The fight over whether you should get to choose, as a responsible adult, what media you consume continues. In this corner we have Take Two Pres. Strauss Zelnick declaring:

The Rockstar team has come up with a game that fits squarely within the horror genre and was intended to do so. It brings a unique, formerly unheard of cinematic quality to
interactive entertainment, and is also a fine piece of art.

Surprisingly, in the other corner we have Nintendo’s official policy on game publishing:

*Please note that Nintendo does not sell or license games that carry the ESRB rating “AO” (Adults Only).

(Source)

I searched like hell to find an equivalent stance from Sony, maybe there is one but it’s likely in Japanese and Nihon go ga hanase masen. (I don’t sling the lingo.) This is the best I could get:

It’s currently our policy not to allow the playback of AO-rated content on our systems,

(Source)

That means that it’s irrelevant whether or not stores will stock it as I naively assumed previously. Neither Sony nor Nintendo’s going to publish it at all. Not without censoring it first. Turning an ‘AO’ rating into an effective ban.

That upsets me greatly. Especially since my own experience has shown me that the average gamer is closer to middle-age than a diaper.

I guess the real question is: What can we do about it?

Ye olde fashioned letter writing campaign seems to be the only available option. Write these guys and show them that there is a market for ‘AO’ games.

Nintendo’s Mailing form thingy
Sony’s Mailing form thingy

Hopefully we can convince them to turn ‘AO’ into a valid rating as opposed to a de-facto ban.