E.vil S.elf R.ighteous B.eatches

1. Fira July 6, 2007

   I’m going to have to agree with you Force. Also, I don’t see why AO is so horrible that sony would not use it. Hell I’d love some AO games to play.
2. ashn0d July 6, 2007

   here’s my little conspiracy theory:
   i really think that the AO-rating that ESRB gave to Mahunt 2 is a way to punish Rockstar for making another violent game. Everyone knew that Rockstar wanted to release the game on the Wii, and everyone knew also that Nintendo doesn’t allow AO-rated games in their systems, so the ESRB used the AO to punish Rockstar.

   Now, about the trailer and poster censorship, after all that ruckus about Manhunt 2 I was afraid that ESRB started censoring “everything”, and that’s what’s happening. They never had this much attention since…. (i really can’t remember when did they had this much attention) and now they’re showing that they can do their work.

   I just hope that everything returns to what it was before this “crysis”….

   cheers, ashn0d
3. TonioFalcon July 6, 2007

   Are you pissed at Rockstar for stupidly making another really violent game after the Hot Coffee controversy? Hell, are you still pissed at Rockstar for generally fucking the general gaming population over by even putting that in the game in the first place and saying that the fans somehow modded the game and it it in there? I have no sympathy for Rockstar. I honestly think that they were working some “Controversy makes cash ” magic and now they can’t make any cash.

   Because really, they’re all out to make cash. Not a problem, I completely support a capitalist economy. Don’t you think Sony and Nintendo ( specifically ) would get significant bad publicity for releasing an AO game? Parents would be reluctant to buy their children Wiis because believe it or not, it does have a reputation of a safer console, and it’s cheaper. Should they really ruin their opportunities just so Rockstar can release a game. I’m going to side with Nintendo : fuck Rockstar. Sony doesn’t need to side with Rockstar either seeing as they still have some heat left over from their launch.

   The ESRB is something that the gaming industry needs right now. They are rating the games. They’re letting you know right on the box what the games contain. They seem more prone to keeping games on the market yet letting you know what they contain on the box than banning games. They don’t exactly toss around the AO label a lot, but when you’re working with a company with a history like Rockstar’s who are putting out an extremely violent game…. What could the ESRB actually earn from putting the game out? Thompson and more politicians plus major news outlets down their throat. THat’s just what the industry needs.

   The AO rating in itself is stupid. There’s not a very huge gap between 17 and 18. The usual only difference between an AO game and an M game is sexual content. You don’t know what’s actually in the game, there could be some sort of sexual content. Also, like above, I see the AO rating as a type of punishment. A type of blackballing. Your game gets the AO, then you better edit the content or you’ll have wasted millions of dollars. You sell the AO game and you will get terrible publicity.

   Oh, and I don’t think freedom of speech really applies here. No one’s saying that they can’t make the game. No one’s saying that they can’t sell it. They’re just saying that they can’t sell it on two of the major consoles or at any major outlets. “Developers to get the freedom to create whatever they want”. Like I said, they do. They just don’t have the freedom to sell it or do anything with it. That’s just how it goes. Just like this situation, Rockstar created a game that they can’t sell. And who wants to waste all of their money doing that?

   There are just too many variables going into this.

   P.S. I really don’t mind the ESRB being stricter on trailers. Remember, the ESRB is good. They try to keep the really bad guys off of our backs. Is it really that hard to make a non violent trailer or take some scenes out a trailer? Plus, Gamespot has had an age cap on their trailers for quire some time. Maybe other websites have don’t this too.
4. dizzy July 7, 2007

   Dude, you aren’t over reacting at all. You’ve hit it right on the head, and i fear that alot of good comapanys will have to hedge on the kind of content that i, as an adult find compelling in a game. I’m way past the mario era of game play in my lifetime. I’m a grown man, i want games developed with a grown ups sense of balance and freedoms to experience. I’m also playing the Darkness, and i’m savoring every single moment of it. Why? because it’s just flat out good. It’s got the story that is relatable in it’s origins, and sharply becomes contrasted by the extreme violence in an extreme environment. And that’s what makes it’s compelling.
   I wouldn’t at all mind to be carded for every 17+ game i wanted. It’s a small price to pay to have 17+ games available to buy. I could give two shits about nintendos stance on this AO rating. But Sony?? WTF… Thier new system is designed to revolve around a more mature audiences lifestyle, according to them anyway. From price tag, to the promise of total media control to fit an ever developing home experience. I just don’t get where thier heads are.
5. Mr.Nonsense July 7, 2007

   I so dare MartijnMumbles to pull of another Godwin’s Law bullshit again, this time on Force. And I would like to say that I will soon post my long ass reply :)
6. MartijnMumbles July 8, 2007

   Nonsense, stop being a little emo brat
7. MartijnMumbles July 8, 2007

   Aww, can’t make ascii hearts without escaping the bracket.

