The MEA game ratings thread (ESRB rating description)

Remember the "18+" debate introduced by our beloved Sasquatch? I told you ladies and gents you were in for a treat. The threads got merged, thus the title.

We do everything weirdly and ass-backwards in the USA, or at least slightly askew.

Technically, retailers are supposed to check IDs when selling "Mature" and "Adult" games in the US. It's poorly implemented with Mature games.

Here are the ESRB guidelines used in the US (all of N. America?). As you'll note, much as with our "R-rated" movies, 17 is inexplicably the age at which certain things become acceptable. Adult rating is a death sentence for a game. It's essentially reserved for interactive porn games only; though I've heard that a couple of undeserving games have been ruined by it over the years.

www.esrb.org/ratings/ratings_guide.aspx

No surprise here. Sara's clothed breasts are bigger than my whole apartment.

I honestly have never care about ratings, when I was a young teen I played all games even if they were 18+ and I was 13. It's not like you haven't seen naked people and maybe even sex by then. And if you turned on the TV you would see all the violence, gore, blood and death possible. I'm 21 now and it hasn't made me into some sex crazed, aggressive criminal like some people seem to think it will. Quite the opposite. That being said I hope Andromeda has at least a 16+ rating. Games that are too censored aren't in anyway realistic and it takes away from me being able to enjoy the game. Please no more showering in your underwear.. D:

I just saw the rating for Andromeda and it confirmed what I was worried they would do, Which is to fall into the same trap that many anticipated entertainment productions do, which is to overdo everything that frankly detracts from the central experience  like more gore and morbid violence to hide lack of suspence and story telling, more sex to appeal to base instincts instead of challenging the audiences intellects. The Mass effect Trilogy had some really excellent intimate and disarming moments, like in Mass Effect 3 right before the final battle and the scene with Liara. Don't missunderstand me the trilogy had some bad elements also but Bioware already had some very good template of what were good in the trilogy.
I honestly hope I've the wrong impression, but it doesn't look like that's the case considering the previews for Andromeda are very mixed regarding the quality of the game. And they seem to be making - Inquisition in space - along with it's cringeworthy explicit nude scenes. I just don't think explicit nudity works in what's already been established within the Mass Effect universe. Things like this breaks the internal logic and workings of the established universe in favor and t'n'a.

I've been waiting for this game for almost 5 years now, soaking up every tidbit along they way; even considering the fact that they've shown the game only very sparsely, and only recently with only weeks until release. Yet the more I see of this game the less excited I become to play it.

Nope, it's exactly the right way to go.

Opinions based on silly ratings are fun.

How are the previews mixed? From what I've seen, the reviewers all seem very impressed. Few bugs here and there, but that's to be expected.

I'm also put off by gratuitous sex & nudity in popular media, but

1. the 'romances' and whatnot will be optional, and
2. even if you do get to a 'sex scene', I'm pretty sure it'll be skippable

One of the 'deluxe edition' (or whatever it was called) bonuses of Witcher 2 was what they called a 'playboy photo shoot' of Triss. That's the level of adolescent silliness they're at.

A hole in the top sheet may be anachronistic.

Nope, what is logic breaking is people valiantly humping away through layers of cloth, and otherwise sensible adults showering in their underwear. Fade to black or get your kit off.