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| 9 FEB 2003 at 2:36am |
AyaGrand Inquisitor
Posts : 7277
Joined: 16 OCT 2002
Status : Offline | this has to do with censorship and i'm 1000% AGAINST it... whatever the designers want to use (language, sex, drugs etc) they should be able to use it and not stopped by anyone, whatever the reason
(all this, IF i understood what you said! :)
You have gotten the attention of the mysterious lady. She turns to face you. Her face is devoid of any flesh. You are frozen with horror as she begins ripping your body into a bloody mess.
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| 9 FEB 2003 at 2:43am |
SirDaveGuild Master
Posts : 4941
Joined: 17 OCT 2002
Location: US
Status : Offline | Nothing here bothers me.....as long as the transvestites don't do any stripping!
The future ain't what it used to be!
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| 9 FEB 2003 at 3:25am |
GayleSchattenjger
Posts : 2544
Joined: 12 OCT 2002
Status : Online | It is probably hopeless. It is hard enough to find a distributor here in the U.S. for a game without some of the areas described so doubt a distributor will take a chance on it (profit and loss margin).
I have preordered it from the site. It would be nice to go into one of the stores here and pick it up but from what has been said it contains, the censors are not going to let it happen and who has the money to revamp a game for just the U.S. and if they did, the game would probably not be the same.
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| 9 FEB 2003 at 3:29am |
BelindaSchattenjger
Posts : 2093
Joined: 21 OCT 2002
Status : Online | I bought Tender Loving Care, dvd version about 3 years ago from one of our computer stores here in Mich. I really enjoyed the game. Wish they made more of them.
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| 9 FEB 2003 at 6:30am |
Jenny100Guild Master
Posts : 3510
Joined: 12 OCT 2002
Status : Offline | Originally Posted By Aya_Brea (9 FEB 2003 2:35am)
this has to do with censorship and i'm 1000% AGAINST it...
It's not about censorship.
It's about what they can think they can sell to teen-aged boys - the only market that they think has blockbuster potential. And these games don't fit the formula.
I don't know how much the M rating compromises the chance of these games getting published though. The Dracula games and Faust had M ratings (for nudity and a tiger doing the unmentionable) and Dreamcatcher published those games.
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| 9 FEB 2003 at 10:48am |
LagavulinPrivate Detective
Posts : 475
Joined: 21 OCT 2002
Status : Online | "The amazing R" wrote:I have been informed by an industry insider, that if Runaway were to be published in the U.S. it would likely get an 'M' (Mature) rating which would stop a lot of stores from carrying it on their shelves.
To tell you the truth I am not surprised at all. The US has always been strange in its moral behavior regarding "nudity"not sure about the spelling). Strange since its on one hand probably the largest producer of porn in the world. Yet they cant tolerate (spell?) a PC game that doesnt show "nothing" on the front cover.
FOR THE MOMENT I AM PLAYING ON MY Win 7&&&&Recently Played&& ark Fall Lost Souls,Outcry,SH vs A Lupin,Tales of Monkey Island,Still Life 2,Sinking Island,Pandora Directive (RP),The Lost Crown
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| 9 FEB 2003 at 11:36am |
| Deleted User | What can I say? It's the US, nothing suprises me when it comes to you poor guys across the pond.
BTW - doesn't anyone else think it's hilarious that the British intelligence agency cribbed a students' work so both the US and UK governments could get an excuse to go to war? :
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| 9 FEB 2003 at 12:03pm |
sennebecGuild Master
Posts : 3334
Joined: 15 NOV 2004
Location: US, maine
Status : Offline | Originally Posted By Randy-JA (9 FEB 2003 2:24am)
Okay here's a hot topic....
I have been informed by an industry insider, that if Runaway were to be published in the U.S. it would likely get an 'M' (Mature) rating which would stop a lot of stores from carrying it on their shelves.
silly, isn't it...
Why is it okay to have games glorifying violence, decapatations, war, and so on, but it just seems that whenever there is a chance for gamers to be treated to an adult plot and dialogue - no one will distribute it. No one.
silly, isn't it....
Two more examples - the excellent Tender Loving Care and Point of View. Neither game has ever been able to find a publisher in the U.S. and they are only sold from the developer's website.
silly, isn't it....
Both games have adult situations and both also deal with psychological profiles of their characters.
i played both TLC and POV... had a great time...
So what can we do to change the situation or is it hopeless?
nothing is hopeless, randy...
but we need to find an effective way of communicating our concerns....
