There's just no pleasing some people...
Recently, Manhunt 2 had it's ESRB rating modified from AO to M, having crippled their game in an attempt to get it released, and predictably California senator Leland Yee is freaking the fuck out. Yesterday, news surfaced that Mr. Yee demanded transparency into the rating system of the ESRB, stating that a system that doesn't provide specific, transparent metrics for individual ratings is not to be trusted. Mr. Yee further demanded that the content that was changed should be publicized in order to end the collusion of the game industry and the ESRB. The jig is up kids, my nightly ponderings on how to corrupt the youth of America with content their parents should be monitoring will never be the same without the gloom cast by the shadowy colossus of the ESRB and game industry working in concert to destroy the moral compass of the world.
Today, the ESRB responded to Mr. Yee's demand, and unfavorably (or favorably depending on your stance). An ESRB rep was quoted thus:
Publishers submit game content to the ESRB on a confidential basis. It is simply not our place to reveal specific details about the content we have reviewed, particularly when it involves a product yet to be released. What can be said is that the changes that were made to the game, including the depictions themselves and the context in which those depictions were presented, were sufficient to warrant the assignment of an M (Mature 17+) rating by our raters.
What a novel idea, you don't want to publicize the content of a game that hasn't been released yet? The ESRB is surely rife with genius...or simply common sense.
Personally I'm a little torn on the issue itself. On the one hand I'd like to see the machinations that result in a game being tagged AO as opposed to M so that I can bitch and whine appropriately. On the other hand I love that the ESRB has stood up to a government representative threatening to sic it's proverbial bureaucratic dogs on them.
Regardless of my stance on this particular issue I'm still pouting like a child over having been denied the full gore and despicable violence of Manhunt 2. Ultimately this fight will continue, with Yee having made such a fuss that he can't drop the issue and lose face and the ESRB (hopefully) sticking to its guns. Just remember that whoever emerges the victor your video games will still be censored by people that don't understand them.
