Politician tries to get GTA:SA bumped up from a M rating to a AO rating

[Jasonkhowell]

http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/07/07/news_6128702.html

Yes, I know San Andreas is full of crap, and is very violent, but the reason he is doing this is because of the scrapped sex mini-game found in the PC version that modders have put back in. Add the fact that kids should not even be allowed to buy, or play this game (although I know parents and store owners will overlook that).

Personally, I think he is nothing more then a politician using the tired "PROTECT THE CHILDREN!" excuse to score points with voters.

[Yakumo]

Well, the hole GTA series is aimed at your common thug. Fuck it, rase it to AO (what ever that means). I know some respectable gamers play GTA but really, since when did games need to be so pointless to includ gang wars, killings, fucking god knows what !! and yes I'm pissed (drunk ). Still I thing Rockstar games have no imagination. they just watych too many cop shows.

yakumo

[LeGIt]

I think the parents are dumb fucks.

Yeah it's M rated, but part of that rating should obviously include sex related stuff.

The ESRB mature rating sum's it up perfectly - it's the parents failing their children by being too ignorant to even research the game they're buying for kids or even simple things like reading the packaging, not the ESRB failing to rate effectively.

[XerdoPwerko]

True. And this guy is just scapegoating to gain politically. I'm not precisely someone who likes the GTA series, but I find this lobbying to be complete vote-whoring.

What gets me is that brutal killings are rated M, but sex is rated AO. I mean, why is love more obscene than hate? I think George Carlin has a number on this, about changing the word "kill" for the word "fuck" in violent movies. "Okay, Sheriff, we gonna fuck ya now... but we gonna fuck ya slow...!"

Anyway... I think this GTA and Ratings nonsense should simply fade away. Kids are gonna get it anyway, and then parents are still going to blame the publishers, and still, politicians will gain through the outrage and scapegoating. Just change "GTA" for "Night Trap" or "Doom" or "Mortal Kombat", and... well, this shit's been around for like 15 years.

Ratings were a good idea, for sure - but we really need to rethink what gets what rating, and what each rating means towards the sale of the products.

[Jasonkhowell]

True. And this guy is just scapegoating to gain politically. I'm not precisely someone who likes the GTA series, but I find this lobbying to be complete vote-whoring.

What gets me is that brutal killings are rated M, but sex is rated AO. I mean, why is love more obscene than hate? I think George Carlin has a number on this, about changing the word "kill" for the word "fuck" in violent movies. "Okay, Sheriff, we gonna fuck ya now... but we gonna fuck ya slow...!"

Anyway... I think this GTA and Ratings nonsense should simply fade away. Kids are gonna get it anyway, and then parents are still going to blame the publishers, and still, politicians will gain through the outrage and scapegoating. Just change "GTA" for "Night Trap" or "Doom" or "Mortal Kombat", and... well, this shit's been around for like 15 years.

Ratings were a good idea, for sure - but we really need to rethink what gets what rating, and what each rating means towards the sale of the products.


That is one thing I hate about the US: Pretty much every political figure and Christian groups (And other religions) views sex or nudity much worse then killing a person for no reason. Plus, we enjoy putting the scapegoat on things barely related to anything just for political, or monetary gain.

[PhantasyStar]

Has there been any other AO games besides Leisure Suit Larry Uncut?

[XerdoPwerko]

Looking at the ESRB website, there seems to be 18 titles with an AO rating. The only AO rated game on a console seems to be some CDI game.

Everything else is PC or MAC.

[socialdrone]

i think most M rated games deserve an Ao rating, any game that glorifies murder should be rated Ao. on the other hand i would disagree that sexual content in a videogame should be reason in of itself to place a mature or Ao rating on it.

you want to know the reason why people in america think nudity is worse than the murder. its because their morals have been in some way influenced by the puritans. read the bible as a puritan would read it, there is a strong case to be made that human sexuality is evil...more evil than murder. but its not just human sexuality its also anything remotely related or even indirectly conected.

its all englands fault, they should have shipped them off to australia instead of allowing them to settle here.

[Hawanja]

Man, when are people going to see through these dirtbag politicans? Just another scam artist asshole trying to rile up support for something to make himself look important. Get a name for himself, that kind of thing. Goddammit I hate politicians.

its all englands fault, they should have shipped them off to australia instead of allowing them to settle here.

