parents more transparency into reasoning behind the ratings of various games.  They already had a great mobile website, http://m.esrb.org, but wanted a way to give parents immediate and offline access to their content.  ESRB consulted PointAbout to better understand their options, and settled on an iPhone application.

ESRB also had an urgent deadline, to get the application approved before the holiday shopping season.

PointAbout provided ESRB with a two-pronged solution:  To accommodate the tight deadline, we embedded the ESRB mobile website into a PointAbout springboard, allowing for the mobile site to be distributed through the iTunes AppStore, and run within a native application frame.  This was approved by Apple and made live, relieving ESRB of the immediate holiday shopping time pressure.  You can download this app in the iTunes App Store, and see screenshots below.  You can also read the ESRB press release about the launch, read a very positive review by news site C-NET here, and read another by PC World here.  The app has gone on to receive excellent press in publications such as TheOnlineMom.com , The Register, Blast Magazine, Animation Magazine,  TMC, Kotaku, and many others.

Now, PointAbout is developing a fully native application for ESRB that will run offline and have the fully functional features of a native iPhone application.  We will update this blog once we release that version.

“The app we developed with PointAbout gives parents access to our rating search and new rating summaries right from the store when they’re buying video games for their child,” said Patricia Vance, president of the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB).  “We set out to create a sleek, user-friendly app in time for the holiday shopping season and PointAbout delivered.  They worked closely with us every step of the way and helped us give parents the gift of a really great tool for making even more informed decisions about video games.”

ESRB has also created a commercial that explains the application.