Which 1993 video game helped prompt the creation of the ESRB ratings system?

Mortal Kombat helped prompt the creation of the ESRB ratings system in the United States.

Midway released Mortal Kombat in arcades in 1992, and its home-console versions followed in 1993. The game drew intense attention because of its graphic finishing moves, known as Fatalities, and because its digitized actors made the violence look unusually realistic for the period.

Congressional hearings in 1993 examined violence in video games. Mortal Kombat was one of the most prominent examples discussed, alongside Night Trap and other controversial titles. The industry responded by forming the Entertainment Software Rating Board, or ESRB, in 1994.

The ESRB did not ban Mortal Kombat. Instead, it classified games by age suitability and content descriptors. The exact sequence is often simplified: Mortal Kombat contributed to the political pressure, but the ratings system emerged from a broader debate involving several games, publishers, parents, and lawmakers.