The ESRB has ousted Grand Theft Auto III and Grand Theft Auto Vice City for PS3. These two games were instant classics on the PlayStation 2 and will likely no longer be restricted to a disc format in the near future.

Saints Row has made its own impact on open-world crime games with a ridiculous type of mayhem. There’s no better proof of that than The Penetrator, a large purple sex toy attached to a baseball bat handle.

That was too much for the game rating gurus in Japan, who asked publisher THQ to remove the veins from the weapon. Japan does not allow the “depiction of genital parts” in games so The Penetrator was in violation.

The latest Saints Row installment got the rating of CERO Z, which is Japan’s version of the ESRB’s AO (Adults Only) rating. Even so, officials deemed the weapon in its original form too graphic for impressionable adults to lay eyes on.

This is the same country that introduced tentacle porn to the world, right? Just checking.

Well look what the ESRB dragged in. The first three Devil May Cry games have been rated once again. This time, they’ve been rated for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. They are all rated mature and this leads us to believe some kind of collection is on the way. Perhaps it will even be of the high definition variety.

Burnout Crash! was revealed on the The Australian classification website last month. From the way the description of the game read, it appeared as if Burnout Crash! will be comprised entirely of the Crash Mode from Burnout 3. Crash Mode involved driving into an intersection and causing as much monetary damage as possible to earn the covered gold medal. It’s something Burnout fans have grown accustomed to, but Burnout Crash! is going to take that concept and completely warp what we’re expecting.

It looks like we’ll be seeing first person, dungeon crawling goodness on the PlayStation Store this year. XSEED is going to release Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls in English. Not that XSEED actually announced it. No, this time the ESRB spoiled the company’s surprising when it revealed its rating for Acquire’s PS3 game….

Shocking no one who has followed the decisions of Australia’s Classification Board, the group has denied classification to the latest installment of classic fighting game Mortal Kombat.

The board has previously denied classification to Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2. The board later classified Left 4 Dead 2 after developer Valve removed dismemberment from the game. The board has no classification for adults only, so a game that doesn’t make the MA15+ rating can’t be sold in Australia. While the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) with does have an Adults Only (AO) rating, receiving it is still considered a kiss of death. Retailers usually refuse to stock such games.

Recently, Fox News tried asking if the upcoming game Bulletstorm could be the worst video game ever with regard to possible societal ramifications.

OK, it’s worthwhile to examine problem areas but, if Fox News wants far more credibility in the field of entertainment, they need better video game experts.

This isn’t to say they need better educated experts. It just means that they need more realistic and more well-informed experts who consistently have a clear argument.

The ESRB tends to give long, detailed descriptors on the content of a game. Since the ESRB rating is often posted weeks in advance of a game’s release, this means that the ESRB can leak a good deal of info. This has led some companies to enforce embargoes against the ESRB. But we’re glad that BioWare isn’t one of those companies. How else could we have found out that Dragon Age 2 will feature fellatio — again?

Let’s say you’re a parent (who happens to have an iPhone), and you’re out shopping for games for your young children during the holidays. Suddenly you shout, “OH NO” as you learn one of the games they want is rated Mature. Fortunately for you, all you have to do is snap a photo of the title, and all the information you need to know about the rating pops up on your iPhone! Sounds crazy? Well this is an actual app that the ESRB has come out with for your iPhone.

Bigben Interactive is working on a Pucca video game. At least, that’s what the ESRB says. A game with a temporary title of Pucca’s kisses game has been assigned a rating of “Everyone.” I seriously doubt that’s what it will be called when it hits stores though. I’m rooting for something like, Pucca Loves Garu…