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Destiny rated "T" for "Teen" by the ESRB

Eusis

Member
It did then 9/11 happened.
Kinda weird the series got stuck with it ever since even with that calmed down. Maybe they got sensitive about gun combat period and mandated an M, then they just went "eh screw it" and ramped up the blood in response?

I understand recent events affecting ratings but they really should try to keep that as minimal as possible, and that seems like a really extreme stretch relative to, say, heightened sensitivity to sexual content in the immediate aftermath of GTA:SA's hot coffee incident.
 
Having played the game, M rating would be disastrous. Its a very casual game, there's no crazy blood, you don't decapitate people, etc etc.

You can dance in it for crying out loud!

T rating makes sense and anything higher is a pissing contest at ESRB.

Its suggested violence but its very tame.
 
I actually liked the way the alien blood splattered around in Halo. At the end of a huge battle it looked like a war happened, with bodies and blood everywhere. In this game they disintegrate which works as well I guess.
 

dreamfall

Member
I like the really clean look Destiny has- in the dilapidated interiors, to the wide expansive environments from Earth, I was pretty blown away. I think I spent less time shooting things than actually just exploring with friends, and drifting on my Sparrow. Also, we were having a hilarious time jumping on top of other players in the tower, and then dancing. Simple joys.

I think shooting for a Teen rating will help sales. I hope the community stays strong, because I really liked what I played of the Alpha.
 
Ratings don't really matter. A hard M rating didn't stop GTA V from selling 32 million copies. Kids will always get their hands on games, all this means is that kids with parents who actually care about game ratings will get to play, but I don't know how big that market is.

I'm glad Bungie got the rating they wanted and personally I'm glad they didn't pander to gratuitous violence.
 

Orayn

Member
I'm sure this was a tactical decision to ensure more sales just like studios retool films for PG-13 ratings.

Maybe, but it seems like the differences in how games are bought and consumed makes an M rating much less of a detriment to sales than an R rating for a movie.
 

Uthred

Member
All this stuff but yet it's still rated "T". Guess it being a sci-fi game helped.

It has "all that stuff" is still rated T becuase that stuff falls within the purview of a Teen rating. People seem largely ignorant of what the various rating bands actually denote/accept.
 

FyreWulff

Member
Ratings don't really matter.

Actually, they do, and while some people might see parents buy kids M rated games, the majority of the public actually pays attention.

A hard M rating didn't stop GTA V from selling 32 million copies. Kids will always get their hands on games, all this means is that kids with parents who actually care about game ratings will get to play, but I don't know how big that market is.

GTA has the marketing push and the cultural ubiquity to sell a lot. They are an exception to the rule.
 

Bgamer90

Banned
It has "all that stuff" is still rated T becuase that stuff falls within the purview of a Teen rating. People seem largely ignorant of what the various rating bands actually denote/accept.

No, what I'm saying is that there are multiple M rated games with just "blood and violence" (a la Halo series) and really nothing more which is why I find it strange that Destiny is a "T". I was saying that as a comparison to M games, not "...It has all of this so it should get an automatic M rating".
 

Orayn

Member
No, what I'm saying is that there are multiple M rated games with just "blood and violence" (a la Halo series) and really nothing more which is why I find it strange that Destiny is a "T".

The ESRB puts the most emphasis on the "intensity" of the worst thing in the game. The number of content descriptors doesn't have a huge effect if they're mostly mild.
 

Bgamer90

Banned
The ESRB puts the most emphasis on the "intensity" of the worst thing in the game. The number of content descriptors doesn't have a huge effect if they're mostly mild.

Would love to understand the decision in the ratings more. Another example... I played all of the Batman Arkham games. Thought they were more violent/"adult" than the Halo series even though Halo is M and Batman is T. So yeah, the ratings can sometimes be head scratching to me. Just my opinion though.
 

molnizzle

Member
Would love to understand the decision in the ratings more. Another example... I played all of the Batman Arkham games. Thought they were more violent/"adult" than the Halo series even though Halo is M and Batman is T. So yeah, the ratings can sometimes be head scratching to me. Just my opinion though.

Halo should never have been M-rated, everyone knows that. I honestly thought that MS asked the ESRB to increase the rating to make it seem more "mature" or whatever. There's really no reason for any of those games to be rated M.
 
Actually, they do, and while some people might see parents buy kids M rated games, the majority of the public actually pays attention.



GTA has the marketing push and the cultural ubiquity to sell a lot. They are an exception to the rule.
And the developers of Halo and publishers of Call of Duty with 500 million dollars don't have the push?
 

antitrop

Member
Makes sense, I guess. I wasn't even paying attention to how violent the Alpha was, guess I never even really noticed there's no gore.
 

Stinkles

Clothed, sober, cooperative
Would love to understand the decision in the ratings more. Another example... I played all of the Batman Arkham games. Thought they were more violent/"adult" than the Halo series even though Halo is M and Batman is T. So yeah, the ratings can sometimes be head scratching to me. Just my opinion though.

Originally Posted by Muscle Wizard

Dark Souls 2 is rated T and it has pustular dick monsters and a boss made out of writing corpses.

3rd person makes a significant difference.
 
Given the huge budget and push this game is getting, I'm not surprised. The industry could use more T-rated shooters anyway. This at least gives parents some more options.
 

KDC720

Member
Makes sense. Halo was always a very soft M. Hell, I can think of quite a few T rated games that are more violent than Halo.
 
Don't really think the rating matters. Plus, more parents are willing to purchase it for their children with the T ratings instead of the M.
 

Orayn

Member
it is gonna bomb in the teens demographics

How do you figure? Most of the genres it touches (sci-fi FPS, co-op FPS, FPS-RPG, MMO) all seem to do fine among teens. Teens might not be the plurality of fans for all of those, but it's not like they're notorious for driving teenagers away.
 
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