most M games are rated M to boost sales, not because they are actually worth the M rating.

seriously, slap the M on something and all the 13-17 kids will be peeing in their pants at the idea of getting the game and telling their friends how absolutly awesome and mature they feel when playing it.

and game devs know it.

Originally posted by Sylvarii

Originally posted by WhySoShort

I think that in the case of MMOs, you may be right. The "T" rating is what most MMO developers aim for because they know that a lot of MMO players are teenagers playing off of their parent's wallets. 

As for video games in general, you couldn't be more wrong. Think about all the top selling games/series in the past  few years: Skyrim, the Modern Warfare Series, the Assassin's Creed series, the Mass Effect series, the Halo series (oddly enough) Arkham Asylum/City, the Gear of War series: all rated M. Mass Effect and Assassin's Creed even went out of their way to secure the coveted M rating by adding pointless sexual content. 

 

Most the games you mention have no reason to be m rated.Games like GTA and The Witcher series are true M rated games,as for Mass Effect,that just a BioWare gimmick.No BioWare game deserves an m rated logo,compared to the two m rated games i mention,bioware games are childs play.

Exactly. It just proves that game devs go out of their way to get M ratings. They practically beg for them, because they know it will mean higher sales. 

Ratings are overrated imo, i used to play manhunt when i was 13 and i never felt like bashing some1's head with a hammer now. (except for duck face facebook girls of course) But I think M games are more attractive after all.

lol. I have not once ever cared about the rating of a video game.

Originally posted by Sagasaint

most M games are rated M to boost sales, not because they are actually worth the M rating.

 

seriously, slap the M on something and all the 13-17 kids will be peeing in their pants at the idea of getting the game and telling their friends how absolutly awesome and mature they feel when playing it.

and game devs know it.

^ THIS ^  A 'M' rating will actually boost sales of a game. I don't really pay much attention to the ratings. I'll play a game through and if I decide it's OK I'll let my kids play it. I don't EVER let someone else decide what is appropriate for MY children. I've let my kids play plenty of 'M' rated games but I've also not let them play some 'T' rated games. I actually take an active part in what my kids are exposed to. More parents today should be this way instead of trusting some arbitrary rating that was most likely put on a box for marketing purposes.

Bren

Originally posted by Sagasaint

most M games are rated M to boost sales, not because they are actually worth the M rating.

 

seriously, slap the M on something and all the 13-17 kids will be peeing in their pants at the idea of getting the game and telling their friends how absolutly awesome and mature they feel when playing it.

and game devs know it.

M-rating means fewer stores will carry it. Toys R' Us, and many stores like it, only carry E through T. Stores that do sell M-rated games typically wont sell to a minor unless they're with a parent.

Game devs, and more importantly, game publishers know it.

I love bloody/violent games, the bloodier the better. I giggle like a schoolgirl when I hack off a zombies ankle and watch it flop around on Dead Island. Bring on the AO+ MMORPGs! Just not Age of Conan plz

There's a market both for M-rated games and for games with lower ratings.  If most games were rated M, then there would be a major underserved market for games with lower ratings, and the M-rating would hurt sales relative to what you could get with a cleaner game.  If the M rating were about as common as AO is today, then M-rated games would be an underserved market, and trying for an M rating would tend to boost sales.

I don't think that I've personally ever played an M-rated game.  I wouldn't rule out playing a game purely because of the M rating, but whatever it did to get that rating would probably be a strike or two against it.  If you care about a game's community, then over the top violence and sex attracts exactly the wrong crowd.

Originally posted by rojo6934

Originally posted by brody71

personally i dont pay any attention to the government rating of anything.  i don't need big brother to tell me how appropriate something is or isnt for me or my family. 

 

Did we really get this far into the thread without anybody pointing out that ESRB ratings are not government ratings? Both of these two posters and the OP all indicate in their profiles that they live in the US, so I am at a loss to explain which government is apparently rating the games that they're buying.

Depends on the game. A GTA game released without a M (at least) rating would be the a failure, nobody would buy it. However, GTA is an stablished franchise that is known for their mature content, people look after the games. However, if it's a lesser known game that actually needs store exposure for a significant number of sales, an M rating is detrimental because there are lots of big stores (like Toys R'Us, and from what I've heard, Walmart and the like, no real idea, I live in Venezuela and never been to either one of those) won't carry anything with a rating higher than T.

Of course, it all is changing these days as more and more games are sold online trough steam and other similar services.

Originally posted by Radshak

{Snip}

I can do without all the blood and overly violence,

 

Amazing how people think just blood and violence when talking about an "M" rating.  It also has to do with story content.  Take AoC for example; yes it has the blood and violence (which I generally turn off), topless PC women (which usually equals the pre-teen crowd) but it also has to do with the hooker giving out quests, the old lady that comes on to you and your answers how a non-speaking girl would make a good hooker.

"M" also means having to do with adult themes.  And for games I think M = $$$, more so now with getting games via downloads vice box copies at stores.

Originally posted by Radshak
 

I myself having started mmos on day one of release with games like Ultima Online,  DAOC,  Shadowbane, and WoW.  I have made a decision to never play a rated M(mature) games.  Its just personal preferance, but I can do without all the blood and overly violence, I can also do without all the bimbos(scantily clad fake plastic surgery females)  I will be passing on Tera, just like I passed on Age of Conan and others.

Like many here I am waiting for the next mmo.  Ive decided GuildWars2 I'll give a try,  (I havent played a mmo since the first two months of Rift)  I might of played Tera, however its rated M.

 

Well anyways my thought being is now that I am getting older, I can play games with my teenage sons . We will be buying 5 copies of GuildWars2.  GuildWars2 seems like the real deal.

 

You do the math. 

No, it means I have to buy my Christmas presents when my youngest wants to get me a game for Christmas, then I have to act 'surprised' when I open them.     (Which I really enjoy hamming up, btw.)   It means I have to buy my daughter's games and lie about her age for online games.   Least she's 15 now so the stupid 13-year-old thing isn't a problem anymore.

The only thing M does is get in my way.