Sony VR Headset/Project Morpheus/PlayStation VR

[turkey]

How will the ratings board react to VR, actions such as violence to a humanoid character raises the bar, what happens when the humanoid in question is the VR body you inhabit. Violence has never been so interactive or real.

Will games go adult only and as such be pc exclusive?

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Why would going adult only be PC exclusive?

 

[milk]

Why would going adult only be PC exclusive?

I belive no adult-only console game was ever released. Platform holders are highly resistant to doing that, and a lot of game stores wont have adult only titles on their shelves. Sony and MS could very well change their mind about adult-only any time though.

 

[Deleted member 86764]

I belive no adult-only console game was ever released. Platform holders are highly resistant to doing that, and a lot of game stores wont have adult only titles on their shelves. Sony and MS could very well change their mind about adult-only any time though.

Turkey was referring to 'adult' violence, not anything else. MS and Sony are both very happy to have adult violence on their machines, so why not in VR?

 

[Deleted member 11852]

I belive no adult-only console game was ever released

Eh? Plenty of games in the UK are rated 18 (therefore adult only by the legal definition). GTA V, Fallout 4, Until Dawn, I have a lot of adult only PlayStation games

 

[orangpelupa]

on sony presentation, they say dev need to tone down the violence because the experience is much more visceral in VR and also can affect low-mind (forgot the english)

 

[DieH@rd]

Eh? Plenty of games in the UK are rated 18 (therefore adult only by the legal definition). GTA V, Fallout 4, Until Dawn, I have a lot of adult only PlayStation games

They are rated as Mature. That rating is not the same as Adult Only.

 

[Prophecy2k]

What would classify as adult only? Pron-games?

 

[orangpelupa]

dunno with ESRB, but japan CERO Z is adult only

btw sex is CERO D, one level under CERO Z (violence) according to wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_Entertainment_Rating_Organization

but in US ESRB i guess its the reverse, Violence is more tolerated than sex

EDIT:
nope, heavy violence and sex is ESRB AO https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entertainment_Software_Rating_Board

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Okay, so Turkey's 'Adult Only' rating is different to the UK's (and EU's) maximum 'adult' rating of 18. Certainly in the UK there's no rating that could be applied higher than 18 to any game. Should VR prove more problematic of an influence, there'd need to be additional ratings/limits in place to what already exists.

 

[Deleted member 86764]

on sony presentation, they say dev need to tone down the violence because the experience is much more visceral in VR and also can affect low-mind (forgot the english)

And yet The Kitchen demo involves decapitations?

 

[Deleted member 11852]

They are rated as Mature. That rating is not the same as Adult Only.

Like I said, it depends where you are and like mature content in some countries, some gamers may well end up missing out then. In the UK the maximum rating is an 18 (which refers to age 18) and the is is true with PEGI. This is because at this age you are legally deemed to be mature enough to censor yourself in terms of content and there are no further distinctions.

Should VR prove more problematic of an influence, there'd need to be additional ratings/limits in place to what already exists.

I believe the existing rating systems are based upon content in terms of type, frequency and context. As you know, the UK and EU have a principle of adults being mature to make decisions for themselves, which is ironic because I remember what I was like at 18 and I was a long way from mature

So unless VR experiences are so intense as to be dangerous to your health, and I believe it is medically possible to be scared to that degree, then you probably won't see much more in terms of regulation. It'll be interesting to see how intense VR experiences pan out as entertainment. Game designers can always play safe and gradually introduce things so as to give fragile players the time to opt out if it's too intense.

Sony did make quite a big deal of this at their GDC 2014 presentation, though.

 

[DieH@rd]

From the PGW 2015 interview wish Shuhei Yoshida:
http://www.digitalspy.com/gaming/in...l-reality-games-need-their-own-rating-system/

'Intense' is a word that has come up a lot around VR, particularly this week. Have you considered the possible impact of violence in VR?
SY: "Yes, because it's pretty much giving you an experience with other people that you'd otherwise not have. If you are lucky you won't have experienced getting a gun pointed at your head – it's scary, right? But that can be created easily in VR. It is intense. In one of our demos [Kitchen], you get yourself stabbed, and it's powerful.

"The power of the medium is so much so that, in the future, the industry will probably come up with slightly different ratings so that we can communicate to consumers what kind of contents are inside. It's early days but it's important, because we don't want to handcuff the creativity of developers. But it's a challenge for the future, as the media is so powerful, something could potentially cause trauma to people when they try that, because they've played something really awful.

"But on the other hand, [music video director] Chris Milk from the US is saying that 'VR is an empathy machine'. There are people around the world not as fortunate as us, but using VR we can let people experience what it's like to be abused, or live in poverty. We hope this will contribute to decision-makers making some good decisions."


Do you think VR will need its own unique rating system, away from games and films?
SY: "Mmm-hmm, something like that I hope we can work on."



European PEGI also talked about possibility of tweaking ratings for VR content [especially for "Fear" and "Horror"].
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/pegi-to-adjust-age-ratings-for-virtual-reality-games/0159302

 

[Deleted member 11852]

So nobody is working on it but nobody is ruling it out. Which makes sense. I think what we'll see is zero action until the impact of VR is seen on the wider market. For me, the appeal of VR is better and more immersive situation awareness. Will a slight further removal of seeing the real world push a lot of people through the emotional fourth wall?

I guess we'll see!

 

[Deleted member 86764]

I was actually planning on looking up the UK ratings from the BBFC and showing how 18 covers all violent (or other) films, but it turns out that we too have a step that’s higher than 18. Who Knew?!

Seems a little bizarre to me though, if you’re already 18, why have another higher 18 rating??



I guess because of 'licensing'? Presumably that rating doesn't refer to violence though.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

I was actually planning on looking up the UK ratings from the BBFC and showing how 18 covers all violent (or other) films, but it turns out that we too have a step that’s higher than 18. Who Knew?!

Seems a little bizarre to me though, if you’re already 18, why have another higher 18 rating?.

I guess because everyone knows the ratings are considered loose and people typically watch age ratings a step above them. So a 15 is for kids from 12 up, and 18 is to be watched when you're 15+. Needing another rating, "no, this one really is only for when you're eighteen!". Hence the R in front - "Really 18"

 

[Deleted member 11852]

I was actually planning on looking up the UK ratings from the BBFC and showing how 18 covers all violent (or other) films, but it turns out that we too have a step that’s higher than 18. Who Knew?!

This is very specific - from the BBFC website:

What does R18 mean?

The R18 category is a special and legally-restricted classification primarily for explicit works of consenting sex or strong fetish material involving adults. Films may only be shown to adults in specially licensed cinemas, and video works may be supplied to adults only in licensed sex shops. R18 videos may not be supplied by mail order.​

 

[Deleted member 86764]

Yeah, that's definitely helpful - so it's for porn alone.

18 is adults only in the UK, I don't imagine any additional ratings will be created for violence.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Hence the R in front - "Really 18"

The R18 category is a special and legally-restricted classification primarily for explicit works of consenting sex or strong fetish material involving adults.

My bad. The 'R' stands for raunchy.

 

[Arwin]

And again the highest rating is for sex rather than violence.