Well, then somebody else might have settled here, and made the country worse. Say, French for example (Bada-Bing! Is this thing on?)

[A. Snow]

Rules of US politics (Although generally applies to any political system)

1. If your argument makes no sense use fear and outrage.
2. If you see an easy target that can score you votes with soccarmom's and old people then exploit it using fear and outrage.
3. If you need publicity find something to be fearful and outraged about.
4. If someone is not "donating" to you let them know that whatever they're doing is causing you fear and outrage.
5. If they're not "donating" enough remind them that you're still fearful and outraged.
6. If their competition "donates" more be fearful and outraged. Be sure to cash both "donation" checks first though.

[sayin999]

well said Asnow,as for the most titles deserving an ao rating, probably so, but youd be supriesed how much you can get away with in games, i mean the esrb is so effective on games now that even sega took out all teh streets of rages from sonic gems us release and put vectorman in there just os they wouldnt get a T. Still whats funny is that rockstar refuses to comment on the discovered sex minigame,which might have really been in the game and cut out at the last minute to avoid an ao raitng, still its extremely rare an ao raiting happens, and i have yet to see a game besides the latest leisure suit larry thats rated ao.

[XerdoPwerko]

I know the minor (12-17) teenage population is a huge market, but now games cater to the 18-35 crowd a lot more. They have the spending power, and all.
So really, why should the AO rating hurt sales, other than hypocrisy? I mean, if there's the rating, use it, dammit.

I guess, though, many retailers are afraid of having their stores burnt down by zealots or something, that might be a reason...

And A.Snow, yeah, you got your U.S. Politics (and probably many other countries) down pretty much on the spot. Good post, dude.

[kevster]

one question whats AO stand for

here we only have 12, 15, 18, so on

[the_steadster]

See Here for more info (http://www.esrb.org/esrbratings_guide.asp). Basically:
(US rating,age,description)
E,all,Everyone
T,13,Teen
M,17,Mature
AO,18,Adults Only

[WolverineDK]

Well this makes me laugh , (sorry it really does)
since i saw my first porn flick when i was 8/9 years old at a friends place.
And read my first porn magazine when i was 12(heck i think it was even before) and bought my first some times after. Well my hormones was rising when i was 11 (puberty). And i saw my first 16 year rated movie when i was 10 or something like that. And i admit we danes are maybe too relaxed. But seriously when Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was renamed to Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles (in the UK) well i read it was because they thought ninja was a too harsh word. Well i read on another forum that the kids could say all the swear words . That was around at that time when the cartoon came out.

So i must laugh, and it is not an offence.

Peace:

You know who i am.

[typo989]

If the M rating was actually used properly (17 and over), then the AO rating would be useless. Honestly, what a waste of rating...

[DJcrazymonkey]

This is dumb. The only video game that has ever affected me negatively was the Silent Hill demo back when I was say....9 or so. Now I play SH4 in the dark with the sound turned up and etc. etc.

[Putzi]

I dont think it matters if they change the rating almosteveryone has it and even if they do the people who want to buy it will get it anyways no matter what its rated. I like all of the gta games but I think that this game has some stuff that is just unneccasary they fuck every two seconds for what they didn't do that with three or vice city and they were just as good if not better.

[XerdoPwerko]

As I've said. It's just hipocrisy. They won't carry AO because it's going to hurt their image in society of being good, upstanding conservative citizens...

But they'll lose too much money if they stop selling M games to minors who shouldn't be getting them, so... the way to work it is Hypocrisy. This same hipocrisy and greed makes ratings useless.

It is somewhat funny.

[sayin999]

belive me the ao raiting is pretty pointless, its really suppose to be if a game is fully extreme or adult like, yet alot of M games easily qualify for ao, theyre not considered extreme enough, its all politics when it comes to certain games getting a rating.

[JTI2K]

At least left-wing liberals agree that videogames aint something to blame for rampant teenage violence :smt045

Here in argentina even the left-wing things that games may be dangerous for a childs well-development.

PD: not that we are a bunch of crazy-right wing douches like the uzbecks. It just that there are bigger problems at hand, and nobody really cares about games.

