"ESRB" M to AO

My topic for this week came to me after reading a blog on 1up.com. The title of the blog was Manhunt 2 and the ESRB. I had already done one weekly report on Manhunt 2 and the media coverage. This one is more in focus with the ESRB folding to pressure of media.

I watched a video that showed the original with its M rating and the original Manhunt 2 with its AO rating and then the revised. I was shamed to say that the two originals look graphically the same. Yet because of the pressure the first game received the sequel was slapped with AO rating. The revised version for an M rating looks like it could give me a seizure with the flashing lights.

This has disheartened me to see a form of art and expression being overly judged due to outside pressure. Dan Hsu the editor of EGM a gaming magazine had this to say “But it's an absolute shame that this censorship had to happen just to get Manhunt 2 to the original rating that its predecessor had! The series didn't get more violent; the standards have changed. This inconsistency is particularly disturbing because it's only happening in the gaming industry.”

I blame the ESRB for not showing a stable rating system. If one version got an M rating should not the same game just new story line get a M rating also not AO. This is when we need to begin to watch has a consumer. When outside groups like the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood begin to affect the process to which the ratings are given (Crecente, B, 2007.) If we allow people to influence game content through the ESRB soon all we will have will be fluffy children games. Video games are more than mere child play thing. I hope to see the ESRB held responsible for there lack of fortitude from the gaming community.