Submit a Story
Register
Get Started
Webmaster Tools
14 hours 45 mins ago
102
Top 7 "Damsels in Distress" You DON'T Want To Save!
89
Final Fantasy Versus XIII to be traditional FF Game
6 hours 52 mins ago
86
Zero Punctuation: Braid
22 hours 59 mins ago
60
The Force Unleashed: Felucia gameplay video, looks "slimy"
20 hours 34 mins ago
57
Too Human review: a game where Norse Mythology, Sci-Fi and Fantasy mix
21 hours 48 mins ago
54
Half-Life 2: City 17 In Germany??
6 hours 12 mins ago
50
Will Wright impressed by Spore porn
1 hours 44 mins ago
Comments with -10 or lower "thumbs" are removed from display.
Secondly, I think it was very appropriate for the game to be rated AO. Is rockstar suggesting that this game, where it asks you to participate in voluntary, sensationally violent murders, is OKAY for younger audiences to play? Sure, there may be some individuals that are mature enough to play at a younger age than 18, but I think to rate it M would just be misleading to the purchaser of the contents in that game. After all, I think as of now, that is one of the closest experiences one can have of murdering people without actually committing or first-hand-witnessing it.
Thirdly, I agree with Bandito, that I hope they do not water this game down just to get an M. The treasure in this game is that they hold no bars in expressing straight up, undigested violence. Culturally, it is a very interesting piece of work, and I wonder how it will be seen in the future.
It's sad when the target demographic suffers especially since those same parents protesting it are most likely the same ones neglecting to monitor what their children do. Little Timmy gets dropped off by mommy and then she heads to her latest "I'm a responsible parent meeting" for the next few hours leaving them alone to be unmonitored.
Maybe instead of being so caught up in this nonsense they could for a moment take a moment and actually spend time with their children and encourage others to do the same. It'd probably turn a whole lot better of a result instead of this disconnected cultural gap they're stuck in right now. "Oh I don't know where I went wrong, I neglected him and shoved money in his face and bought him whatever he wanted so I could attend my latest protests!!"
Jeezz what a sad day in gaming. I hope Take 2 actually gets around this. Mediocre or not there's no call to sweep this under the rug and give those idiots the power to censor games because they think that they have the right to regulate what we all can and can not play. Maybe we should give it more attention and highlight those flaws in their approach to this situation and how the ESRB caved to a minority of a most likely non-existent consumer base to begin with.
If the game was rated M and got into the hands of a minor it is no different from the game being rated AO and getting into the hands of a minor- In either case it is the fault of the parent for either providing the game or not paying enough attention to their kids interests- including gaming.
If things like this continue then it's only a matter of time before we have to complete a psychiatric test in order to purchase any games with any questionable content what-so-ever.
I get the whole yes interaction makes it even more dangerous background, but it's not like someone's going to rip someones ribs out in the game and attempt it in person because a nunchuk and a wii-mote showed them how to do a motion of it. Chances are most of those interactions are already learned and residing in the mind from a history of action movies and horror flicks, I can recall a large variety of instances where necks got broken, faces got smashed, and various other graphic movements took place.
Being Australian- we don't have a rating higher than MA15+ for video games, anything that is deemed to be R18+ or X rated is banned if it is a video game. Despite this, where I live R and X rated movies are sold (there are only two places in Australia where X rated content is legally distributed).
So what annoys me even more about Australia is how influential America is on Australia, even with game ratings. With the game receiving an AO it is guaranteed to be banned in Australia. With the game also banned in U.K my only hope of playing this game is if it is to be sold in New Zealand.
I know that I should really be complaining about my country only having a rating as high as 15+ for video games and I complain about that on a frequent basis, but to our rating board if it gets AO in America- it is banned here.
My main gripe about this is I could buy the game if I was in America, even with the AO rating but living where I do, I can't. And I'm not forking out money for an NTSE format Wii just for 1 game.
Keep in mind though at least for UK. UKers can still import the game. That IS legal.
If the team on Freeloader for the Wii actually got some headway going it would make it a lot easier on gamers worldwide to simply import a title in and play it on their consoles, chances are that would only end up putting even more trade pressure on the US to can the game though. It really is a silly scenario, sadly it's all too real and we're suffering with it right now.
It's pretty easy to see why Nintendo is allowing this to continue, it's publicity for the console no matter how you cut it, people in yet another demographic they want to find are going to go "wow if that goes through i wanna get in on that" all of a sudden they just secured a massive audience. I mean anyway what would Nintendo risk anyway? Barring Take 2 from producing discs for their console entirely? It's doubtful given their status as a publisher in general.
I feel like i'll buy the game even before I have the platform, because it could potentially get called off the shelves after some kid plays it and says "hey look mom! I chainsawed the guy up his crotch!" and she gets a gang of mothers to go to congress and ban the game from america too. Better secure my purchase of the game before that happens!
So no, UKers cannot simply import the game.
I'm sure a Mature rating would be ideal for the game. If people don't want to see these "death scenes" then simply don't buy the game. It shouldn't mean that we should suffer aswell because of what the makers think. (that we're an unsuitable audience for this kind of game)
Shouldn't we have our own choices? Just like anything in life!
It will be interesting to watch what this rating does to the title, but I hope R* keeps pushing the envelope and doesn't let this most recent rash of mamby pamby 'let's attack video games as the cause of why there is violence in the world' BS stop them in their endeavors.
However, this is also proof that Jack Thompson needs to back off. He's managed to singlehandedly ruin parts of the video game industry because of his stupid crusade. This one's for Jack Thompson:
The planet we live on is a disgrace to all heavenly bodies. Seriously.
Just another case of Big Brother watching to make sure the idiots don't kill each other, or worse yet, take their money.
And if anyone of age tries to blame their actions on a video game then their argument is null and void on the grounds that they are of age to know better and being of age means you have to take responsibility for your own actions. The only exception to this would be someone with a psychiatric disorder in which case the game wouldn't be responsible for their actions anyway.
People already believe video games influence violent behavior in teens and young adults, there are plenty of studies, plays, and over the top senators saying just that. When something bad happens, like school shootings and such, people look for something to blame, and video games like Manhunt 2 have become the target for those people. You can't blame ESRB, Nintendo and Sony, or retailers for trying to cover their bases.
Then again, even with a new rating system, until it becomes an acceptable idea that video games can entertain adults as well as children and teens, we still won't see this kind of game on store shelves.