Now thats something the US politicians should look at, intead of blaming games for everything, why dont you look at you corporate-run media, your deep hole in the budget, the irak war and your sky-high deficit? :-D

Yeah i forgot, in the land of the free its worst to download a song than commit rape or murder :smt067

[AntiPasta]

As much as I agree with your criticisms, I must warn you that posting such things is no longer allowed as it caused to many trouble in the past. Welcome to the board, though, and enjoy your stay :-)

[dracula]

If anything making the game 18+ would HELP sales of the game (tho really it has already sold millions of copies) if you think about it, some people who were on the fence would probably hear about how the game has so much adult content that it is adult only and then buy it.

[PhreQuencYViii]

I always thought making it an AO rated game would keep all these parents and politicians mouths shut and some kids out of trouble, because AO rated games can ONLY be purchased by adults, and are never seen in normal stores....I'm pretty sure no console game has ever gotten the rating, but I think some PC games have...at least I remember seeing some as a kid...

[socialdrone]

At least left-wing liberals agree that videogames aint something to blame for rampant teenage violence :smt045

Here in argentina even the left-wing things that games may be dangerous for a childs well-development.

PD: not that we are a bunch of crazy-right wing douches like the uzbecks. It just that there are bigger problems at hand, and nobody really cares about games.

Now thats something the US politicians should look at, intead of blaming games for everything, why dont you look at you corporate-run media, your deep hole in the budget, the irak war and your sky-high deficit? :-D

Yeah i forgot, in the land of the free its worst to download a song than commit rape or murder :smt067

right and left wing tend to mean different things in different countries, id keep that in mind when you are talking politics. in american politics the democrats have been traditionally the ones who have tried to censor, ban, or regulate violence and 'obscenity' in movies/music/t.v./videogames/ect... in the past couple of decades religious fundamentalists have been gaining power on both sides of the political spectrum, and within their agrenda comes the obvious want to outright ban any and all things that may conflict with their religious ideology...

but i think you answered your own question. the u.s. isnt 'free.' the people here have no voice. our government keeps us sedated, they keep us content with terri shiavo, burger king, and ****** because if they didnt they would have a revolution on their hands.


I always thought making it an AO rated game would keep all these parents and politicians mouths shut and some kids out of trouble, because AO rated games can ONLY be purchased by adults, and are never seen in normal stores....I'm pretty sure no console game has ever gotten the rating, but I think some PC games have...at least I remember seeing some as a kid...

the problem is a complete lack of personal and parental responsibility. parents go into videogame stores and buy crap for their young children all the time. the other day this woman walks into gamestop with these two kids the height of my kneecap and asks the clerk "is there rape in gta?" clerk says no, but you can have sex and sex with prostitutes and after you have sex with the prostitute you can kill her and get your money back...the woman responds "but you cant rape women" the clerk says no...she buys the fucking game for the kids. i have seen this exact thing happen more than once. in the u.s. parents use the t.v. to raise their children. they dont really give a shit what it is they watch. proof of that is that pbs allmost lost all funding for its kid programing, and there was no outcry from the public. you sit a kid in front of a t.v. that is exactly what you would want your kid to watch. so instead of watching sesame street we would have had a whole generation raised on law and order, nypd blue, big brother, g-string divas, sex in the city, and sienfeld? christ imagine how fucked up theyld all be. parents dont want to take the time and effort to raise their children so when religious groups, corperations, or government offer to take over the responsibity they are happy to let them.

[sayin999]

well said, its kinda sad how much media can get a bad rap cause parents dont bother at all to moniter what their children are watching. Trust me this is just how it is here, blame it on something else and do nothing about it, but from the looks of it, it seems that this guy might lose his case, caue all rockstar has to do is prove its not in the games code, plus even if it was, they can easily argue its not accecible to anyway without major hacking knowdledge, i mean did anyone comlpain when people hacked doxb to have naked players with boob texture made, well tecmo did but it didnt go blown out of proportion.

[XerdoPwerko]

Yeah, this is not a liberal vs. conservative thing. It's more of a "responsible parent" vs. "dumbass who can procreate" thing.

Then both liberals and conservatives (though the latter have done it way much more, since, after all, they thrive on fear and outrage) capitalise with scapegoating concepts while making irresponsible voters feel good about themselves; "It's not my fault, it's the games/the guns/TV - Society is fucked up because of someone else, not my sorry irresponsible arse".

It's a matter of political pandering and dumbasses who can vote and want to cast blame elsewhere.

And for the record, GTA sucks ass - but I'm 100% in favour of it being sold without censorship to responsible people over 17, like the label says. I've sure seen worse ways to waste 40 dollars.

