This is all hypothetical, and I am definitely not looking to get GTA IV banned from any countries(Frankly, I want to play that really badly), but I am just trying to see what you guys would think would happen. If a huge game like GTA can lead the way, maybe game developers wouldn't have to worry about being controversial. The reason I pose this question is that if we can have a heavy-hitter like GTA get an AO rating, and make it past the censoring and get into mainstream stores, maybe it can be a watershed moment allowing full freedom for game developers. Would the platform holders ban the sales of it on there systems like they did with Manhunt? Would major chains refuse to stock them, denying themselves a HUGE revenue stream? Would they be able to force Take-Two to re-tool the game to make it more acceptable?
But, what if it was GTA IV or some other heavy-hitter was rated AO. Sure it is easy to ban a game like Manhunt, because it isn't really a popular game. This is all hypothetical, but with the recent banning of all sales of Manhunt 2 in the US, Europe, and other countries due to its AO rating, I began to wonder what if a major game franchise was rated AO.
