After this whole fiasco with Manhunt 2, and seeing that all of the big 3 refuse to even allow AO rated games on their systems, I believe the stance towards AO games needs to change. What's the point of the AO rating if it effectively bans the game in the US? What's the point of a rating that technically says a game is appropriate for an age group (18+) exactly 1 (ONE!) year older then the rating directly below it? There is none, at least not as it is treated today.

You ever wonder why M rated games differ so much? Halo 2 and Gears of War are both rated M for mature but does Halo have anywhere near the amount of gore or profanity as Gears? It's all directly related to this. The M rating is so broad because the AO rating is officially off limits not only from the retailer, but the console manufacturers. It shouldn't be this way. Either it needs to be allowed just as an M rated game is, or it needs to be eliminated all together.

How do I think it should be handled? Personally I think what really needs to happen is the M rating should be eliminated all together. A game should be either ok for Teens (T) or ok for adults only (AO) which starts at 18. There really is no reason for that M rating to be in between the two. This would probably broaden the Teen rating a bit (I would consider halo 2 an extreme T) but it would also give a clear message to parents that they should NOT be getting little Timmy a game labeled for adults only. Sony, MS, and Nintendo should allow AO rated games knowing that only ADULTS should be playing them. The only problem with this I guess is that doing so would effectively give free reign to do whatever you want at an AO rating (eg. porn). This is why the extra content descriptions need to be more visible. Then stores could keep any AO game containing the "porn" description (or whatever) behind the counter where kids can't see it.

Either way, I believe something needs to change because I don't like someone else deciding what I can or can't handle. What do you guys think?