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| 9 FEB 2003 at 12:13pm |
AyaGrand Inquisitor
Posts : 7277
Joined: 16 OCT 2002
Status : Offline | Originally Posted By Jenny100 (9 FEB 2003 6:30am)
It's not about censorship.
It's about what they can think they can sell to teen-aged boys - the only market that they think has blockbuster potential. And these games don't fit the formula.
well maybe i understood randy's post wrong... if the designers themselves want to make a game "softer" than they originaly intended to then it's ok by me i guess... of course i am 1000% AGAINST rating too! and all this happens because the usa is a huge market, while in europe the "stores not selling rated games" thing doesn't happen - at least not where i live (and there's always the inet to buy whatever you want anyway)
You have gotten the attention of the mysterious lady. She turns to face you. Her face is devoid of any flesh. You are frozen with horror as she begins ripping your body into a bloody mess.
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| 10 FEB 2003 at 1:49am |
JoGuild Master
Posts : 3313
Joined: 3 NOV 2002
Location: AU, Qld.
Status : Offline | BTW - doesn't anyone else think it's hilarious that the British intelligence agency cribbed a students' work so both the US and UK governments could get an excuse to go to war?
Is this what I think it is? My husband read out something from (I think) Yahoo news - may have been a Reuters repot, regarding something similar. idn't have time to read it myself so don't know much about it. Was it serious, or a joke?
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| 10 FEB 2003 at 3:14am |
mszvPrivate Detective
Posts : 751
Joined: 12 OCT 2002
Status : Online | Hi all,
I think we are talking about 2 separate issues - game ratings and getting a US publisher. To illustrate the point, I grabbed a few of my game boxes (I keep them, flattened) and looked at the ratings, and whether they have a US publisher. If I didn't know if the publisher was a "US" publisher, I assumed it had one if I could buy it in the stores, in the US. Here goes:
- The Longest Journey - M - US publisher, purchased it in a local US store.
- Morpheus - T (Teen) US publisher
- Syberia - T, US publisher
- Post Mortem - M, US publisher
- Morrowind - T, US publisher
- Rock Manager - M, US publisher
- Grand Theft Auto - M, US publisher (I'm sure you are shocked on this one, little joke here).
The question is not the M ranking, as Jenny100 said, "do they think they can sell the game to teen age boys". It also seems to depend on the publisher. reamcatcher (who is publishing Post Mortem in the US, an "M" game) is willing to publish a game with an "M" rating, and the game is not marketed or directed to teen age boys. It's a pity Dreamcatcher is not picking up Runaway.
I agree that the US is funny about some things, and, at the same time, much too accepting of violence in movies and games, in my opinion.
Incidentally, ratings are not "censorship". You may or may not approve of "ratings", but there is nothing in a rating that says you can't sell something. Child pornography is censored in the US (you can't legally buy it under any circumstances), but not games with an M rating. Games with M ratings are stocked on the shelves in US stores.
What I do like about the game boxes that I've seen is that there is a description on the back of the box on why the game got the rating. The Longest Journey gets its M rating for its language. Post Mortem gets its M rating for "Blood and Gore, Mature Sexual Themes, Violence". I think this is useful for a parent to know. Some parents might be perfectly OK with the language in The Longest Journey, but might not be OK with Post Mortem, depending on the age of the child.
Living in the US as I do, it's hard for me to understand how a game with a stripper as a main character, and also transvestites, would NOT get an M rating for "Mature Sexual Themes". That's exactly the rating I predicted Runaway would get. That doesn't mean it shouldn't get a US publisher, it should
All for now.
Regards, mszv
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| 20 FEB 2003 at 7:51pm |
| Deleted User | I totally disagree
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| 11 JUL 2003 at 3:51am |
jalexSchattenjger
Posts : 2503
Joined: 5 MAR 2003
Status : Offline | I don't think any one has the right to sensor any game. I do think that there should be plenty of info on the game telling about the content though, so every one can make there own desision as to wheather to buy or not. I like games with this kind of content but I also like the regular G rated games just as well and I certainly don't want anyone telling me what I can play and not play. My views are about the same for movies but I love computer games a little more than the movies. I never thought the rating system was any good as everyone has a different view of what good and bad material is and no one should deside for anyone else what is good or bad for them.
I believe that the rating system was made up so people could just get a bunch of stuff and throw it at there kids without looking at it and never taking the time to explain the facts of life to there kids or even talking to them about right and wrong. If the kids understand right from wrong then none of this stuff can hurt them. It's really not right that someone else has to pay for lazy parents that do not know how to raise there kids.
There are a few things that I personly don't care for though and one is mixing sex and violence and the other is drugs. I would never say they should be removed from games or movies though as this is just my opinion, I would just not buy them for myself or my kids.
