ESRB Retorts to NIMF

The ESRB has has released a statement condemning the National Institute for Media and the Family's analysis of the gaming industry and the ESRB. Specifically, the ESRB questions the group's research and bias in issuing the original damning analysis of the ratings board. From the article: "On points where the ESRB's methodology was questioned, the ratings board said that the real reason for the relatively low number of Adults-Only titles was a publisher-level determination to modify game content to avoid the AO label, which will usually prevent a title from being carried at retail."

Comments

Re:AO and M should be combined.

[mooingyak]

They are kind of in line.

AO == NC-17
M == R

And the AO vs. NC-17 has roughly similar effects on the actual distribution that a title will get in its respective industries.

The complaint raised is similar to saying that not enough movies are given the NC-17 rating. The reason more aren't is the exact same reason as the one the ESRB gives: content toned down to allow for greater distribution channels.