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Clarifications on the Entertainment Software Rating Board Adult Only rating

Posted Apr 12, 2008 at 1:08AM EST by QJ Staff

Listed in: Wii, PS3, PSP, Nintendo DS, Xbox 360, PC Gaming Tags: ESRB, Indigo Prophecy, Microsoft, Sony, Wal-Mart

Hot Coffee briefly led to an AO rating for GTA San Andreas - Image 1

At first glance, the Entertainment Software Rating Board's (ESRB) "Mature" and the "Adults Only" ratings seem quite similar. After all, both ratings involve people aged 18 and up. What's the real difference between the two ratings, anyway?

Two words: intensity and volume. According to the ESRB, AO titles "may include prolonged scenes of intense violence and/or graphic sexual content and nudity" (emphasis ours). Compare that with the description for Mature-rated titles that "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.Â” In other words, Adult Only games are simply too adult.

If you're a concerned parent or guardian, there's another point that's especially important for you to know: out of all the games that have crossed the ESRB's path, only 23 of them have been given the AO rating. Thing is, there are other games out there that have not been submitted to the ESRB for review, yet still deserve an AO rating due to their content.

Some of the titles rated as Adult Only by the ESRB include:

Critical Point
Snow Drop
Fahrenheit: Indigo Prophecy - Director's Cut
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (briefly due to "Hot Coffee")
Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude Uncut and Uncensored
Peak Entertainment Casinos
Singles: Flirt Up Your Life
Thrill Kill

If you'd like a more complete list of the titles that fit into the ESRB's AO category, click on the source link below.

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Their solution to the situation was not a recall, not a reprint, but rather, sending out AO STICKERS to the retailers. Gamestop continued to sell the game in my area with AO stickers placed on the cases. However, considering that the disks are stored behind the counter, I suspect that unmodified copies got mixed with the revised second shipment copies.

At any rate, the system is screwed up. They need to get the rating right beforehand, by actually playing the damn games and asking for resource viewers to look for this sort of content.

Parents will still buy these games for their children, and stores will still ID people unnecessarily. I never got IDed until AFTER I was 17. Hell, I'm 19 and I was IDed for the Oblivion strategy guide (by a rather rude employee at that).

Here's a solution: the old RSAC system. See the descriptors and their intensity on the front of the box, ain't that a novel idea?

# re: — Guest 2008-04-15 02:53

It just might work. ^^

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Clarifications on the Entertainment Software Rating Board Adult Only rating

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