This is actually something that was sparked by SteelAttack's most recent entry. So let the non-sequitur rants begin!

Video games often come under fire for various content found in them. That has been the hot topic the last several months in our beloved industry, hitting the high temperatures particularly with the 'hot coffee' incident.

Personally, I agree that there isn't anything that shouldn't ever be approached in a video game. We have a whole rating system in place for just this sort of thing: to apply the appropriate tag per the games content. Which is what my oncoming blurb is mainly about, stay tuned. To ban one thing opens the door to ban another and another, thus negating the purpose of these ratings. There are people out there that push for censorship of things that simply don't need it. I won't get too much into that, but I've seen a documentary where the breasts of nude marble statues were blurred out. I'm sorry, but that is ridiculously oversensitive. It's a statue, part of history. Not a stripper.

(Granted strippers have their place in history too, I suppose)

Now, that said - I'm not saying there should be games made that GLORIFY certain things, i.e. rape, or child molestation, etc. So obviously there is a line somewhere that shouldn't be crossed. Just as in the movie industry. While those acts are still committed, they are by a villain or a character designed to be hated, and these scenes are rarely shown in much detail. Just enough to make you hate whomever is doing it, and make you root for the hero that much more when they finally meet. Incidentally, a movie with such scenes and tones will be rated 'R'. A game would be rated M or AO. I don't see why getting an AO rating is such a big deal. Other than most of the uninformed consider gaming to be strictly child's play, and will never see it as a medium that caters to all ages. It's not like we have some other kind of crazy form of entertainment out there that covers everything from Sesame Street, to Disney, to Dark Comedy, to Action, to flat out Hardcore Pr0n.

Oh wait. That'd be the movie industry again. It has ratings that denote which movies cater to what audience, just as the gaming industry does. G and PG are movies mostly geared towards children, and pre teens. That is not to say an adult couldn't enjoy them if they choose to do so. That same adult can also go to another room and watch House of 1000 Corpses, or have a Soprano's marathon, leaving the kids to watch The Little Mermaid. Very little is said about a movie getting an R rating, and the inevitable 'unrated' version that will eventually follow its home format release. So again, I must ask - why is it so bad for a game to receive the AO on the front of the box? Some people make it sound like it's the death knell for the game. If anything - I'd say it's a good thing. That tells me this game is pushing the boundaries of what is generally "acceptable" and thus, opening an avenue to encourage others to do the same. Provided the game is not an unplayable bug nest, contains a good story, and characters that evoke emotion over plot twists and developments from the player: I would happily applaud the developers who created it. So there's the possibility of a most likely very mild sex scene in Mass Effect. So what? If anything, have a laugh that someone was paid to animate it.

We are a diverse bunch, gamers. We come from all walks of life, backgrounds, careers, and we all have different prefereances. Some of us have started with the NES. Some of us have been at it since Pong. Some of us didn't ever touch a controller until the 64bit era, and still others are picking up a Wii-mote for the first time today. That encompasses ages roughly 4-75. There are sections of games designed to accommodate almost everyone. A large portion of us ARE adults, by virtue of which gives us instant access to any game of our choosing regardless of it's rating. Developers shouldn't be afraid of making an AO game. I know publishers reasons are more monetary than simply "pushing boundaries" in that an AO rating would, in theory, limit the games purchase to literally 'Adults Only' - but that's how it should be. Just as games intended for ages 4-7 are just that. There are few games that are really geared towards 'everyone' - Including games that receive that particular rating. Sports games are geared for Sports Fans. They're not for everyone, and nor is Barbie's Pony Parade or whatever it was. I'm not saying there should be a giant shift to AO themes only - but sometimes a story requires somebody to get whacked with a golf club and set on fire inside a church.

I'm fine with that.