For as violent a reputation as has been bestowed upon the video game industry, 'M' rated games only make a small percentage of their total numbers and, according to the ESRB, this small percentage is actually down 50% since 2005. Back then, 12% of titles were rated M. And in 2006, that figure was already down to 8%. In 2007, a year in which the ESRB rated 1,563 games, 'M' rated games only accounted for 6% of the titles.

More neat stats from the ESRB in 2007:

•94% of games were rated for children 13 and younger
•The 'E' (6+) category saw the biggest growth of all
•60% of ratings were 'E'

So it would seem that parents opposed to headshots can find plenty of alternative content for their children in today's video game market. So unless anyone feels like content has been mislabeled, it pretty much negates the bitchfest in my mind.

ESRB Newsletter Winter 2008 [ESRB via GoNintendo]

Send an email to Mark Wilson, the author of this post, at mark@gizmodo.com.