Speaking at the Montreal International Game Summit, Rémi Racine of A2M said:

As a developer who has worked with a lot of different publishers, we’re aware of many that have tried to cheat the rating. They say to the ERSB that it’s a Teen rating [13+] rather than an Mature [17+] to try and sell more; you can do this just by sending them a video that doesn’t show the most violent stuff and then you’ll get the rating that you want rather than the rating you should get.

Edge Online, which quoted Racine at the Summit, then published this reply from the ESRB’s Eliot Mizrachi:

ESRB takes full disclosure of content during the rating process extremely seriously, and companies that submit their games to ESRB know this very well. We regularly check games post-release to verify that submissions were complete, and it’s very likely that if a game contains undisclosed content that would have affected the rating assigned, we’ll find out about it. In such cases ESRB can actually impose fines up to $US1 million as well as require corrective actions like re-labeling or even recalling product, both of which can obviously be very costly. There’s no incentive whatsoever for publishers to withhold content from ESRB in an effort to receive a lower rating, and those that would do so risk significant penalties.

I can’t think of any titles which exemplify Racine’s accusation; of course, my radar is largely fixated on upcoming AAA releases, and games of such a high profile are almost definitely M-rated or not, in the public’s mind, before the ESRB gets hold of them. When was the last M-versus-T controversy anyway? Does it even matter? That said, there might be a few marginal titles out there. But which ones?

MIGS: Publishers “Cheat” Age Ratings [Edge Online]

There are some minor spoilers in the writeup, I suppose, so I’ll let you venture over there if you’re interested in what the awesome displays of violence entail, as they most directly pertain to capabilities or plot points in the story.

“The violence and the profanity account for the Mature rating,” the ESRB said, so let’s look at the other half of that equation.

The game includes frequent use of strong profanity (e.g., “f**k,” “motherf**ker,” and “c*nt”) and some lesser four-letter words (e.g., “sh*t” and “tw*t”); in one instance, an enemy attacks [Subject] Delta [that's you] while screaming, “F**king sodomites everywhere!”

Sodomites? F— yeah! Oh there’s also some stuff about hookin’ and red-light districts. Frankly, in a laissez-faire capitalist society I’d be astonished if those weren’t encountered, so maybe this should be rated O for Objectivism.

BioShock 2 [ESRB via Hot Blooded Gaming]

The Entertainment Software Ratings Board has issued the Assassin’s Creed sequel a “Mature” rating, pointing out the potentially offensive “blood, intense violence, sexual content, and strong language” featured in the game.

The ESRB goes into great detail about the “sexual content” players may experience in Assassin’s Creed II, including an interactive mini-game in which “players are able to press buttons to kiss a woman and remove her dress; with the woman’s back facing the camera, the two characters lower to bed and blow out a candle.” Oh my!

Oh and it gets so much more unsavoury, at least from a dialogue standpoint, as references to S&M, page-boy diddling, rape and other deviant acts not fit for print in this publication are made throughout the game. Plus, there’s naughty language in both English and Italian!

Will someone please think of the children? Preferably not while reading this snippet of the ESRB’s description, pasted below, but afterward.

The game contains strong sexual overtones. During one “seduction mini-game,” players are able to press buttons to kiss a woman and remove her dress; with the woman’s back facing the camera, the two characters lower to bed and blow out a candle. Some scenes take place inside brothels, though no nudity or sexual acts are depicted. The dialogue contains the following sexual references: “So the whip or the paddle today?” and “Does your wife know about your page-boy fantasies, Captain?” Character backstories, narrated through still-frame vignettes, explain how villains and historical figures achieved their notoriety; some biographies include references to adultery, sodomy, prostitution, and rape (e.g., “Caterina was captured and sent to Rodrigo Borgia . . . who kept her imprisoned for a year and is rumoured to have raped her alongside his son.”).

One cutscene depicts a man and a woman wearing translucent, flesh-toned bodysuits as they flee from danger. The digitized lighting effects, the glow from their futuristic suits, obscure most of the details, though outlines of breasts and buttocks are partially discernable (i.e., not definitively nudity).

Consumers may also wish to know that the game contains strong profanity, both in English and Italian (e.g., “f**k,” “sh*t,” c*zzo,” and “m*rda”); the most explicit instance occurs when a man frantically describes a “vision”-”I’m at the opera . . . the soprano is so beautiful . . . I’m in bed with her, she cries as I f**k her.”

Ack! My eyes!!

Assassin’s Creed II [ESRB]

There’s not much more to it than that, other than the name “Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney”, so questions like:

“Will it be episodic?”
“When is it out?”
“How much will this cost me?”
“Is there anything new being added to the Wii version?”

Will have to wait for a more official announcement. Judging by the title, though, don’t go holding your breath for a new game, or a collection. This is probably just a straight-up port of the existing PC version of Ace Attorney.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Coming To The Wii [Gamerbytes]

What else do we know about Rayman DSiWare? Nothing. But at least the listing indicates that Rayman, not those vile Rabbids, will be put back in a starring role.

