I was listening to the GoNintendo podcast the other day, and they were grumbling about the ESRB‘s Adults Only (AO) rating for video games. Specifically, the podcasters were complaining that even though the rating exists, the “Big Three” hardware manufacturers (Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony) won’t permit AO-rated games to be published for their platforms. As a result, most developers won’t even bother to create them, since their primary delivery method has been nipped in the bud.

I’m with the GoNintendo folk on this one. People seem to have this misconception that any AO-rated game is a porn game, but that’s not necessarily true. If you were to map the ESRB ratings on to the more commonly known MPAA ratings for movies, an AO rating would line up nicely with an R-rated film. Games that carry the Mature rating (M), are essentially the same as a film rated PG-13! Why the stigma with games? Simple ignorance, of course. Society is always looking for someone to blame, and since video games are a relatively young medium that’s exploding in popularity, there’s essentially a giant target painted right on the medium’s head. I don’t need to draw a picture for you to conclude that it’s a bunch of bullshit.

What really bugs me about the Big Three’s anti-AO stance is that it boils down to one simple thing: censorship. I can understand not wanting young children exposed to extreme violence, sex, or other adult content, but that’s the parents‘ job, not the developers or ESRB. Those of us who can handle mature themes shouldn’t be punished for it.