Blue made a mistake in his paraphrasing... TONS of games are rated 'M,' but very few are ever rated higher than that, i.e. AO - Adults Only. And for reasons exactly like the ones discussed here; America is full of a bunch of politically-correct, immature babies. Because of policies held by distributors and retailers, publishers are virtually forced to make sure they don't get higher than a Mature rating, or else suffer vastly reduced exposure in the marketplace.

Aside from the obvious pornographic games out there, I can only think of a couple off the top of my head. The original version of GTA:SA was re-branded AO, before they had a voluntary recall and re-issued later copies with the Hot Coffee patch built-in. They actually sent out little ESRB stickers for retailers to put on the boxes if they didn't want to send them back. (I pre-ordered a special edition of that game, wondering if that original M-rated disc in a hardback "Traveler's Guide to San Andreas" would be worth something now...) Rockstar also had either Manhunt or Manhunt 2 that was rated AO from the start, so I'm not surprised they never made any more of those, since the culture has only become more disapproving and restrictive of such things in recent years.

I have a very strong suspicion that Gearbox had to tone down the violence in Borderlands 2 compared to the first game (no exploding noggins from head shots, no reducing enemies to skeletons when they're electrocuted, bodies and rare gibs from explosions disappear very quickly, etc.) because they were facing an AO rating. It's basically a death sentence for any mainstream title, which is a crock of shit.

This comment was edited on Oct 11, 2012, 13:48.

I think they are referring to the AO rating not M or equivalent. No store now even carries AO games.

I am not sure why Microsoft trying to judge morality here considering that ratings in some countries is voluntary. Just inform the consumer about the content and let them decide for themselves.

This might be a non-issue as Xbox Live sells Mature titles on the Xbox Live Arcade and Games onDemand

RollinThundr wrote on Oct 11, 2012, 12:17:
I like the option to do so not be told by government I can't.

I must have missed the part where MS was government.

This is basically a meaningless announcement. Who cares what Microsoft allows on their "Marketplace"? You can still buy software outside of the marketplace in exactly the same way you do now.

And we have the first hints of MS trying to control the market. Sure, it is restricted to only their app store but does anyone doubt that if Win8 does well they'll extend this control to everything else in the OS? I sure don't doubt it.

For the sake of open computing Win8 must fail and truth be told, the market penetration of Win8 apparently is below expectations.

I'm going to not use Windows 8 so hard!

Seriously, Win7 works fine, so why would I want to downgrade to the new version of Vista?

Even Apple knows better, that is a new low for Microshits.

Parallax Abstraction wrote on Oct 11, 2012, 12:24:
Does Apple allow M rated titles on the App Store? Genuinely asking, I'm not sure. And as others have said, this is just Metro apps and since nothing else is being restricted or walled off in any way, you're free to buy M rated titles from any other software store you want and they'll work fine.

I just checked the Mac AppStore and they have GTA:SA and over on the sidebar it says you must be 17+ to purchase this game. They also have Black Ops, which I thought was rated M.

The iOS AppStore has GTA3 which says on there 17+ too.

Does Apple allow M rated titles on the App Store? Genuinely asking, I'm not sure. And as others have said, this is just Metro apps and since nothing else is being restricted or walled off in any way, you're free to buy M rated titles from any other software store you want and they'll work fine.

Probably 1/2 to 3/4 of the games I buy are rated M, and I buy a lot of games. A large portion of the big budget titles that get the huge marketing pushes, the displays at E3, etc. are all M-rated. That includes some MS-published games, too. Are they not going to sell their own games on their app store?

BobBob wrote on Oct 11, 2012, 12:11:
I wouldn't be too critical of nanny states. Most people act like idiots and need enforced laws just to keep them acting civilized to each other. Don't get me started about obnoxious public smoking and cell phone using drivers.

People act like idiots regardless. If I'm 20+ years old and want to play a mature rated game, I like the option to do so not be told by government I can't.

Public smoking? If you're outside don't stand next to them, unless you're talking like in a resturant, though these days most cities that I know of have gone completely non smoking anyway in most public businesses (bars, eateries etc). Guess it depends on the area obviously.

I wouldn't be too critical of nanny states. Most people act like idiots and need enforced laws just to keep them acting civilized to each other. Don't get me started about obnoxious public smoking and cell phone using drivers.

Verno wrote on Oct 11, 2012, 10:53:
I'm not sure what the obsession is with restricting adult content, I suspect its just outdated religious morals being pushed on others.

I think dismissing this out of hand is folly, Microsoft can use their installed base to push the market in this direction. Time has shown that publishers and companies will chase the casuals even to their own detriment. This is the kind of thing that makes me weary about the open platform PC essentially being turned into a glorified walled garden over time.

I think it has more to do with how "nanny state" EU countries tend to be. Like Australia and their we like to ban games that are mature because we know whats best for you.

Also you can only navigate with a Kinect.

We are Microsoft. We will tell you what you want.

Verno wrote on Oct 11, 2012, 10:53:
This is the kind of thing that makes me weary about the open platform PC essentially being turned into a glorified walled garden over time.

It shouldn't be a surprise. MS is basically doing all they can to become like Apple.
Microsoft CEO sees company becoming more like Apple.

Verno wrote on Oct 11, 2012, 10:53:
I'm not sure what the obsession is with restricting adult content, I suspect its just outdated religious morals being pushed on others.

Fear of lawsuits.
Same reason Apple rejects everything.

This just guarantees Windows 8, outside of RT, won't be a walled garden.

dj LiTh wrote on Oct 11, 2012, 11:17:
To quote my favorite author: "The whole principle is wrong; it's like demanding that grown men live on skim milk because the baby can't eat steak." -Heinlein

I think this is more appropriate:

"Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig."

To quote my favorite author: "The whole principle is wrong; it's like demanding that grown men live on skim milk because the baby can't eat steak." -Heinlein

InBlack wrote on Oct 11, 2012, 10:35:
IBM compatible PC

Your age is showing.

I'm not sure what the obsession is with restricting adult content, I suspect its just outdated religious morals being pushed on others.

I think dismissing this out of hand is folly, Microsoft can use their installed base to push the market in this direction. Time has shown that publishers and companies will chase the casuals even to their own detriment. This is the kind of thing that makes me weary about the open platform PC essentially being turned into a glorified walled garden over time.