Frowned upon.

[Bluhman]

Well, still, there's Porno games rated AO. And games that detail real-life situations with violence (like any other GTA title) that's rated M. That, and GTA:SA was rated AO simply because of that minigame after Jack Thompson threw hissy fits over it or whatever. Before that, it was also M.

But still, it seems unlikely to change that much. We seem to grow up recognizing violence a lot more in media than sexual themes, which is why it seems more natural.

[DedlellyDeth]

4chan drains braincells, FACT. It is the unholy origin of much of the internet idiocy. The number of 4chaniots is continually on the rise too.

What the hell are 4chaniots? You can mean one of 2 things, 4channers; any 4chan users, or newfags, which are 4chan's n00bs.

--

I agree that the principles of censorship these days are strange.

[Archem]

I can understand GTA getting a higher rating than God of War. You're not getting a more violent world, no, but the acts are much more impressionable and able to be reenacted. This, coupled with all the freedom to do any of the obscene, violent, offensive, and otherwise socially unacceptable acts at nearly any time as often as you want with little-to-no penalty (well, unless a cop is around), and that some of it is even required makes it a lot more offending than a game that has the violence depicted in written word taught in school. Sure, it's still graphic, extreme, whatever, but it's also something that is considered more socially acceptable, and because it's simply a much less reenactable concept.

Also, it got that AO rating because of the graphic depictions of sex. Sure, clothing was still present, but you don't need to have bare flesh to get the idea of what nasty acts they're trying to perform. As far as I know, GoW has partial (breasts only) nudity, and implied sex. This is the difference between the two examples. Nudity isn't as big an issue as something that comes off a bit more like pornography.

[Bluhman]

Ripping monster heads off is not the same thing as shooting random people on the street.

Ok, ok, apparently, GOW is not the best example. Here, let me try this again:

GTA - Vice City - Shooting people on the streets, crashing cars, bloodying people with your fists, doing headshots with sniper rifles, not one real mention or incedent of sexual intercourse really mentioned as far as I can recall. Rating? - M.

GTA - San Andreas - Same deal, except with a secret sex minigame that can only be accessed with hacking. Rating? - AO.

Playboy the Mansion: Private Party (I'm just choosing something else completely random here.) - No violence to speak of, but plenty of sexual content and such. Rating? - AO.

As you can see, whether it's about beating up people or monsters is completely irrelevant to what the rating is. The M game has a contemporary setting, and plenty of violence, and is still rated M, ONLY because of omitted sexual content.

[ThexXtremeXx]

lol @ post apacolyptic tokyo ad

[Archem]

Ok, ok, apparently, GOW is not the best example. Here, let me try this again:

GTA - Vice City - Shooting people on the streets, crashing cars, bloodying people with your fists, doing headshots with sniper rifles, implied hardcore sex and partial nudity. Rating? - M.

GTA - San Andreas - Same deal, except with a secret sex minigame that can only be accessed with hacking. Rating? - AO.

Playboy the Mansion: Private Party (I'm just choosing something else completely random here.) - No violence to speak of, but plenty of sexual content and such. Rating? - M/AO (varies by version available).

As you can see, whether it's about beating up people or monsters is completely relevant to what the rating is. The M game has a contemporary setting, and plenty of violence, and is still rated M, ONLY because of omitted sexual content.

~ Fixed.

It's a very well known fact that graphic sex is less socially acceptable than violence. The NEWS shows violence. This is not a surprise or a secret.

Also, SA was re-rated M after R* released a version with the files related to the content removed. Once again, it's the graphic sex that isn't accepted by society (for whatever reason). Bottom line will always be that society sees graphic depictions of sex to be more offensive than violence (especially since violence rarely goes to extremes with gore. It's not impossible for a game to get an AO rating because of gore. Manhunt 2 was extremely close to getting the rating, and it wasn't even all that much worse than GTA. It was all about the context and the portrayal of the violence that almost did it in).

[Darkfox]

Most of (if not all) the released PS2 Atlus Megaten titles (Including P3 and P4) got M ratings and don't contain all that much graphic content.

[Bluhman]

...Once again, it's the graphic sex that isn't accepted by society (for whatever reason). Bottom line will always be that society sees graphic depictions of sex to be more offensive than violence (especially since violence rarely goes to extremes with gore.)

This here is exactly my point. Why is this exactly? We're not entirely sure.

Yeah. Anyway, that's enough from me.

[fruckert]

I think ESRB is stupid
Like they changed the rating of Oblivion because of hidden files that an angry fan unlocked through a hack
And they also changed that rating because, basically "Uh...we noticed there is a lot more blood, so we're bumping it up to an M"
Ugh...

[HobomasterXXX]

Most of (if not all) the released PS2 Atlus Megaten titles (Including P3 and P4) got M ratings and don't contain all that much graphic content.

Any games with hemaphrodites deserve any rating they get >_>

[Archem]

This here is exactly my point. Why is this exactly? We're not entirely sure.

Yeah. Anyway, that's enough from me.

We're sure. The violence is brutal, extreme, and vulgar as hell. Have you played the games? They're basically interactive snuff films.

I think ESRB is stupid
Like they changed the rating of Oblivion because of hidden files that an angry fan unlocked through a hack
And they also changed that rating because, basically "Uh...we noticed there is a lot more blood, so we're bumping it up to an M"
Ugh...

While it's true that the ESRB can be retarded (what ratings board isn't these days?), the part about hidden files is total bunk. It was actually people taking the male torso skin and applying it to the female models. Because the shadowing and detail is done by the light mapping in the game, it looks pretty natural as a topless female. Not hidden files, swapped files. Although they do seem to be in the right about the violence aspect, the circumstances that were involved in the change were bullshit.


Gosh, I'm just a well of information on this topic. Keep this thing going, fellas!

[DedlellyDeth]

I don't think impressions should matter on ratings. Sure, it helps them kids not get into crime, but I don't think that should matter because ratings aren't supposed to impose opinions/hypotheses on parents. It's supposed to give them the raw information to make their decisions.

[A Forgotten Legend]

I didn't even know what sex was until 7th grade.

And now, there are girls at the middle school in my area, worried their pregnant, and that there were rumors of an STD going around down there. o.o

(Middle school is 6th-8th in my area, about ages 9-14)

[Uberpwn_w00t]

SEVENTH GRADE?

Christ, mate!

[Bluhman]

And now, there are girls at the middle school in my area, worried their pregnant, and that there were rumors of an STD going around down there. o.o

(Middle school is 6th-8th in my area, about ages 9-14)

I swear, the same thing is happening here in NY. Maybe.