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"What Makes Them "Mature"??"

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Wed 11/12/02 at 14:32
Regular
Posts: 787
You know what it's like in the Gaming world today when it comes to games and what the majority of every-other gamer on this planet thinks about them. The great games of today that include the Grand Theft Auto and Resident Evil series', aswell-as all kinds of first-person shooters out-there from Halo-to-Doom - these are all seen as the more "mature" and "grown-up" games that appeal to the more "mature", "adult" gamer. And as for games fron Nintendo and even a few from SEGA... well, they're just seen as far-too-simple and immateur or "kiddy" that any 5 year old could complete within a week. That's according to a large majority of younger SONY PlayStation 2 and Microsoft X-Box owners, anyway.

But what I don't understand is what makes games like Resident Evil so mature and grown-up? Why would so-many more mature and adult-like people prefer to play these games over the likes of Super Mario SunShine and Sonic the Hedgehog??

I'm sorry, but I just don't see it.
What is there in Resident Evil that makes this game for mature audiences only, except for the fact that it's intense atmosphere can scare children for months??
If the kids of today could just overcome their fears of playing such a fright-fest then I'm sure they'd be able to enjoy and gradually finnish each-and-every Resident Evil title just-like any adult ever could - if not better with all that free-time the younger generation has on their hands these days.

Why would an adult want to play a game that's just another simple game that provides a bit of fun that soon gets repetitive and dull after a while? Basically, all you have to do is walk-around a dark, damp mansion killing zombies for a few hours while collecting keys to open up all those locked doors and beat the bosses... Sounds just like Luigi's Mansion really, doesn't it?

I believe that in a game, an adult will look for something that will offer them a real mental challenge, making them think about what to do next and how they can do it. Comand and Conquer games always seem to be very popular amongst all gamers, except for the younger ones who are only looking for simple games to play during their spare-time. You know what games I'm talking about, games that don't take much effort to complete, and they're also a lot of fun to play for hours. I know everyone enjoys a good multi-player footie match or something where you can all play together, or against each other, for hours-on-end.

But while adult games may want to play games that'll make them really think about what they're going to do next, I'm sure they do a lot of thinking during the 20+ hours they put in at work, each week, 52 weeks-per-year. And that's when they'll turn to the latest Super Mario adventure to save the Princess without any need to creep-around like Solid Snake, or break the law over-and-over Tommy Vercetti-style.

If anything, kids need these more mature and challenging games in order to get their minds going as they grow-up and experience new and different things throughout life. Otherwise, they may not be able to survive as-well, and may fail to meet their potential and expectations they would have otherwise been able to meet.

So why do PS2 fan-boys slate-off Nintendo games as being only for kids when there are indeed a lot of adults and older gamers out-there who'll live-throught the experience 2 or 3 times easily? And why do they claim their own system's games to be more mature and grown-up when the fact is that there are many-more kids out there today who'll be playing the latest in the series of Grand Theft Auto games, while the majority of adults with a PS2 at home will be playing Rachet and Clank instead??

Surely it can't be down to kids growing-up and adults becoming immateur far-too-quickly, can it???
Thu 12/12/02 at 16:52
Regular
Posts: 10,437
It's the 'mature' rating that's used to get sales. It makes smaller kids feel grown up that they've got a 'grown-up' game, but really I doubt many adults would buy these games.

Good post.
Thu 12/12/02 at 16:20
Regular
"Long time no see!"
Posts: 8,351
I see...

I'm now more confused about this than I was before! :)

But the way I see it now is that that no game is entirely "mature", or "kiddy", yet they both contain elements of each.

So... Something like Grand Theft Auto may have a lot of violence and bad language (and the rest) that is best suited to the older audience, but it's pretty simple and easy to pick-up on, and can be enjoyed by anyone of any age - especially younger gamers.

And as for something like Mario, it's all 'young' and "kiddy" on the outside in its appearence and looks, but in-game, you actually have to think about what you're doing, and it is fun to play.

I'm still slightly confused, but I am starting to understand...
Wed 11/12/02 at 23:44
Regular
"sweats salad dressi"
Posts: 4,599
Some "Mature" rated games aren't challenging at all though. Who remember's Conker's Bad Fur Day. Of course that game was as contoversial as they came but boy was it easy.
Wed 11/12/02 at 23:26
Regular
"360: swfcman"
Posts: 6,953
The way i see it is, if you take a game with swearing, death, blood and all the rest of it, that game is seen as a game for a mature auidience. If you then take another game, thats light hearted, no blood and all the rest of it, then its aimed to be played by both, a less mature auidience and a mature auidience.

What that doesnt mean is one game is meant for adults and one game is meant for kids.

What it means is that games you have listed such as Resi and MGS should not be played by the younger kids who play games. Just like films. They have recommended age limits on the game as it is thought that they should not be playing the game. This has nothing to do with the game play, this is the content. And this is where i think peoples arguements get muddled up, most of the people i see seem to think that the games are for kids because of the story, not the game play.

