But it also paints women in a fairly poor light, even if its content is appopriate for the era depicted in the game. Witcher 3 has themes beyond suggestive, given its…descriptive cutscenes, etc. Now, there really are some MA rated games that are wholly unsuitable for children, such as Witcher 3, which has everything but the kitchen sink listed in its rating box. You don’t need ID to purchase it unless the vendor explicitly requests it (and they can if they choose to implement that aspect of the ESRB standard at the point of sale). It is advised that a parent makes the choice to give the game to a child, but there are no real restrictions on selling a game with an MA rating. Basically, for a video game, an AO rating is virtually a death sentence as it fairly severely limits its availability to consumers.Īn MA rated game, however, can be sold to anyone. AO rated games must follow the same regulations as adult content such as adult magazines, etc. I think it boils down to finances of a company.ĭoes the company prefer more creative freedom to make it more adult or does the company want their game to be accessible/purchaseable by the under 18 crowd (or for parent who buy games for the minors who would be upset if it was rated only 18+)?Īn AO rating prevents the game from even being sold to anyone that can’t prove they’re 18 or over. Why is Adults Only rating such a panic inducing thing?

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