How mature is the Entertainment Software Rating Board's "Mature" rating? Apparently not mature enough for some consumer advocates, who today called on the ESRB to impose its "Adults Only" rating more often. The game equivalent of an NC-17, an AO forbids any game bearing the letters to be played by minors and is used even less frequently than the film rating.

　　The impetus behind the advocates' proposal is a recent study by the Federal Trade Commission. The study found that 70 percent of 13-to-16 year olds who tried to buy an M-rated game from retail clerks could do so without any problems.

　　While protests of the ESRB are nothing new, today's AO-ratings issue was important because it was raised as part of greater congressional hearings about violence in entertainment. (The hearing also saw Jack Valenti, head of the Motion Picture Association of America, grilled over violence in films.) In what has become a de facto ritual at game hearings, antigame-violence advocates showed footage of police and women being killed in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. They also urged the ESRB to slap the AO rating on the Rockstar title and other games of its kind.

　　Despite the intimidating venue, the ESRB said it saw no need to use the AO rating more than it does now (for instance, almost never). A spokesperson for the board pointed out that Mature-rated games are clearly marked on the front of the box and prominently list the reason for the rating (blood, violence, gore, etc.).

　　For a further discussion of AO-rated games, check out this classic GameSpotting on the topic.