Dubbed a "kiss of death" by critics, the ESRB's Adults Only rating is seldomly used but, when
it is, the effects are felt across the entire video game industry.
The Adults Only rating has been around ever since the ESRB's creation in 1994.
It is only 1 year over the Mature category's ages 17 and up restriction, yet it is treated
much more severe.
So severe in fact that, apart from some extremely rare instances, whenever a game has been assigned
the rating, it has then had to be toned down so that it can be rated Mature instead.
Last month, for instance, the upcoming survival horror game Agony was revealed to be making
cuts to all versions of the game, following being given the dreaded rating from the ESRB.
The developers did mention, however, that they would be releasing an external patch
for the PC version, to restore the cut content.
Console gamers, though, will have to make do with the Mature rated version.
But why then, if it's only 1 year over the Mature category's age rating, do publishers
feel the need to tone games down?
What's this big fuss over Adults Only games all about?
The first big thing to bring up about the infamous classification is a ruling that has
been made by all 3 major console manufacturers that bans any game from being released for
one of their systems with an Adults Only rating.
Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft all clearly state that they will not allow Adults Only game
on their platforms, with Sony stating: "Adults Only or AO ratings are rare.
PlayStation does not publish Adults Only games."
Nintendo stating: "Please note that Nintendo does not sell or
license games that carry the ESRB rating (Adults Only)"
And Microsoft: "Microsoft does not support AO titles on Xbox
360, Xbox LIVE or as part of the Games for Windows branded program."
This means you will never see an Adults Only game for consoles and, if a developer was
to get the rating, they would have to tone the game's content down to be able to release
it on consoles.
PC, however, is different and this means that you will be able to find a few Adults Only
games on platforms like Steam.
An examples of this is the 2015 game Hatred, which was slapped with the rating due to its
intense violent themes.
Hatred's developers spoke about the decision to rate their game Adults Only, saying:
"I would prefer to get a standard [mature] rating, because with AO we will have problems
to get [the game] to consoles in the future, but on the other hand I think [our fans] would
be disappointed with it."
Even releasing Adults Only games on PC, though, comes with plenty of its own issues.
One of these is the overall stigma these games can have over their content and most store
fronts and services wanting to distance themselves from their taboo nature.
Sticking with Steam, whilst Valve doesn't have a blanket ban on Adults Only games, they
have rules that ban various types of content and some of these are the type of stuff that
will lead to a game being given the rating.
For instance, rule 1 under "What you shouldn’t publish on Steam" prohibits "hate speech",
rule 2 bans "pornography" and rule 7 blocks "content that is patently offensive or intended
to shock or disgust viewers".
Hatred was actually initially removed from Steam soon after being put on Steam Greenlight.
This was assumedly due to it being seen as breaking one or more of Steam's guidelines.
However, due to large outcries from the community, the game would be made available again and
Gabe Newell personally contacted the devs to apologies and wish them luck on their game.
For games that aren't as lucky as Hatred was, though, there aren't many options left available
for bringing them to the market.
They can always offer direct sales on their own websites, but, aside from this, options
are slim.
All major brick and mortar stores, for instance, also refuse to stock Adults Only games.
Alongside the sales aspect, many other services prohibit Adults Only titles in other ways.
Twitch, for example, has a complete ban on any Adults Only games being streamed.
An interesting aspect to Adults Only games is also how times change.
What was once considered inappropriate can later be seen as perfectly fine, and a good
example of this is the 2005 game Fahrenheit, otherwise known as Indigo Prophecy.
This game, made by the same developers as Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls, was initially
given an Adults Only rating in North America - leading to the consoles version having to
be toned to get a Mature rating.
The European versions remained uncensored, though, with some regions rating the game
as low as 15 years and over.
Fast forward 10 years later, and the same game was released in a remastered version
uncensored worldwide and with only a Mature rating.
This signifies a change in attitude within the ESRB and the industry and there becoming
a greater tolerance for more mature content.
Speaking to Censored Gaming last year, an ESRB spokesperson explained why the rating
exists and how the ESRB isn't responsible for what is and isn't allowed to be sold by
storefronts.
To quote: "While AO ratings are rare, it is important
to have the category in order to inform parents of adult content.
Ultimately, it’s up to publishers, console manufacturers, retailers and digital storefronts
to determine which games are made available to consumers.
It’s not within ESRB’s purview to suggest which games can be offered by console manufacturers
or sold by retailers and digital storefronts.
Instead, our goal is to inform consumers, especially parents, about the age-appropriateness
and suitability of video games and apps.
The marketplace determines the rest."
The ESRB have spoke about the rating numerous times over the years, with one the more interesting
comments coming from a 2012 interview with ESRB president Patricia Vance.
In the interview, she was asked: "As a lot of games move from physical storefronts
to digital storefronts, do you foresee a rise in AO ratings?
Because those will never be sold in stores for the most part."
To which, she replied: "Well, we'll see what happens with AO.
You know up to this point most people associate AO with sexual content.
We've actually assigned AO ratings for violent content as well; it's just that most of the
time that product gets edited or changed in order to warrant an M rating, so you never
see it in the market.
But yeah, it's very possible that there will be greater acceptance of an AO rating going
forward.
And by the way, I think that would be a good thing for the system.
It's very frustrating that publishers can't release AO product, in many cases."
This statement clarifies that the ESRB does not have any issues with Adults Only games
and would actually like to see them being sold more.
Vance also highlights that some games will be toned down to avoid the rating before ever
reaching the market - meaning that it's possible that you may unknowingly own titles that would
have been rated Adults Only at one point and that this is something that the publishers
never went public with.
Like mentioned earlier in the video, the upcoming survival horror game Agony will be toned down
worldwide to avoid the rating, with an optional patch to uncensor the game on PC.
But, there are numerous examples of games running into issues because of this.
Conan Exiles is another recent example, with the consoles versions having full nudity removed
in the US consoles versions, as it would have led to it being rating Adults Only.
Over in Europe and on PC, however, the game is fully uncensored.
It's unlikely that games running into issues with the Adults Only rating is something that's
going to change any time soon.
But, like spoke about with 2005's release of Fahrenheit, it's possible that over time
things will change and there will become a greater acceptance of content that is currently
deemed too graphic in nature.
This is an area of gaming that is always evolving and is something that we are always keeping
a close eye on.
If this is something you are interested in staying up-to-date with, please consider hitting
that subscribe button and, until next time, thank you for watching.