Study Finds That 'M'-Rated Games Sell Best

Gamasutra is reporting on information from a new research firm called Electronic Entertainment Design and Research, which has recently released a number of papers looking into trends in the gaming industry. One (perhaps surprising) finding: M-rated titles sell better than any other rating group. "The study, titled 'Console Intelligence Brief 2007' examines the PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360 since each consoles' release through June 1, 2007, and comprises some 219 retail and 187 downloadable games made available on the new platforms, examined by genre, ESRB rating, gross sales in the United States, MetaCritic scores, online functionalities, multiplayer capability and other core game features. Among the sample results made available, the study found that critics' favorite list and the blockbuster charts have a lot in common, with highly-rated titles selling up to five times better than titles with lower scoring reviews. Despite online connectivity being a marketing cornerstone for all new consoles, the study concluded that 45 percent of retail games are not utilizing it in any way -- 98 percent of Nintendo Wii games have no online functionality at all."

Of course they do

[Pojut]

Most gamers are in the demographic that m-rated games appeal to...

Try another gamble

[Durrill]

Perhaps the industry should open up a bit more to AO rated games. Maybe they'll be surprised as to the results. Video games are not a children only medium. If they came to the conclusion that parents should govern what games their children should play, then they'd be willing to market adult oriented media. Last I saw, the porn industry was still thriving.

M is the new PG-13

[shidarin'ou]

And they probably have the same amount of objectionable material in them, since ESRB ratings are tougher than MPAA. It's interesting that both are directed at different age groups rating wise, have the same content and sell the same. Of course, I stood behind a parent pre-ordering 5 M rated games for their 6 year old, so why am I surprised?

Probably a good reason for this

[alvinrod]

After looking over some information [theesa.com] from the ESA, this really doesn't come as much of a surprise to me. They point out that the average age gamers is 33. Does it come as any surprise to anyone that a 'mature' audience might prefer 'mature' content? This isn't to say that all gamers in their twenties and thirties like blood, gore, and other things such that they'll buy any game that has them, but if we look at a lot of the most popular games, they deal with subject matters (warfare, the mafia, etc.) that have violent content in them in order to stay true to the subject matter and portray it more accurately. These people have the disposable income to purchase these games which are most suited to their interests.

Another factor is probably young children perceiving these games as 'mature' and that playing them will make them more grown-up. I don't know how much weight this theory holds, but I've heard it used before and don't find it as hard to accept. There might also be the allure of playing a game that you're 'not supposed to' play because it might be too much for you to handle. Curiosity has probably gotten more people to look at goatse (or something else described as incredibly sick), moreso than any actual attraction to such images. Of course, I don't think younger children have as much disposable income to puchase these games directly, but their parents probably do.

Re:No shit?

[pushing-robot]

I think that there's also the "Saving Private Ryan" effect at work. It's easier to write a profound tale when you're not chained to a rating. Flipping through my games collection reveals titles like The Longest Journey, Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, and Fahrenheit, which aren't gore-fests at all, but which also aren't afraid to disturb the viewer for the sake of a compelling story.

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[account_deleted]

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M vs. PG13

[Alzheimers]

How many "M" games with the gameplay removed would be rated "PG13" vs. "R" for a movie (machinima)? (hint) [imdb.com]

Similarly, how many "R" movies, with the addition of the simple mechanic of "Press A to continue", would be reclassified as "AO" rather than "M"?

The problem with Standards is that everybody has their own.

Drop the rating "score".

[SanityInAnarchy]

Many parents have learned to have a knee-jerk reaction to these ratings. For example, I've known a 12-year-old child who is not allowed to watch any R-rated movies.

That's lazy parenting.

If you really don't want your child to see violence, read the actual comments that come with the rating and see what is meant by "violence". Or, gee, watch the movie yourself before deciding whether to show it to your kids.

Maybe if parents (and kids!) were made to actually evaluate the content used, we wouldn't have every game out there deliberately trying for an M, just as every movie tries for PG-13. This means, for example, tweaking a movie to have just a little more violence and a little less sex to fit into that rating.

Re:There is a good reason.

[CogDissident]

I would like to note, in IGN's top 100 games, all of them are old. Infact, the only game in their top 20 that was made after the year 2000 is Rome: Total War, which is an M rated game.

In the 20-30 range, all of the ones made in 2000 or later are M rated games, except burnout 3.

Re:Of course they do

[LehiNephi]

It's also important to keep a few things in mind:
--Violent games were around long before the ESRB ratings
--FPS's are, and have been for a while, the most commonly-produced type of game. Which means that, all other things being equal, more big hits will be FPS's
--The games that are the best-funded and best-hyped (aside from the more recent phenomenon of MMORPGs) are FPS's
--New graphics technology tends to first appear in FPSes
--What red-blooded 16-30-year-old male wouldn't like to run around, blowing everything to smithereens, with no consequences?

I don't think that it's the violence/gore/sex alone that makes these games successful. I, personally, turn the blood and gore all the way to the minimum, and find that the game is no less enjoyable. Perhaps even more enjoyable, because of the boost in framerate. But the fact remains that these games are fun. They let you do something that you would never get to do in real life.

Re:No shit?

[This_Is_My_Happening]

I'd like to point out that the gp said that (paraphrasing)

All All pimply teenagers want gore and sex-laden games

Which I can somewhat agree with (but not entirely). What he did not say was

All people who want gore and sex-laden games are pimply teenagers

Which is what you look like you are addressing. A implies B is not equivalent to B implies A.

Re:There is a good reason.

[Applekid]

Perhaps this highlights the toll the ESRB has taken on the gaming universe.

I recently played through Tomb Raider Anniversary with the commentary on. I had forgotten that, in the original Tomb Raider, if Lara would fall atop spikes she would be impaled upon them. It wasn't until the commentary mentioned that they weren't allowed to do it in the remake and keep the rating they needed for the target audience.

Developers of M games don't have their hands tied like those targeting younger audiences. Then again, the lack of games after 2000 making it above #19 is perhaps developers using the M as an excuse to add shock-value violence and sex in substitution for, not in addition to, great game play.

Exploitation is nothing new to any entertainment industry, I suppose.