The record-breaking release of Grand Theft Auto V has sent ripples of controversy through the media. Its explicit content has shocked and appalled many, but entertained thousands more.
Mainstream media has pinpointed problematic elements of the game such as prostitution, torture, and racial profiling. It seems that people like it: selling over $1 billion worth in the first week of sales, GTA V is breaking entertainment records worldwide.
Unlike mature gamers, the younger demographic will likely take the game’s graphic content at face value.
Anyone who has dabbled in products developed by Rockstar Games shouldn’t be surprised by these features; explicit content has been a mainstay in many of their ongoing series, often portrayed in a satirical manner that is as rude as it is intelligent.
It’s these cultural nuances, ones that an adult audience will pick up on, that can soar over the heads of the younger demographic of gamers.
Unlike mature gamers, who can form informed opinions on the game’s subject matter, the younger demographic will likely take the graphic content at face value. A pre-teen brain just cannot compute the cynical messages being presented to them underneath the flurry of violence and profanity. All that’s left is the message that cruelty is funny, and an acceptable form of humour.
Even if your sibling or child understands the difference between reality and video games, they will still relay the lessons they have learned from pop-media among friends — and behind adults backs. Kids don’t have the ability to read between the lines of the game’s satire, and its humour will be lost on younger players.
Given its popularity, I find myself wondering how many parents have purchased their little elementary school prodigies GTA V. Maybe they’ve done so because a friend has it, or because they believe their kids know the difference between right and wrong. But parents might think twice if the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) helped inform them on a deeper level.
Games are typically given ratings by at least three trained “raters.” These are adults with prior experience with children, such as teachers or parents. Testing games is part of their job, but full playthroughs are not required; heck, even playing the title at hand isn’t required.
While assessing games, the professionals analyze the most extreme content the game has to offer, taking into consideration themes such as violence, coarse language, sexuality, and drug reference or use.
Beyond these things, the raters will also look at the game as a whole, taking into account the frequency of the more explicit content. Given the nature of video games, they will also review the interactivity, rewards systems, and the degree of control that the player is given.
Unfortunately, today’s rating system isn’t properly addressing the spectrum of content that is present in the modern game space. The ESRB has six official ratings for released games: Early Childhood, Everyone, Everyone 10+, Teen, Mature, and Adults Only. Anything that displays violence with blood exists in the Teen to Adults Only range.
With all the content being analyzed, it’s amazing that the more extreme themes are usually found in one of two categories: Teen and Mature. The most extreme rating a title can acquire is the AO rating. At the moment, a game with this rating is denied sale at large retailers, such as Walmart or Future Shop.
This results in most violent games being lumped into the M rating. The spectrum of content represented in the M rating is huge, from the light-hearted sword fighting of Fable to the crushing-skulls-in-with-scissor-adorned-sticks combat of The Last of Us. But it’s not just the violence and language that needs to be taken into consideration, it’s the themes that drive these titles.
The Last of Us is an incredibly adult experience, as it tackles themes of humanity, parenting, rape, and constantly questions what actions are justifiable when it comes down to survival. It’s inconceivable that a title such as this is lumped into the same category as Fable, a game about saving a fairytale land from an evil wizard.
AO needs to truly embody its title, and redefine what it means to be an Adult Only game.
Sure, Fable has its share of violence. But its content and themes can be easily comprehended by adolescents, as they are presented in a stylized and cartoonish fashion. How can two extremes coexist within one rating?
It’s because of examples like these that ESRB needs to rethink the AO rating — not only as a way of communicating to parents the graphic content being represented, but also the more complex themes at hand. If it were easier for parents to distinguish between games with violence and games for adults, they might think twice about buying little Johnny the latest FPS bloodbath.
The AO rating shouldn’t be reserved for explicit sexual content, and should include games that are truly made for an adult audience that is hungry for advanced themes in this entertainment medium.
AO needs to truly embody its title, and redefine what it means to be an Adult Only game. Lift the ban on these AO titles, allow them to be sold in larger stores, and let these titles have a rating that truly represents the content inside their boxes.
