Adults-Only Games And You
The Manhunt 2 controversy revealed something that many gamers, myself included, did not know: That Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft all refuse to even license Adults-Only rated games on their systems. I had assumed that developers at least had the option of making AO games, even if most stores would refuse to carry them.
The reason why they don't allow AO games on their systems is so they can maintain the image of being "family-friendly." However, in keeping this policy, these companies are hindering the videogame industry as a whole, preventing games from becoming a respected art form.
Whether or not you agree with or even like Manhunt 2, you should at least be able to see why banning AO-rated games is wrong. Why can't a game be appropriate only for adults? Why can't a developer make the game they want to make without it being censored? Why can't there be a market for adult games? Other entertainment mediums have healthy growth in that area, and by refusing those games, Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft are only limiting the industry.
Therefore, if you feel that it is wrong to ban Adults-Only rated games, you are obligated to voice your opinion. You are obligated to send a message directly to Sony and Nintendo, just as I have. Write a calm, intelligent message expressing why you disagree with their anti-AO policy, then send it to Nintendo and to Sony. (They both have very convoluted contact forms, so send it to as many departments as you think are appropriate. I sent 3 copies of my message to Nintendo and 5 copies to Sony.)
This is my message that I sent to Nintendo (obviously I edited it before sending it to Sony):
Please support the cause. Hopefully they'll listen.
The reason why they don't allow AO games on their systems is so they can maintain the image of being "family-friendly." However, in keeping this policy, these companies are hindering the videogame industry as a whole, preventing games from becoming a respected art form.
Whether or not you agree with or even like Manhunt 2, you should at least be able to see why banning AO-rated games is wrong. Why can't a game be appropriate only for adults? Why can't a developer make the game they want to make without it being censored? Why can't there be a market for adult games? Other entertainment mediums have healthy growth in that area, and by refusing those games, Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft are only limiting the industry.
Therefore, if you feel that it is wrong to ban Adults-Only rated games, you are obligated to voice your opinion. You are obligated to send a message directly to Sony and Nintendo, just as I have. Write a calm, intelligent message expressing why you disagree with their anti-AO policy, then send it to Nintendo and to Sony. (They both have very convoluted contact forms, so send it to as many departments as you think are appropriate. I sent 3 copies of my message to Nintendo and 5 copies to Sony.)
This is my message that I sent to Nintendo (obviously I edited it before sending it to Sony):
I disagree with Nintendo's policy to refuse to license Adults Only-rated games. To help videogames be taken seriously as a legitimate art form, we have to accept their content as an extension of the creator's mind, whatever that content may be and regardless of whether or not we agree with it.
Therefore, I must request that Nintendo reconsider their position to refuse to license Manhunt 2 in its current state- an AO-rated game. There is no conceivable reason why there cannot be a market for games that are appropriate only for adults. As evidenced by movies of extreme content like SAW and HOSTEL, this market can be profitable.
Videogames are still in their infancy, and must be allowed to grow freely to develop and flourish into a true art. If we give in to those who wish to hamper this progress and who do not take videogames as art seriously, then we have done nothing more than prove to them that they are right, and that videogames are not art.
Furthermore, with Nintendo's renewed commitment to shedding its "kiddy" image and becoming more mainstream, there would be no better way to show that Nintendo is serious about branching out to a more mature audience than having the first console to allow an Adults Only-rated game.
Nintendo is in a position to show the world that videogames are something to be taken seriously. Please do not let this go to waste.
-Thomas Ella
Please support the cause. Hopefully they'll listen.
Even though I won't be purchasing Manhunt 2, I agree with what you have to say about censorship and that if mature adults want to play the games they should be allowed to do so, therefore I will consider sending a little message to Nintendo and Sony.
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