More ESRB
DQ reader Jiri Vrubel sent in an interesting comment about ESRB ratings. It seems that Indigo Prophecy has the same ESRB rating as Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.Let's see. Indigo Prophecy has less then ten deaths, I believe, and every single one of them is integral to the plot. The goal of the entire game is to find out why the killing is taking place and to stop it. Yes, some of the murders involve ritual killing, but those scenes are presented as unspeakable evil.
That gets an "M."
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, on the other hand, glorifies violence in every conceivable way. There's absolutely no way to complete the game without killing hundreds of virtual people, and the optional number you can kill is infinite.
That gets an "M."
It's crazy.
Here's another irony. The U.S. version of Indigo Prophecy is missing a scene that's in the European version. It's a sex scene, and since I have the European version, I've seen it. It's a tasteful depiction of intercourse, there are no visible genitalia, it's brief, and it's not gratuitious.
If that scene hadn't been cut, according to David Cage, the game would have received an "AO" rating in America.
Ten deaths and one sex scene. "AO." Unlimited deaths. "M."
That's more related to our bizarre culture than the ratings system, but it probably should be in the ratings discussion somewhere.
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