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Posted: Nov 17 2011 02:17 pm

One of the big trends in movies over the last five or so years is that the studio releases a watered down cut of a movie into theaters and then both offers that cut and an unrated cut on DVD/Blu-Ray.

Does anyone think we could ever potentially see this happen with video games? If so, under what conditions? ESRB ratings are voluntary, as the ESRB is a self-regulatory video game organization and not an official government agency. However, all of the major console manufacturers refuse to license unrated games. Steam, maybe?

Title: Titlating Joined: Dec 17 2007 Posts: 5042

Fun fact, unrated dads for the most part are a marketing ploy. The director rarely has a hand in an unrated movie cut. They mostly contain footage that wasn't submitted for review by the mpaa and as such is unrated.

So similarly games would just have to make games with content not rated by the esrb. As you said consoles are big on unrated games. The digital area makes it more likely though.

Posted: Nov 17 2011 02:36 pm

isnt most DLC unrated? or is that just the 'online experience?'

Posted: Nov 17 2011 02:44 pm

The online experience is unrated. All DLC is rated. In fact, under current Microsoft rules, all DLC must be specifically rated for any region in which it is sold. So a region-free game still has region-protected DLC. There are ways around this, of course. And early region-free 360 games didn't have this issue. The shoot 'em up Mushihime-sama Futari's DLC was only ever rated for Japan, but can be bought in any region by putting the game in your console and then searching for DLC.

Posted: Nov 17 2011 10:33 pm

Considering that there are a bunch of laws now that dictate sales procedure for M rated games in various states, I doubt there will be. If it can cause legal problems, companies will just stick with the safe route.

Posted: Nov 17 2011 10:42 pm

Syd Lexia wrote:

The online experience is unrated. All DLC is rated. In fact, under current Microsoft rules, all DLC must be specifically rated for any region in which it is sold. So a region-free game still has region-protected DLC. There are ways around this, of course. And early region-free 360 games didn't have this issue. The shoot 'em up Mushihime-sama Futari's DLC was only ever rated for Japan, but can be bought in any region by putting the game in your console and then searching for DLC.

This isn't true of their Games for Windows Live service, as the DLC for "Age of Empires Online" is all unrated and thus can't be purchased by a minor despite being entirely inoffensive.