tendo82 said:
I really don't understand the Japanese rating system at all. That said, my suspicion is that there is, unsurprisingly, probably some ethnocentrism at work in it.
My guess is that if a pointy nosed, huge eyed and spike haired character chops someone into pieces (little pieces) then it probably receives a teen rating. But if Marcus Phoenix does it...
Are you seriously trying to compare the graphic appearance of Gears of War to Final Fantasy 7? Mind you, I'm not speaking in defense of the rating Japan gave Gears per say, I'm just saying... even WE gave Final Fantasy 7 a lower rating than Gears.
Eukaryote said:
What is wrong with Adult's Only? It is one year of age above Mature, not that big of a deal for mature adults who like to play what they want without censorship.
The problem with the Adult's Only rating is a matter of sales. If a game receives the AO rating, then many MANY stores will simply not carry it. This means that sales will be highly limited as only people who have specifically heard of the game before will make it a point to buy the game (probably via mail order directly from the publishers, though maybe online-only stores carry them too, honestly not sure).
If people can't see the game sitting on the store shelves and decide to pick it up on a whim, then that's less sales for the company. Not to mention lost sales from people walking into the local Gamestop and asking "What's a good shooter these days?"
So yeah... the AO rating is a very grim omen for a company hoping to make a good profit on this game they just spent tens-of-millions of dollars developing.
