Author's Note: It has been a long time since I did one of these, so if it seems a bit rough, bear with me.
Also, this isn't the place to argue whether or not this is, indeed, a new decade. Technically, it's still the first decade; psychologically, it's the next one. It's not big deal.
Finally, as always, my views are my own; feel free to disagree. ;)
(NOTE #2: Thanks to BrunoBRS for pointing out that it was Nintendo and not Microsoft that refused to release "Manhunt 2" w/ an AO rating; that has now been corrected. :D )
It's the rarest sight in the gaming world... rarer than the unicorn, or Loch Ness Monster, or Bigfoot. It scares the console manufacturers so much that they refuse to allow a publisher to distribute any games that receive one:
Scared yet?
In the upcoming decade, I would like someone, once and for all, to release a game with one of those on the box. Furthermore, I would like to see it done that way on purpose, not accidentally like "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas." It has nothing to do with wanting to play such a game: quite honestly, I doubt I would play such a game unless it had a compelling story, or fell into one of my preferred genres. It has more to do with the continued misperception of gamers as immature, and shattering that stereotype once and for all.
Just to recap, two games have stumbled into this "forbidden zone" of gaming in recent memory:
"GTA: SA" did so inadvertently, when intrepid gamers (doing what they do normally) stumbled on the "Hot Coffee" sex minigame. The furor that followed (further inflamed by then-Senator Hillary Clinton) resulted in a re-rating of the game, which caused retailers to pull all copies from the shelves, and Rockstar/Take-2 to re-release the game with the "offending" content removed.
"Manhunt 2" received the dreaded "AO" on its first trip through the ratings process. Nintendo and Sony put their feet down and said, "no release on our consoles." Subsequently, the game was recut to eliminate the "objectionable" material, the game was re-rated M, and everyone was happy (though PSP owners were very happy when they were able to hack the game to its pre-ESRB-friendly state).
Why Do We Need An AO Game?
In the long run, the continued caving-in of the games developers/publishers is hurting the adult gamers who crave something other than the standard generic shooters and rhythm games (the "safe" bets). I would have gladly paid to play "Six Days In Fallujah" for example, simply because it promised to be a lot more than "just" another shooter; the perception that immature teens would treat the events in the game too lightly led to its cancellation, however. Slapping an "AO" on it would have ensured that the content was experienced only by those mature and responsible enough to handle it.
Another benefit would be treaing adults like responsible individuals. Too frequently, the media blasts violent or sexually explicit games because "the kids might play them." If we're old enough to maintain a residence, a car, and a job, what makes you think we're not old enough to keep an AO game out of our kids' hands?!?
Finally, games would be put in the same category as such media as movies and music, and therefore not given "special" restrictions that they don't warrant. The idea that a computer-animated decapitation is somehow more disturbing than any of the hundreds of thousands that can be seen in the movies is laughable... or that viewing a naked 3D animation of a woman is more "damaging" than watching "American Pie" uncut on cable.
How Can This Be Achieved?
This is the "pure speculation" part of this editorial; you can likely skip it and still not miss anything of substance. :D
As far as I can tell, there are only three current developers who could pull this off:
Rockstar Games may seem to be the easy bet here. They've proven that they are perfectly willing to not only push the envelope, but set the thing on fire if it gets in there way. What they haven't proven is their willingness to stand behind their games and fight for them as they intended them to be played; each time the dreaded "AO" comes their way, they make cuts to keep their "M" alive.
Relic Entertainment may seem like a baffling choice, but their real-time strategy games are as bloody as it gets at the moment; it wouldn't take much to push their Warhammer 40,000-licensed games to the next level of violence. If certain aspects of WH40K were implemented into "Dawn of War" the rating could very easily hit the AO mark.However, the impersonal nature of RTSs may actually work against such a high rating.
Bioware is my pick for the first AO game, simply for two reasons: "Mass Effect" (which allows you to take another character to bed; if it went a tiny bit further, BOOM!) and EA Games, which came to Bioware's defense over the ME controversy and actually has the resources to leverage the console manufacturers into loosening their restrictions.
Of course, there's always the possibility that a big-name developer could create the needed game on the PC (where the AO restriction doesn't apply), hype it enough to make it into the AAA sales category, and bypass the (decidedly skittish) retailers by making it digital sales only. It's very slim, but it has potential.
Conclusion
A big-name adult game needs to happen at some point in order for gaming to be taken seriously as a medium, in much the same way as movies and books are taken seriously. I'd like to see it in te next decade, and I'd really like to see it succeed.