They should as GameStop/EBgames seems to be pushing to get people do actually do that now. Last I heard (I work at a GameStop, but I'm not informed well by my managers) the consequence is pretty big if you're caught selling M rated games to underage people.

[QUOTE="KarlCarlson3"]

[QUOTE="Korubi"]It does seem kind of odd that M and AO are so close together, but I think the system's worked well enough so far. Plus, like duxup said, changing it now would probably cause a lot of problems the ESRB doesn't want to have to deal with right now. If the system was somehow broken, I could see the need for change. Otherwise, it's probably going to stay the way it is.Korubi

Well, AO is basically what games get if they're deemed too offensive and then in turn aren't able to be released because Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo won't allow it. So the ESRB can basically just make developers tone down their content by giving it an AO rating. How's that not broken?

While the ESRB is kind of in a tough spot right now with all the critisicm and more attention being given to the gaming industry by politicans and the like and changing it now might cause issues, I do think the rating system needs to be refined a bit because I don't feel that it's as effective as it could be.

Each rating has specific guidelines that are open to the public to see. The ESRB doesn't make developers do anything. It also doesn't say that AO games should be banned. All the ESRB does it rate games according to their system. If companies don't want AO games published, that's their choice. It's also the choice of game developers to (not) create content that would achieve such a rating. You're making the ESRB out to be the bad guy here, when they're just doing their job.

That may be, but the AO rating hasn't been used as it should've been up until this. It's primarily games with excessive sexual content that get the rating. Games like the Postal series or even the first Manhunt, which I believe fit in the description for an AO game, all received M ratings, yet Manhunt 2 gets an AO. It's the second game that I'm aware of that recieved an AO rating due to violence. Now I'm not saying the game doesn't deserve the AO rating, but maybe they should've been rating excessively violent games AO instead of starting now since they're being watched a bit more. Also, don't get me wrong, I think it's a good thing that they're using the AO rating. I just think they should've been using it all along, which is easy to say after the fact. My choice of words in my last post weren't the greatest now that I read it over again. Although I do still think the system needs refining, mainly in the distinction between the M and AO ratings.

EDIT: I deviated a bit from the topic at hand and turned it more into about Manhunt 2. I don't know why, but whatever...

It does seem kind of odd that M and AO are so close together, but I think the system's worked well enough so far. Plus, like duxup said, changing it now would probably cause a lot of problems the ESRB doesn't want to have to deal with right now. If the system was somehow broken, I could see the need for change. Otherwise, it's probably going to stay the way it is.Korubi

Well, AO is basically what games get if they're deemed too offensive and then in turn aren't able to be released because Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo won't allow it. So the ESRB can basically just make developers tone down their content by giving it an AO rating. How's that not broken?

While the ESRB is kind of in a tough spot right now with all the critisicm and more attention being given to the gaming industry by politicans and the like and changing it now might cause issues, I do think the rating system needs to be refined a bit because I don't feel that it's as effective as it could be.

I don't really take age into consideration. If you like to play games, then do it. GodMode mentioned this, but things like watching movies or reading books are thought of as activities any age could do and not be thought of as weird. Why should video games be an exception? Games are still relatively new, so maybe over time this negative thought of older people gamers might go away as gaming gets to be even more popular and more people who grow up with video games get older. I'm only 17 and myself don't really know too many older gamers, but I definitely don't think of it as something that's weird. Also, I don't see myself losing interest of games anytime soon and like to think I'll still be playing games when I'm middle aged.

Am I the only person who is happy wwith the way this game looks?

Come on this is pure 16-bit goodness. :)

Dencore

The graphics look fine to me.

The earliest I remember is playing my SNES as a little kid. I don't remember the exact age. I just remember playing games a lot. The games that stand out as what I played the most is Super Mario World, Contra III, Yoshi's Island, and Donkey Kong Country 3.

The third helmet does kind of ruin it.

1up has two days of Contra 4 information starting today with their preview of Contra 4 (on the 1up show being released tomorrow there's going to be something as well). The preview explains that the developers main idea is to make a Contra game that is designed more like it's 2D predecessors. New Super Mario Bros. was given as an example of what they're attempting to do. They want to keep the gameplay fresh, but have it still have the classic Contra feel to it. The screenshots look promising. The graphics definitely have the old Contra graphic style down. The gameplay also from the description seems like it's going to be fun. Being a huge fan of Contra, I'm hoping for the best. I was glad to hear this though:

"And what of DS gimmicks? Do you have to blow on the microphone to knock over enemies? Draw pathways with the stylus? Close the lid to knock the dust off your weapon? Happily, no. "We tossed around the idea of drawing bullets," jokes Hulett. "Actually, no, and that's why the game works so well. We had a clear idea of what we wanted when we started, and not having to mess around with experimental gameplay elements has allowed us to focus on making it work right.""

I don't know if it's just for now since I'm guessing everything with the redesign isn't finished, but here's a look at the Ecolis game page:

Is there just a problem right now, or has something changed that I'm not aware of?