Look i know this probably said a thousand times before. Hell it's probably been said everytime a controversy has come up. But all the same i'd really like someone to explain to me why content that's exceptable in an R rated movie, isn't fit to be in an M rated game? M and R both mean no one under 17 without parental consent, so i'm, havin trouble understanding.
The Punisher originally received an AO rating from the ESRB and had to be toned down inorder to get an M despite the fact that the level of gore in the game was no worse than just about any slasher flick. I know this for a fact because interestinly enough an uncensor hack was released for the game that allowed the violence in it's true glory (Notice that it barely got any media attention?).
Flash-forward several months later and now we've got the hot coffee dispute. Hot coffee is no worse then anything i've seen in R rated movies so it shouldn't get the AO for the visuals.
NOTE: Nudity is not part of the original source. For proof use the ps2 hack. No nudity, plus no penetration = non-explicit content. Here's a quote from gamespot on the subject.
Maybe because it's interactive? Nope can be that. God of War featured an interactive sex mini-game (action takes place off screen), but nobody said anything (and if you know what's good for you, you never will).The next screen proved that the PlayStation 2 edition of the game does indeed include a sexually graphic minigame, which plays almost exactly the same as the Hot Coffee mod. It begins inside a bedroom with Denise, wearing only a pink thong and a cutoff T-shirt bearing the Rockstar logo, performing simulated fellatio on CJ, who is fully clothed in jeans and a "wife beater"-style tank top.
Hmm maybe both at once? Now that's just petty. Oh they can see it or experience it, but not both at the same time because that would make our sweet little children run out and fuck the brains out of their girlfriends. Oh wait? They probably already are.
If you ask me the whole rating system is a bit arcahic. I mean it's designed to protect the youth, but it neglects that youth culture has changed. Sex isn't something to be spoken about behind closed doors, it's open, it's common place, it's normal to know about sex and even to talk about it. As for violence, well look, the world's a violent place. People die, children die, children even have there legs broken or cut off just so some old bastard get get a few extra Rupees. The world is a shitty place, but it's not the games that make it that way, it's us. Games are a mindless escape. They free us from the shitty world we live in. They're meant to be fun and takes us to a place we could never go. The only difference between movies/books and ames is that games are interactive and generally more fun. Besides if it's rated M well, we all know what M means don't we? It means if your over 17 you can buy it, if you're under 17 then it's up to your parents. In this situation like many others i take the following stance: "If nothing happens, no harm, no foul. If something happens then you're a shitty parent."
Normally i'm not worried because we always win on creative merit but this time it looks like Yee and his cronies may have a case and if they succeed it could lead to harsh censorship and that ruins creativity. I know they'd have ruined my beloved Killer 7 if they could've gotten there hands on it. I really don't want to see the creativity and expressive freedom of the gaming industry die, over something like this when it doesn't even make any sense. The rating double standard is ludicris at best.
And to the people who say that games are just killing simulators used to desensitise our children i'd like to point out the one of the most popular "killing simulators" on the PC (and soon to be consoles) is America's Army. Hey Jack Thompson aka Assholeus in Extremeus, why don't you go bitch about that? Let's see how long it is before you end up in Gitmo.
So what's the problem really? Why should content be, 17+ (give or take) movie, 18+(No one under) game?
Just in case anyone's wondering, i'm a single 21 year old, Canadian male with no children. I've oppossed censorship for many years on the grounds of creative merit and while it may seem like i'm just bitchin now, i'm actually a really level headed guy and a reasonable individual. I understand it makes things easier if you can prevet a child from seeing something, but really it's just avoiding the issue not dealin with it. Conversation is a more valuable tool the censorship anyday.
Note to mods: Please don't lock this because it's not in the hot coffee thread. I don't want this post to be about hot coffee, it's about the unfair double standard the games have classically had to put up with.