k so if you dont know the story, some hacker made a mod for GTA San Andreas which unlocked some hidden sex minigames that rockstar had originally edited out.
then for whatever reason, the ESRB and a bunch of morons with nothing better to do (ie. Hilary Clinton) starting bitchin about the game and its hidden content, totally disregarding the fact that this was a work of a hacker and not by rockstar which originally didnt want you to see that.
so the ESRB changed the rating from M for mature to AO for adults only, the first ever game in history to get such a rating
and because of the rating, stores started to pull the game off their shelves forcing rockstar to recall all the copies and remove and republish the game causing them to lose millions in sales
MY OPINION
so just today it was re-released. i find this extremly stupid, cause if you know the GTA series, youd know that its one of the most vioelnt games ever. a game where you can pick up prostitutes, use their "services" then kill them and get a full refund, or go on a killing spree shooting random ppls heads off, or even car jacking countless people. now all of a sudden, theres like 2 sex minigames and people start to panic? its not like any genitilia was exposed, both characters involved are fully clothed, and whats more, the game was allready rated mature for players over 17 years of age, so i think if your old enough to have the game and play it, then your old and mature enough to see the hidden content, if not, then you shouldnt be playing the game at all
Extra note: The difference in restrictions between "Rated M" and "Rated AO" is that if a game is "Rated M" only those 17+ can purchase it while if a game is "Rated AO" the restrictions become 18+...
The rating system is incredibly stupid and raising the rating of this game while there are FAR worse out there ( God of War comes to mind with frontal, advertised nudity) makes it even more stupid.
A very, very stupid situation overall.
_________________ "Impossible is just a word people use to make themselves feel better when they quit." -Vyse, Skies of Arcadia
I find it hilarious how all those people who go nuts over GTA don't even look at God of War. It has nudity after the very first boss battle and some other characters are shown somewhat nude as well throughout the game. Don't get me wrong, God of War is an awesome game and none of this ditracts from all the goodness. The nudity Is with the theme/era/whatever of greek mythology.
_________________ ~ Big Boss "Whaddya say to one last showdown?"
"I want to shoot people in the face, bang prostitutes, traffic drugs, steal cars, and terrorize police officers without this filthy smut in my game."
so true
The main difference between "M" and "AO" is that most stores ban "AO" games from their stores. For example, Walmart, Futureshop, EB games, and more have taken out of its stores plus it is found no where on the site. So "AO" is mostly about screwing the company over so it doesnt make money. 17+ and 18+ doesnt matter, its the marketing will be shot down!
The main difference between "M" and "AO" is that most stores ban "AO" games from their stores. For example, Walmart, Futureshop, EB games, and more have taken out of its stores plus it is found no where on the site. So "AO" is mostly about screwing the company over so it doesnt make money. 17+ and 18+ doesnt matter, its the marketing will be shot down!
Except that what you said has nothing to do with the actual rating or rating system, just the individual retailers who are trying to cover their backs because of this now "unpure" commodity. And in all honesty, now that San Andreas is back on the shelves, the publicity is helping them rather than hurting them (ie. getting back at the man for banning video games!).
What I'm concerned about is the effect this has on the future of video gaming. *sigh*
_________________ "Impossible is just a word people use to make themselves feel better when they quit." -Vyse, Skies of Arcadia
The main difference between "M" and "AO" is that most stores ban "AO" games from their stores. For example, Walmart, Futureshop, EB games, and more have taken out of its stores plus it is found no where on the site. So "AO" is mostly about screwing the company over so it doesnt make money. 17+ and 18+ doesnt matter, its the marketing will be shot down!
Except that what you said has nothing to do with the actual rating or rating system, just the individual retailers who are trying to cover their backs because of this now "unpure" commodity. And in all honesty, now that San Andreas is back on the shelves, the publicity is helping them rather than hurting them (ie. getting back at the man for banning video games!).
What I'm concerned about is the effect this has on the future of video gaming. *sigh*
Well look at this, how can you get any worse then San Andreas. There is the sex minigame, the shooting, the drugs, etc.
I dont think there will be a worse game then this unless you can actually have sex lol on a game! And I dont think the future of video gaming will be effected considering the game is now fixed and now we can move on forgetting this ever happened!
_________________ This girl's fit for a strait-jacket. I mean she's fucked three ways to the weekend. But you know what, Father? I dig it! - Wedding Crashers
Well look at this, how can you get any worse then San Andreas. There is the sex minigame, the shooting, the drugs, etc.
I dont think there will be a worse game then this unless you can actually have sex lol on a game! And I dont think the future of video gaming will be effected considering the game is now fixed and now we can move on forgetting this ever happened!
No, you misunderstand what I meant. I mean, if a game like San Andreas sells millions with the sex, drugs, alcohol, and killing, then comes off a controversial episode like the AO rating and is able to sell more copies because of the publicity, won't more companies make games as mindless as GTA? I'm not saying GTA is a bad game, it's just that if video games continue in this direction, video games in general will be labeled as offensive by the media. The future of video games is then at risk because video games will no longer be a medium where one can enjoy a "virtual reality" and play genuinely fun games anymore because that wouldn't be cost effective compared to "Making another GTA-Spinoff and selling millions more copies"
_________________ "Impossible is just a word people use to make themselves feel better when they quit." -Vyse, Skies of Arcadia
![[Smile]](images/smiles/icon_smile.gif "Smile"){kind=icon}
Maddox.. you rock my socks
