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Denver, 4:07 PM
Sat Dec 5
35 posts in the last 24 hours
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07/29/09
First, no, the ESRB does not "censor" games; it simply passes judgment on the existing content within a given game. On top of this it is completely up to the game makers themselves whether or not they want to submit to the ESRB. Sure, most places will not sell games that are not rated or have been rated too maturely, but anyone is free to do so at his discretion. The fact that many stores do not is their choice, and it is not the ESRB's responsibility to micromanage the video game market to correct for this perceived unfairness.
Second, maybe some of you should do a little research on what actual game developers think of the ESRB. I've heard some who are very pleased with the system and extol the ESRB as one of the least restrictive rating boards when compared to other countries. Ryan Payton, I believe, of Kojima Productions echoed this sentiment on one of the old KP Reports.
Lastly, even with my defense of the ESRB thus far, I have to point out that it should not exist. It was nudged into existence by the U.S. government, though as it stands it is self-regulating and free of bureaucratic tentacles. Had it lacked its governmental midwife, then it would have been a shining example of how free citizens can affect their society and the powerful, "greedy" corporations that inhabit it. To be honest, it still is; it just would have been a smoother and more accepted affair had the government allowed for people to wait for when they thought it was time for a free and voluntary video game ratings board.
07/29/09
Once again though excellent well written / thought out post. Do think that you deserve a star / admission into WIC for said comment.
*nomination sent
07/29/09
Damn it. My italics disappeared when I re-posted my comment after accidentally responding to someone else's. "Least" in the middle of the fourth text block and "they" at the end of the last one were supposed to be italicized, for clarity's sake.
Just sayin'
07/29/09
07/29/09
My sincere thanks for the compliments and nomination, friend.
And I understand your point. We have just as much of a right to rail against a freely created private organization as others do to rally for its creation and/or preservation. It is perfectly valid for our social sanctions to tear down such an institution.
My only real concern is that any such contempt for the ESRB is poorly aimed and properly directed at distributors unwilling to sell games based on content. If someone is unhappy that Wal-Mart does not sell video games rated Adults Only, then why should he be angry at the ESRB, whose only act was to give a descriptive rating, which is usually valid? Wal-Mart is the transgressor; it is the entity whose concept of "appropriate" conflicts with the consumer's. He should condemn Wal-Mart, which rejects the game, rather than the ESRB, which only describes it.
07/29/09
It's just good business sense that publishers/studios want to stay away from the extreme ends of the market (aka AO) so they can sell as many games as possible. The truth is, parents still pay for a lot of the games that get sold, and you can't just ignore that. Same thing happens in the movie industry, or really any business.
07/29/09
Also if they are stupid enough to not understand that a title called GRAND THEFT AUTO or a box art with a soldier with a gun on it isnt a good game for tiny Timmy then I seriously doubt a quarter sized marking with even smaller lettering is going to help them make any more of a educated purchase.
07/29/09
07/30/09
07/29/09
Have a ***king happy birthday and may your c*** be dripping with **zz and your g**s bl*w the ***king in***t's head apart!
07/29/09
Hmm, that looks more like an M to me. :)
07/29/09
You see... you see... here "...*...". You see what I did there???! I censored it... it's safe for kids now :)
07/29/09
Oh, all right, all right. You can have your "T."
07/29/09
Mark the date for the day parents became so lazy that they cant even pay attention to what thier kids are doing.
Make someone else do it right?
07/29/09
Oh jimmy jet and your TV set. What have your parents done to thee?
07/29/09
07/29/09
Well, very few NC-17 (or X) movies aren't actually bad porno films, and I don't think we do need porno games at all.
This is assumption though. But then that would be screwing anyone who is 17 from playing the game (M rating limit). I would say that AO would cause even MORE controvesy about gaming and COULD cause the industry to fold all because of some soccer-mom buying her daughter "Hot XXX Lesbian Sex" instead of "Dora the Explorer". It could happen.
07/29/09
07/29/09
We would actually get yelled at if we didn't have it up when the District Manager came around. Even though she eventually moved it herself because it got in the way of the register.
07/29/09
Indeed, that whole hearing was a bit of a farce. Nintendo basically coddled up to Lieberman and got the whole thing blamed on Sega while they came out smelling like roses. Indeed, when Sega tried to say that they were aiming for an older demographic (which is why it had games like Night Trap and Mortal Kombat), Nintendo basically said that games were only for kids -- and unbelievably Nintendo were thanked for their honesty!
Saying that they simply proposed it makes it sound like it was the pairing of Mario and Sonic today. It was a nasty, bitter fight that left a bad tastes in the mouths of many.
07/29/09
07/29/09
If at ESRB you could PLAY the games instead of watch them, then I would apply for a job there immediately.
07/29/09
07/29/09
OR:
ESRB: Celebrating 15 Years of Jack Thompson Ignoring Something Being Done About Irresponsible Gaming And Minors.
07/29/09
07/29/09
I'm glad that dumb fuck is out of the picture too but to wish he was never disbarred..i just can't agree with that.You never know,a couple more years of his ranting and congress may have finally listened and possibly fucked gaming.
07/29/09
His "plans" were something out of a gamers Weekly World News!
07/29/09
Seriously I think the game industry in general would be a lot better off without the ESRB wagging fingers whenever there was something they didnt like. Also the ESRB has said themselves that they do not hire gamers to rate things, which means its people who will not be touching said products making decisions for folks who will.
Its like getting people who hate / have no understanding of firearms to make gun laws... Oh shit wait thats already going down.
07/29/09
One thing that he did say and made sense was he does not care what those of the age of consent do with their money / purchases, his issue was the fact that retailers were selling games to those who did not fit in said age bracket. Then from there that publishers should be stepping in more to help prevent "illegal" sales going on when shops have been shown to sell mature games to minors. The issue is not video games in general, its how they are getting into the hands of those who should not be getting them themselves. Therefore the industry is not policing itself enough. As crazy as that may sound hes got a perfectly good point. Which I do agree with.
07/29/09
07/29/09
07/29/09
Shouldn't it be
Your Screw (YS):Any developer dumb enough to make a game with this rating will be royally screw by the media and every chain stores ^_^
07/29/09
Why not have robots that mines for them? The miners could operate the robots in the mines.
07/29/09
Methinks it's more about people hating "the authority" than anything.
07/29/09
07/29/09
07/29/09
However, very few retailers carry AO-rated games. Developers would have almost no way of selling their games, so an AO-ratings is as good as a ban in most instances. Digital distribution might change that.
07/29/09
Then they went and put up a age cap for a whole bunch of videos from the past. Get this . Some of the videos were rated E.
They had nothing to do and felt the need to do something, so they decide to badger a popular site to get rid of everything that will offend people.
07/29/09
Also you can't tell me that you actually missed that whole Bully fiasco. ESRB almost gave them an M rating for that game.
07/29/09
@Bouchart- senior Fellow at the American...: Right. That's not the ESRB's fault, though. That's the prerogative of the retailers. They can stock whatever they want, so if anything they're the ones to blame for "banning" the game in question.
07/29/09
07/29/09
07/29/09
Now let me show you where Putt-Putt is here next to Dead Space.
07/29/09
I was too young when I played it to notice :(