Have games gone too far?

[RebelMan]

Violence, alcohol use depictions causing some developers to just say no

By Mike Smith

Beer Pong, that favorite pastime of college fraternities and illicit high-school parties, won't be appearing on the Nintendo Wii any time soon.

Or, not under that name, anyway. Although a Wii release depicting the popular drinking game was recently awarded a T (for Teen) certificate by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), Connecticut attorney general Richard Blumenthal wasn't impressed, calling the decision -- which would allow 13-year-old children to buy the game -- a mistake.

In response, the game's maker, a Las Vegas-based firm called JV Games Ltd., changed the game's name from "Beer Pong" to "Pong Toss" and will eliminate all other references to alcohol. Meanwhile, ESRB president Patricia Vance defended Beer Pong's rating to the Associated Press, saying that alcohol played a minimal role in the game and no one was shown drinking beer.

Another of the year's upcoming releases, Fallout 3, was just denied an age certificate altogether -- effectively banned, in other words -- in Australia. A Mad Max-style sci-fi role-playing game set in a post-apocalyptic representation of the Washington, D.C. area, Fallout 3 is replete with exploding heads, severed limbs, flying eyeballs, and pocket-sized nukes -- although in a tongue-in-cheek style that's not so very different to that featured in lots of horror movies.

Fallout 3's developer, Bethesda (who game fans will know from their recent hit Elder Scrolls: Oblivion) reportedly plans to re-edit the game for the down-under audience in the hope that Aussie authorities will reconsider. Devoted Fallout fans, of which there are many, are already laying plans to import unadulterated versions of the game from countries like the US.

Although the ESRB has no legal power to ban games in the USA altogether, it can -- and sometimes does -- issue an "Adults Only" rating, which effectively bans games from mainstream retail outlets totally. Manhunt 2, a "murder simulator" from often-controversial developer Rockstar, fell foul of the rating last year, causing the game to be delayed while it was toned down. Although it subsequently received an M (for Mature) rating in the US, it wasn't so lucky in the UK, where after much legal wrangling it was finally released some five months behind schedule, or in Australia, where it remains banned.

Will this new scrutiny on mature content cause game developers to ease off? If the buzz surrounding one of this year's biggest Xbox 360 games, Gears of War 2, is anything to go by, that's far from the truth. Gears' designer, Cliff Bleszinski, caused a storm after a May press conference revealed the original game's chainsaw kills will be souped up -- and include the ability to chop enemies in half.

[wannabe]

I don't understand the need for a murder simulator. Doesn't GTA fulfill that role sufficiently?

[Spin Teacher]

The ESRB has some major problems, and the industry hasn't reached a point in which it's willing to be completely responsible for itself. However politicians also haven't done much to help the situation. Most laws that they put forward have good intentions, but lack any clear definitions that could be enforced. I've read every book printed on the subject of violence & sex in videogames. Before reading them I was against regulating videogames at all. Now I'm the complete opposite, and think that the US at least needs a branch of government much the the FCC to rate & enforce videogame laws. I don't think that any type of game should be outlawed, just some rules need to not only be in place universally, but enforced as well. All games should be rated by the same system, all M & AO rated games should be sold only to adults after an ID check, ratings info should be made available on all packages, advertising & store displays & stores selling games should display rating table.

Much of what I stated is already being done by most game companies & stores, but not all. There isn't really enough that can currently be done to people who decide not to abide by current standard either. For instance many people (even producers & developers) feel Rockstar got off easy. Frankly I think the modder who found the hidden content should have even sued Rockstar for comments they made after the story broke.

My only concern would be that whatever organization the government created would not be given the power needed. The FCC has become sort of a joke, they don't really take too many stands anymore. Their latest attempt at a major stand recently didn't hold water with the Janet Jackson case.