DSiWare: Rayman Coming To DSiWare [GamerBytes]

That’s how the British Board of Film Classification describes the potentially objectionable content in next week’s downloadable episode for the Xbox 360 version of Grand Theft Auto IV. The potentially spoiler-filled rundown, as spotted by Eurogamer, is full of things that just might give you the vapours, the likes of which you’ve never seen in your computer games, I mean, my goodness.

The BBFC’s saucy description of the naughtiness of Gay Tony reads notes sex scenes that are “quite strong, but always masked and the characters concerned are invariably fully clothed” meaning no nudity.

However, “In cut scenes the Luis Lopez character is seen to be on the receiving end of oral sex (slumped on a chair with a woman’s head buried in his lap). The same character engages in sexual intercourse on at least two different occasions. For example he stands between a woman’s raised legs and thrusts into her and he also bends a woman over a desk and thrusts into her from the rear.” How ribald!

Of course, there’s mention of the excessive violence and the flaccid penises that you may also take offence to, but that’s all *yawn* pretty much expected at this point. But that thrusting! It sounds so delicious.

EPISODES FROM LIBERTY CITY – GRAND THEFT AUTO THE LOST AND DAMNED – GRAND THEFT AUTO THE BALLAD OF GAY TONY [BBFC]

Given previous portable announcements, consider our enthusiasm for yet another port of Don Bluth’s beautifully animated Dragon’s Lair measured. A Nintendo DS port of the game was announced a few years ago—along with a PSP version—resulting in little more than a press release and pair of posts on Kotaku. Maybe this time Digital Leisure’s porting hopes and dreams will bear fruit?

You shouldn’t really be lacking in platforms on which to play the thing, but if you have a long-running Dragon’s Lair streak and Nintendo Points to spare, watch for it!

USK via GamerBytes]

That would essentially mean an end to the “ban” on Valve’s PC and Xbox 360 sequel and translate into “good news” for our Survivor friends down under. No word yet on whether Valve’s appeal was successful and/or if the company had to submit the edited version of the game for the Australian release.

Kotaku AU Note: Valve submitted an edited version of Left 4 Dead 2 which has now received an MA15+ rating. Meanwhile they are also appealing the original decision and still hope to release the unedited version. Gabe Newell told Kotaku AU yesterday that the edited version was simply a “back-up plan” in case the appeal failed.

We’d like to simply think that Gabe Newell just got down there a little early and put some Aussie’s in a headlock. Or that Australian man’s man Saxton Hale called in a favour.

Left 4 Dead 2 [OFLC - thanks, Robert!]

But the ESRB may have a new, non-sterile policy for game rating summaries. That, or Left 4 Dead 2 writer Chet Faliszek is responsible for said summary. Oh, it starts off normal enough, noting that “the ‘Boomer’-Infected explode in a shower of blood and bile when shot, which clouds players’ view of the impending zombie swarm.” Then it switches things up. With italics.

Here’s the second half of the description, with emphasis retained.

Bladed melee weapons and direct hits from rifles, shotguns, etc., cause decapitation or dismemberment; intense depictions include: piles of the Infected in a pool of blood along the roadside; intestines spilling out of abdominal wounds; zombie jibs shooting in all directions; charred innards; and skeletal bits and unclaimed torsos. While the litany of somewhat “gruesome” depictions attests to the Mature rating, the over-the-top onslaught is, in some ways, mitigated by the exaggerated menacing evil (camp?) of the drone-like zombie horde; the genre homage (horror, zombies, . . . cricket paddle) is palpable. Consumers might also wish to know that the game includes profanity, such as “sh*t,” “as*hole,” and “b*tch”; however, it is the intense violence, the blood and gore that are the primary factors for the Mature rating.

Interestingly, it almost reads like a justification of Left 4 Dead 2’s violent display of zombie thrashing.

Now, for the Kamen Rider Dragon Knight official description, unaltered and italicised per the ESRB.

“It’ll end fast,” declares a “Kamen Rider” moments before holding his defeated opponent in the air and showering him with explosions. Players control these robotic humanoid fighters in one-on-one or one-on-multiple combat with alien robotic creatures from another planet, or in this case, the Kamen Rider Dragon Knight TV series. Players constantly punch, kick, and use weapons (swords, axes, spears, spiked gloves) to deplete their opponents’ health meter. Explosions, slashes, and hit effects can be seen and heard throughout battle. “Final Vents” (i.e., finishing attacks) can be used to defeat opponents, and range from melee attacks (e.g., jump kicks and pile drivers) to elaborate projectile attacks; for example, a motorcycle can be summoned to shoot fireballs and run over the opponent amid . . . more explosions.

The ellipsis may have been the best thing to ever happen to ESRB copy writers.

No other comment was given in the announcement. I’ve emailed Valve to ask for a little more detail on the case they’ve presented down under. Should it make any comment, I’ll update here.

In all, only TK regions are still in process of rating (or reconsidering, in Australia’s case) Left 4 Dead 2, due for release on November 17. The United Kingdom and New Zealand are still reviewing the game. Elsewhere—PEGI, ESRB, Japan, Germany, etc.—the game has all received M or equivalent ratings. Ireland’s board hasn’t rated it but has approved it for classification.