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Merriam Webster defines ‘prolonged’ as follows: “to maintain without interruption a condition, course, or action.” Why the English lesson? Because according to the ESRB’s ratings, ‘prolonged’ is the primary difference between an M (Mature) rated game and an AO (Adults Only) rated game in regards to violence.
Mature – have content that may be suitable for persons ages 17 and older. Titles in this category may contain intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content and/or strong language.
Adults Only – have content that should only be played by persons 18 years and older. Titles in this category may include prolonged scenes of intense violence and/or graphic sexual content and nudity.
Anyone who has played through Gears of War, God of War, or Call of Duty can attest that these games are comprised—particularly in God of War’s case—of intensely graphic violence. We’re talking about games that are constant violence; games that allow curb stomping of opponents who are crawling around on the ground after being shot multiple times, ripping off opponents’ limbs and using them as weapons against them, and a franchise which sole purpose is to re-create some of history’s most intense scenes of war. These are three of the most popular franchises in gaming. They are also all rated M.
Please note: this is not an argument against the existence or availability of these titles; it’s merely an argument that the rating system is hugely flawed, and these titles form excellent examples of why.
The reason they are rated M over T (Teen) should be obvious, given the above listed examples. However, the reason they are rated M instead of AO gets a bit tricky. Most retail stores refuse to stock games with an AO rating citing a morality stance. It is also illegal to sell AO games to minors, and easiest way to not break the AO law is to not stock the games. While there have been many attempts to make one, there is currently no major law in place to restrict the sale of M rated games (it is worth noting that most retail stores do have policies against selling M rated games to minors).
A search on the ESRB’s website for AO rated titles shows why the law exists. Everything from a Playboy Screensaver to virtual sex games are by and large what result. Even the few games that some gamers may recognize (Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and Fahrenheit: Indigo Prophecy) are listed there because of their sexual content, not because of any violent content.
Only a single game on the list because of its violence: Thrill Kill (which never actually saw retail release). Compare the game play footage below to the God of War 3 game play video shown at E3 this year. Specifically, the section where Kratos takes on the Centaur at around 4:00.
Man, graphics have gotten a lot better, haven’t they?
You know what else has gotten progressively better? A game’s ability to tell a story. Amazing graphics and digital audio are only the most obvious tools in a developer’s arsenal that help them tell rich, deep stories. Mature stories have places for violence, brutality, and even sex. Even the bible (which has been called ‘the greatest story of all time’ by many of the same people who typically object to the games currently on the AO list and call for a law against selling M rated games to minors), has more than its fair share of all of these topics.
As gamers get older we expect more mature story lines. After all, we aren’t still passing time with Pong, or chasing princesses in different castles (at least not since last summer).
What I would like to see is gaming stop hiding from the AO tag like it’s the Playboy under the mattress. I want to see the industry embrace the tag (and use it properly) so that stories like the original Indigo Prophecy can remain intact, or David Jaffe can ahead and put that penis on the Cyclops in God of War if he wants to, and not be at risk of major retail shunning.
Obviously WalMart would never stock the title, but if a franchise like God of War was (in my opinion, correctly) assigned the AO title, retailers would have to think twice whether or not they should keep box off their shelf. Maybe with digital distribution becoming bigger and bigger, eventually I’ll see that dream come to life.