Banned In The United States
We take a look at why the gaming industry has its limits, and what happens when a game goes too far.
Published: June 30, 2007
Retailers, not wanting to catch heat from angry parents or legislators seeking to gain easy points with the electorate, tend to follow the ESRB's guidelines. Selling to the intended audiences is fine, everyone gets what they want provided they are old enough.
Let's say you're in a bookstore, and you find a book that is exactly what you're looking to read on a long flight you have coming up. You go up to the counter, try to pay for it, and are told "I'm sorry, we're not allowed to sell you that book. It's offensive to some people." Let's imagine another scenario, you're in a gas station and approach the cashier with a lighter and some money. "I'm sorry, we're not allowed to sell you that lighter, you could be an arsonist." Both of these situations are ridiculous and you would be pretty angry, right?
That is exactly what retail stores do with AO rated games, except they never stock them in the first place. Despite being able to discern between customers who of age to purchase the product, they will refuse to even provide the game in the first place, effectively eliminating your choice as an adult to purchase the game. Why not? It's more money for them if they sell you a copy! It depends on the store, but the easy answer is that it's a mix public relations (more common) and morals.
If a teenager goes and commits a crime after playing the latest M rated game, the game almost inevitably is blamed by some entity. There alway seem to be outside circumstances such as medical conditions, unstable households, disputes between the involved parties, financial situations, or just a simple failure to think rationally -- but these are often ignored or cast aside in favor of sensationalism and/or an attempt to displace responsibility. Because of this, retailers are often blamed alongside a host of other companies for something that simply isn't their fault. Imagine if they stocked an AO game, the absolute "worst of the worst" (or "best" depending on who you're asking) of games. What kind of scrutiny would they be facing from the public? Lawsuits and stock hits are almost a given.
Other retailers have additional reasons behind their refusal to stock AO games, wanting to cater to families or push their moral beliefs in their stores. That's fine, it's their right to do it. Not everyone agrees with it, but they have the option of shopping elsewhere.
The problem for gamers? There's nowhere else to shop.
Let's say you're in a bookstore, and you find a book that is exactly what you're looking to read on a long flight you have coming up. You go up to the counter, try to pay for it, and are told "I'm sorry, we're not allowed to sell you that book. It's offensive to some people." Let's imagine another scenario, you're in a gas station and approach the cashier with a lighter and some money. "I'm sorry, we're not allowed to sell you that lighter, you could be an arsonist." Both of these situations are ridiculous and you would be pretty angry, right?
That is exactly what retail stores do with AO rated games, except they never stock them in the first place. Despite being able to discern between customers who of age to purchase the product, they will refuse to even provide the game in the first place, effectively eliminating your choice as an adult to purchase the game. Why not? It's more money for them if they sell you a copy! It depends on the store, but the easy answer is that it's a mix public relations (more common) and morals.
If a teenager goes and commits a crime after playing the latest M rated game, the game almost inevitably is blamed by some entity. There alway seem to be outside circumstances such as medical conditions, unstable households, disputes between the involved parties, financial situations, or just a simple failure to think rationally -- but these are often ignored or cast aside in favor of sensationalism and/or an attempt to displace responsibility. Because of this, retailers are often blamed alongside a host of other companies for something that simply isn't their fault. Imagine if they stocked an AO game, the absolute "worst of the worst" (or "best" depending on who you're asking) of games. What kind of scrutiny would they be facing from the public? Lawsuits and stock hits are almost a given.
Other retailers have additional reasons behind their refusal to stock AO games, wanting to cater to families or push their moral beliefs in their stores. That's fine, it's their right to do it. Not everyone agrees with it, but they have the option of shopping elsewhere.
The problem for gamers? There's nowhere else to shop.