The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) has created a free iPhone app that aims to give parents instant access to new rating summaries at point of purchase.

To inform parents that the new app is available, ESRB has developed TV and radio ads that will air nationwide. The company adds that major video game retailers will also air the ads in stores.

“Rating summaries provide just the kind of specific, descriptive information that parents find useful when having to make decisions about whether a game is suitable for their child,” explained ESRB president Patricia Vance. “This new rating search app puts all this information at parents’ fingertips when they need it most, right at the store. It’s a powerful tool that will help assure parents that the games they give as gifts are not only fun but also appropriate for their children.”

The rating search app is available for free via the iTunes App Store and offers access to ESRB rating information for over 18,000 titles. Rating summaries are available for all games rated since July 1, 2008, which means that many of the games likely to appear on kids’ wish lists this year will have rating summaries, adds ESRB.