mhg83

Why is this rating still around? I've never once seen a game that has received an Adults Only. Has there ever been a game thats received an AO rating? When I went to video rental stores that had an adult section, there were no videogames in that section. Even the Adult Stores do not carry games with Adults Only rating.

I know that sony, microsoft and nintendo have a rule that they will not carry AO rated games. This is just plain ridiculous. Does the dvd market ban Adult Films? I can understand back in the old days where video games were considered a kids thing but now its 2008 and a lot of Adults play video games as well.

So whats the point of having a rating that is never used? Do you think in the future video game systems will have Adults Only rated games?

CKMorpheus

It has to do mainly with the fact that many people still see video games as childrens toys, instead of another form of art and entertainment, like movies, books, and televsion. Once video games become widely accepted as authentic forms of mass media, then we're start to see more AO games.

Keep in mind, it's not the just the console developers, stores won't sell AO games either. Places like Wal-Mart, Best Buy, and Gamestop don't sell porn, and so they wouldn't sell AO games, even if they ere widely accepted.

Bluelitespecial

I don't even know of any game that has ever carried the Adult only rating, except for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas when it had that hidden sex scene that was later removed from the game. Its kind of like the taboo NC-17 rating.

mhg83

The adult Film industry makes $9-13 billion annually. So not having adult films at the big retail stores is definately not hurting sales.

RichC2

The only one I've played is the Indigo Prophecy (Fahrenheit) Director's Cut.

PopcornTreeCt

If GTA San Andreas was a movie it would be rated R. The ratings are ridiculous any sex/nudity at all makes it AO.

Arthur Dent

God of War had boobies.

Nausicaa

I always thought it was there as a tool to set content boundaries for the other ratings. No titles have AO ratings because so many retailers refuse to sell them, that it would cripple sales unnecessarily. In order to avoid the AO rating, developers are forced to make sure they don't go beyond what violent/sexual content is deemed MA. If they push the boundaries in certain content areas, they might get slapped with the AO rating, so everyone kind of keeps themselves in check. Eliminating the AO rating would essentially allow that extreme content under the umbrella of an MA rating.

It's all very political, I think.

taffer

There are quite a few AO games on PC. The reason being is that developers can put whatever they want into a PC game. PC gaming is an open market, unlike console gaming where Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo keep the developers in check.

I remember playing the old Phantasmagoria games. The original was M and was borderline AO with its implied rape scene. The sequel was AO because it did have a graphic sex scene. I remember Wal-mart and some other stores refusing to carry the sequel. EB was the only store I can remember that carried it.

Josh-da-man

Exactly.

It's the same principle as the NC-17 rating for movies.

The highest rating is reserved as a commercial "kiss of death." It exists solely so that the industry regulators are able to prevent creators from pushing the envelope with extreme content. Any product slapped with an AO or NC-17 will not technically be "banned," but its commercial prospects will be very limited.

fujishig

It had much more than that, actually... I'm a bit surprised that such a high-selling game didn't get "noticed" by the people who are usually up in arms about these kinds of things. Persona 3 as well. Of course, it's not like these people actually play these games or buy them for their kids anyway, they have to hear about them from someone else.

Drexl

It's probably due to the fantasy settings. GTA gets them going because it's set in a realistic world.

DJLinus

I just hope the rating doesn't hold up the release of Tracy Jordan's "Goregasm: The Legend of Dong Slave."

RichC2

You know it will, the voice over work by Jenna and Judi Dench alone will ensure it gets an AO.

I'm sure his son will be proud, regardless.

foxdvd

Bring out Gears of War 2 in two copies...the Mature version for stores, and an even more hardcore AO rating that you need to buy online from stores like amazon, or even adultdvdempire, and see which version sells better....

orderandlaw

I believe it was used for BMXXX.

And, there are some PC "games" in adult stores that have the AO rating.

From what I hear...

RichC2

BMX XXX was rated M.

Layziebones

People pay for porn?!?!

orangecrush

The M rated version would outsell the AO at least 5:1.

taffer

The M version will sell better just because it is available in brick and mortar stores while the AO version is not. Sure online shopping is becoming a massively popular thing, but the people who shop only at brick and mortar stores are still far more numerous.

Drexl

Yep, think of all the parents who buy games for their kids. Many of them are not going to buy it online (especially the ones with spoiled kids that demand the game right away), and they sure as hell aren't going to go to an adult shop.