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This post rated AO by the ESRB

posted by nikki at 11:18 am.

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I read a post on MTV Multiplayer this morning that made an argument about Adult Only-rated titles that I hadn’t really considered before. That the fact that they are kept off the major consoles and out of major retailers is actually beneficial to the gaming industry.

There are a lot of gamers out there who feel that the unwritten ban on AO titles is a slap in the face to the first amendment. Anyone who pays any attention at all to the current goings-on in the gaming industry knows that an AO rating is essentially a death sentence for a game, because the console makers won’t endorse them and the retailers won’t sell them.

In many people’s opinions, this amounts to nothing more than censorship… and in a way, it is. Censorship brought about by capitalism. The companies want to sell their product, so rather than sell something as taboo as an AO game, they bow to the will of those who would call them morally irresponsible for doing so.

Supporters argue that current generation consoles are all equipped with parental controls, and if parents paid a little more attention to what their kids are playing (and, for that matter, what they’re buy for their kids to play), AO titles would be no more an issue than NC17-rated movies (admittedly taboo in and of themselves, but when was the last time someone called for a boycott on a DVD player because it could play movies intended only for adults?).

I myself am strongly in favor of fewer attempts at “regulating” the gaming industry and more personal responsibility on the part of the parents and guardians of kids who play video games. If you feel that your child isn’t mature enough to handle certain titles, don’t let them play them. Read the back of the box before buying the game, or just freakin’ Google it. Parents are far too reliant on other people to raise their precious little snowflakes these days. But that’s another rant. What was I talking about?

Oh right… AO titles. One Adam Thierer, director at Washington D.C. think-tank The Progress & Freedom Foundation, spoke of the ramifications of Adult Only games going mainstream. His stance on the issue is that the collective shunning of the rating is a good thing. Essentially, his opinion is that by discouraging that rating in mainstream titles, the gaming industry has spared itself a full-on legislative assault.

And in today’s society where everyone seems to be suing someone and games are a convenient scapegoat for society’s ills, he might just have a point there. Certainly there have been plenty of news-worthy stories related to AO content. The whole “Hot Coffee” thing awhile back, for example, and more recently, Manhunt 2’s AO rating, the subsequent editing done to the game, and its re-rating to a less offensive M.

First amendment aside, the mainstream just doesn’t seem to be ready for AO yet, so maybe, just maybe, it’s a good thing that the AO rating is a marketing death sentence. For now.

Nikki Blight: is still trying to find that damn princess... when she's not writing fresh code for the217.com.