I'm curious, when did it actually become law for retailers to follow the ESRB? I'd imagine it'd be state law, not federal in any case.

I remember when the ESRB came out, it had no real effect on me because I was an adult at the time. Well I guess you could argue it may have affected me indirectly if it caused game developers to change or abandon games that would get too high of a rating, but I've been happily gaming since it's inception so I don't know that it's really hurt me. Anyways, when it came out, it was entirely voluntary. Just a guide for parents to use when buying games.

I've noticed that the ESRB is stricter than the system used for rating movies. Take your average M rated game, use the same level of graphic violence and harsh language and you'd probably only wind up with a PG-13 rating most of the time.

Plus I scoff at the whole idea anyways. This method is even less likely to keep games out of kids hands than keeping kids out of R rated movies. There is no real age verification for online ordering after all, and banks have setup programs for parents to give their kids debit cards.

Walmart might balk at the idea of carrying a AO rated game. Places like Gamestop or EB Games are less likely to care if the game is going to be a seller. Point is, AO rating is not doom and gloom for a game. I'd say the reason you don't see more of such games on shelves is due to the fact that such games are A) rare, B) not seen as good sellers, and C) more likely little more than thinly disguised pornography (I really don't care to see hentai games imported from Japan, their idea of sexy is the stuff of nightmares).

If anything, doing this will just mean AO starts getting applied to more mainstream games and you will see them on shelves. Places like Walmart, Gamestop, EB Games, etc are businesses, they are not going to turn their backs on something that will make them money (barring something being truely obscene or dangerous).

I understand your frustration Humphrey, but I wouldn't be overly concerned by the posturing of a pompous public figure.