[A. Snow]

Yeah, this is not a liberal vs. conservative thing. It's more of a "responsible parent" vs. "dumbass who can procreate" thing.

Then both liberals and conservatives (though the latter have done it way much more, since, after all, they thrive on fear and outrage) capitalize with scapegoating concepts while making irresponsible voters feel good about themselves; "It's not my fault, it's the games/the guns/TV - Society is fucked up because of someone else, not my sorry irresponsible arse".

While it's fair to say both sides are willing to sign on when it suits them surprisingly here it is the Democrats that tend to get the ball rolling. This is odd considering it's a total role reversal since the morals issues tend to be the Republicans domain.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61945-2005Feb3.html

http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/07/13/news_6129021.html

[blackzc]

That is one thing I hate about the US: Pretty much every political figure and Christian groups (And other religions) views sex or nudity much worse then killing a person for no reason. Plus, we enjoy putting the scapegoat on things barely related to anything just for political, or monetary gain.


You dont know that. Im sure lots of times yes, but there are some people who just dont want kids getting ahold of this stuff

[blackzc]

Yeah i forgot, in the land of the free its worst to download a song than commit rape or murder :smt067


Who said that?

Now thats something the US politicians should look at, intead of blaming games for everything, why dont you look at you corporate-run media, your deep hole in the budget, the irak war and your sky-high deficit? :-D


Dont worry about us we always get it worked out. Eh, mabye you should be worried, when our economy hicupps its been known to have big effects on lesser developed nations. haha

You should honestly be looking at yourself a little more instead of picking on lil ol america, seems like you have some unproven stereotypes about the USA.

[XerdoPwerko]

Who said that?



Dont worry about us we always get it worked out. Eh, mabye you should be worried, when our economy hicupps its been known to have big effects on lesser developed nations. haha

You should honestly be looking at yourself a little more instead of picking on lil ol america, seems like you have some unproven stereotypes about the USA.

OOoh, boy, if it weren't forbidden to start political flamewars you'd SO get it right now... kidding, I'm a friendly liberal troll.

But I still need to make you think of yourself as well. Simply consider WHO placed most governments in those "lesser developed nations" and controls them even to this day - and you'll have someone who has part of the blame.
You always get it "worked out", you say. I'd love to ask the american working class about this - and really, the global economy is VERY far away from being "worked out".
I'm sure your life in the first world is so very comfy, but laughing about your economic hiccups' effect on our economies is not a very nice thing to do. And threatening as if you control them! Come on, man.
I myself have no stereotypes about America, but if I followed the ones many people outside have, your post would SURELY validate them.

Really, man, respect for other people's countries is the first way to show respect for your own. You can't ask to stop stereotypes about the US and then belittle Latin America. It's not respectful to anyone - the latin americans here, or your fellow americans here either.

Now, if you will, let's stop the political banter and continue talking about videogames, the ESRB, and retail, shall we?

[Paulo]

One more Politics post and this topics locked.

[PhreQuencYViii]

:confused: Why are politic's forbidden?

[Paulo]

Because someone way up high in the chain of command said so. The mere mortals that moderators are can only but tell you that we will lock all topics that fall into any political, religious and sexuality debate!

[XerdoPwerko]

Understood.
I just needed to defend Latin America from some of those misguided comments - I realise I was somewhat out of line, but things needed to be cleared.

Sorry.

Let's continue videogame discussion.

[WolverineDK]

offcourse let us discuss this great discussion :-) about videogames.

[JTI2K]

in american politics the democrats have been traditionally the ones who have tried to censor, ban, or regulate violence and 'obscenity' in movies/music/t.v./videogames/ect...

With left wing i meant guys like michael moore, the green party, etc.....

I say, the democrats arent even near to the left, they are what is called "right-center" or just a light right wing.

Man you just`ve to see what hillary has said about all this. That dumb bitch, go find a real job ma`am!. Those lawyers, nah, they are the common muck of the law: those guys in the 80 were the ambulance chasers, in the 90 the corporate blammers and now they`ve found their "easy money" in the game industry. It doesnt surprises me, after all they are always after the most succesful bussines.

At least dubya and his crew are on our side :smt082


PD: whats the deal with "latin"? I dont speak latin, and theres no country with that name in the world. Shit, in fact english has almost the same amount of words taken from latin as the spanish does.

[Paulo]

Everyone thank JTI2K for giving me reason to close topic.