Other games, like you say Sonic and Mario, are not exactly aimed at a less mature auidience, but yet in terms of story content and such, they are more accessable to the lower ages of gaming, so in a sense many say that they are aimed at a less mature auidience. Yet they can be still enjoyed just as much as any other game that is more Mature.

Still with me?

Its like 2 films say. Both have very good plot lines that are very similar, yet one is set as a cartoon with not much violence and one is a gun-ho film with lots of blood. Obviously one is for a mature auidience and one is for a less mature audience.

And its the same with games. But i say again, that doesnt make one better than the other.

Personally i prefer the likes of Vice City, Resident Evil and such other games like Jak and Dax or Mario, but saying that, it doesnt mean i view the games for Kids. I enjoy playing them.

This notion that Nintendo is for Kids has come from a fair few PS2-fan boys i agree, but in all fairness, its not all of us, theres a higher percentage i feel who enjoy the 'less mature' games just as much as Nintendo owning people. And it works in both ways.

Since Nintendo has been labled the 'kids machines' by some Sony Fanboys, likewise the Nintendo mob had there say and now every PS2 owner is seen as a fan-boy. Both arent good 'views'
Wed 11/12/02 at 18:18
Regular
Posts: 11,038
uhhh, yeah.. time space continium and all that...
Wed 11/12/02 at 17:18
Regular
"Cardboard Tube Ninj"
Posts: 2,221
A game is mature, when lots of children want to buy it simply because their parents say they're not getting a copy.

I fail to see why shooting someone in the face doesn't make a game mature, but swearing in one to a level that would barely get a film a 15 rating gets the national press into a hissy fit about how "it's dangerously destroying the moral fabric of society".
Wed 11/12/02 at 16:04
Regular
Posts: 11,038
That all originated by playstation fanboyswho needed an excuse to tell people that they're console was better because it didn't have games with lots of colours and "happy" music, so they said games like that were kiddy and it stuck. If it has NO BLOOD, it's kiddy!
Wed 11/12/02 at 14:32
Regular
"Long time no see!"
Posts: 8,351
You know what it's like in the Gaming world today when it comes to games and what the majority of every-other gamer on this planet thinks about them. The great games of today that include the Grand Theft Auto and Resident Evil series', aswell-as all kinds of first-person shooters out-there from Halo-to-Doom - these are all seen as the more "mature" and "grown-up" games that appeal to the more "mature", "adult" gamer. And as for games fron Nintendo and even a few from SEGA... well, they're just seen as far-too-simple and immateur or "kiddy" that any 5 year old could complete within a week. That's according to a large majority of younger SONY PlayStation 2 and Microsoft X-Box owners, anyway.

But what I don't understand is what makes games like Resident Evil so mature and grown-up? Why would so-many more mature and adult-like people prefer to play these games over the likes of Super Mario SunShine and Sonic the Hedgehog??

I'm sorry, but I just don't see it.
What is there in Resident Evil that makes this game for mature audiences only, except for the fact that it's intense atmosphere can scare children for months??
If the kids of today could just overcome their fears of playing such a fright-fest then I'm sure they'd be able to enjoy and gradually finnish each-and-every Resident Evil title just-like any adult ever could - if not better with all that free-time the younger generation has on their hands these days.

Why would an adult want to play a game that's just another simple game that provides a bit of fun that soon gets repetitive and dull after a while? Basically, all you have to do is walk-around a dark, damp mansion killing zombies for a few hours while collecting keys to open up all those locked doors and beat the bosses... Sounds just like Luigi's Mansion really, doesn't it?

I believe that in a game, an adult will look for something that will offer them a real mental challenge, making them think about what to do next and how they can do it. Comand and Conquer games always seem to be very popular amongst all gamers, except for the younger ones who are only looking for simple games to play during their spare-time. You know what games I'm talking about, games that don't take much effort to complete, and they're also a lot of fun to play for hours. I know everyone enjoys a good multi-player footie match or something where you can all play together, or against each other, for hours-on-end.

But while adult games may want to play games that'll make them really think about what they're going to do next, I'm sure they do a lot of thinking during the 20+ hours they put in at work, each week, 52 weeks-per-year. And that's when they'll turn to the latest Super Mario adventure to save the Princess without any need to creep-around like Solid Snake, or break the law over-and-over Tommy Vercetti-style.

If anything, kids need these more mature and challenging games in order to get their minds going as they grow-up and experience new and different things throughout life. Otherwise, they may not be able to survive as-well, and may fail to meet their potential and expectations they would have otherwise been able to meet.

So why do PS2 fan-boys slate-off Nintendo games as being only for kids when there are indeed a lot of adults and older gamers out-there who'll live-throught the experience 2 or 3 times easily? And why do they claim their own system's games to be more mature and grown-up when the fact is that there are many-more kids out there today who'll be playing the latest in the series of Grand Theft Auto games, while the majority of adults with a PS2 at home will be playing Rachet and Clank instead??

Surely it can't be down to kids growing-up and adults becoming immateur far-too-quickly, can it???

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