   Anyway, unlike you, Force has credibility and has been around longer than most the people posting here. What’s with people coming out of nowhere and thinking they can be all high and mighty recently?

   Anyway, on topic, this double-standard needs to go. There’s something to be said for games being judged a little more strictly seeming they’re interactive, but this is getting out of hand. If Manhunt 2 were a movie instead of a game, people wouldn’t even be the least impressed with what goes on.

   There’s hardly any reason for the AO rating to be there and in no sense should a rating lead to a total ban of the game. There’s a market for these games, consisting of a lot of mature and responsible adults. If they want to buy and play manhunt 2, they should be given that option.
8. TonioFalcon July 8, 2007

   But you don’t know what’s in the game. You don’t know why they gave it an AO rating. You just don’t know. We all don’t know. It could be anything, necrophilia, rape, anything. I hint towards those because sexual themes generally point you toward the AO rating rather than violence. We’re all making bold statements here when we don’t exactly know what it was that pushed them toward the AO rating. I want to know but in reality I’ll probably never find out.

   So, you’re saying that everything should be allowed in a videogame, right? There’s no point for you where something just shouldn’t be released?
9. Kam-Ra July 8, 2007

   wow… looks like the comments here were about as long as the front-page article. gj Wheat.
10. MartijnMumbles July 8, 2007

    Everything that’s allowed in movies should be allowed in a videogame. At that point people can decide themselves if they want to buy it or not. Giving games an AO rating right now is the same as banning them, just plain censorship.
11. Mr.Nonsense July 8, 2007

    Heehee Martijn.
    Like I’ve said before it is all politics. Moreover, something that absolutely pisses me off is US age limits in general, let me break it down for you.
    At 15 1/2:You can drive
    At 18:You can have sex, vote for the country’s leader, and go to the army
    At 21:You can drink and smoke
    And at 25:You can rent a car

    Now I don’t I need to point all the ridiculous things I can see from this rundown but I will say one thing, if you can go to the army at the age of 18 and maybe even 17 and go to Iraq and see all the gore you’ll ever want, and maybe even lose your life, is there any flipping reason you can’t buy yourself an AO game?
12. John Wayne 119 July 8, 2007

    I would be interested to know how old these and i quote “Self Righteous Bitches ” are maybe this is simply a generational cap issue and when these people are replaced with younger open minded people of this generation games and there ratings will be less scrutinized, also i think that perhaps this stab at rock star with their game being rated this way may just be a highlight of their careers and not really focused so much on the game its self

    And in relation to other so called AO martial being film ratings how these people ever allowed hostel 2 to be released i will never know, im shore no game could ever be as mentally damaging as that film was, at one point i nearly walked out of the cinema because i felt the film crossed the line between a movie and reality, anyone who has seen it will know what i mean
13. John Wayne 119 July 8, 2007

    Oops I Said Bitches, My Bad
14. TonioFalcon July 8, 2007

    That’s because the general belief of the ESRB as far as I know is that the interactivity in a game makes a difference. I don’t know if I can agree with that, I really haven’t put too much thought into it.
15. HWGuy July 9, 2007

    Force, I completely agree with you, not a word in that article is deviant from my own thoughts.
    The ESRB should go shove it up theirs for all of their sloppy-ass work on game ratings.

    How the hell did Manhunt 2 get this “AO” rating and The Darkness did not? I wonder…
    Does an action make a Wii game that much more violent?
    How about we give Saw III a PG-13 rating and the new DieHard an NC-17 rating and see how that goes.

    As for trailer censorship, ESRB must remember that this is the Internet, a place where you’re free to show content of whatever rating as long as you pre-warn people of it’s rating. That’s why soo many websites ask for your age.
16. sanvein616 July 10, 2007

    I couldn’t agree with you more, Force. I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that maybe there should be one group that would rate all entertainment media, whether it be games, movies, television shows, etc. Maybe that would straighten out the gaps between movies and games, not to mention do away with this pointless AO rating ordeal.
17. sanvein616 July 10, 2007

    I also forgot to point out that in the latest Nintendo Power, there is a preview/review for Manhunt 2, and it states in it that its M-rated. I doubt they wrote it before the AO madness came down, but do you think Rockstar dumbed down to rid themselves of the dreaded AO?

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