Adult Games

In recent years the adult game rating has become the center of an enormous storm of controversy. The Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB), which rates video games on scale from E (for Everyone) to AO (for adults only) originally created the rating to denote content that was too mature for individuals un the age of eighteen. Unfortunately the line between M (Mature) games and AO has become hazy much like the vague difference between NC-17 and R in popular film.

Most recently this conroversy over adult games was stirred up by the game Manhunt 2 for Nintendo Wii, Playstation 2 and Playstation Portable. The game featured motion controlled killing gesture in the Wii version in addition to extremely mature content and was summarily rated AO by the ESRB in July of 2007. Because both Nintendo and Sony do not allow AO rated games on their systems the game had to be censored and re-rated several months later as a Mature rated game.

Critics argue that such censorship is a detriment to the medium, and point to several more graphic works in other mediums, such as the movie Hostel 2 which was only rated R, as examples of the hypocricy of the rating system. The original Manhunt was arguably more violent and yet it escaped censorship entirely. The debate is ongoing and as long as the medium of games is not understood by the populace at large there is sure to be misunderstanding and finger pointing by various politicians.

Some suggest that Manhunt 2 was singled out as a scapegoat due to its proximity in release to the presidential campaign and increased political pressure on the video game industry as a whole. Nonetheless it has avoided being branded one of 23 AO rated games and existence and enjoyed minor retail success due to its controversial nature.