Jim
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| 11 JUL 2003 at 4:39am |
jalexSchattenjger
Posts : 2503
Joined: 5 MAR 2003
Status : Offline | Originally Posted By Lagavulin (9 FEB 2003 10:48am)
"The amazing R" wrote:I have been informed by an industry insider, that if Runaway were to be published in the U.S. it would likely get an 'M' (Mature) rating which would stop a lot of stores from carrying it on their shelves.
To tell you the truth I am not surprised at all. The US has always been strange in its moral behavior regarding "nudity"not sure about the spelling). Strange since its on one hand probably the largest producer of porn in the world. Yet they cant tolerate (spell?) a PC game that doesnt show "nothing" on the front cover.
Hi Lagavulin
I live in the US and I have to agree with you all the way. There is definatly something wrong here. I myself don't believe in the rating system at all and I think everyone should be able to make there own choise here.
Jim
Jim
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| 11 JUL 2003 at 5:22am |
jujigatameSchattenjger
Posts : 1976
Joined: 14 FEB 2003
Status : Online | Being saddled with an "M" rating won't do all that much to sales. Look at GTA.
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| 11 JUL 2003 at 9:21am |
| Deleted User | First time I've seen this thread. I don't get it. What about the six Leisure Larry games, didn't they find their way to the store shelves and weren't they a great success? Content not mature enough...?
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| 11 JUL 2003 at 5:37pm |
| Deleted User | GTA wasn't an adventure game. Adventures tend to be perceived as family entertainment, since King's Quest was for kids wasn't it? : Amerzone was rated E but they slapped it with a "Use of Drugs and Alcohol" advisor- to this day I can't figure out what that was referring to. And some pretty tame games like Grim Fandango, The Seventh Guest and The Messenger got T ratings.
Besides, US censors are much more draconian towards sex than violence anyway.
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| 11 JUL 2003 at 6:48pm |
jujigatameSchattenjger
Posts : 1976
Joined: 14 FEB 2003
Status : Online | So what? GTA had an M but I can guarandamntee you plenty of copies were sold to teens under 17 (either directly or their parents bought for them.) Plus, no matter how adventures are percieved, the bulk of actual adventure players are probably over 17, so they'll buy it regardless. Believe me, the M rating will not hurt sales. If anything, it might help sales because people will think the game is "edgier."
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| 11 JUL 2003 at 9:13pm |
copycatSorcerer Apprentice
Posts : 293
Joined: 24 OCT 2002
Status : Online | Originally Posted By mszv (10 FEB 2003 3:14am)
- The Longest Journey - M - US publisher,
Since my copy of TLJ is rated 15+ by the ELSPA (whatever that is), does that mean 'M'' = '15+'? ???
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| 11 JUL 2003 at 9:40pm |
jujigatameSchattenjger
Posts : 1976
Joined: 14 FEB 2003
Status : Online | M means 17+ here in the states.
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| 11 JUL 2003 at 9:55pm |
copycatSorcerer Apprentice
Posts : 293
Joined: 24 OCT 2002
Status : Online | In that case, this definately shows EU ratings are more realistic than US ratings.
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| 14 JUL 2003 at 9:03am |
KsandraSchattenjger
Posts : 2459
Joined: 2 APR 2003
Status : Online | Remember all the fuss about publishing The Longest Journey in the US, because it had swearing and lesbians in it? But it arrived eventually, and I'm sure Runaway will as well. I agree that the rating system is stupid, but the British one isn't really much better - it's just that no one takes any notice of it.
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| 14 JUL 2003 at 7:34pm |
Bob_the_BuilderJourneyman
Posts : 956
Joined: 25 APR 2003
Status : Online | If Postal 2 can find stores (Gamespot) to sell their game, almost any M rated game can. Plus the censoring decisions are business based so there really isn't much we can do about it except buy the games uncut to show that we don't want them censored.
NO SOUP FOR YOU!
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| 16 JUL 2003 at 3:41am |
GamaholicPrivate Detective
Posts : 724
Joined: 3 NOV 2002
Status : Online | It is very annoying how human mutilation and carnage is okay but human adult behavior and nudity isn't. Hey, in art class we had nude models, but weren't allowed to dismember them...
But seriously, there are always a few so-called puritanical idiots who deem what is appropriate for society and....horrors...human sexuality, which is in pretty much every damn household in the world is taboo.. yeah, the topic pisses me off. We are talking about adult games here.
Now the fact that kids are playing GTA is a whole other topic..
That which makes one happy is not a waste of time
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