Where Politics And Video Games Collide

I keep hearing this "AO is the kiss of death" claim, and yet I tend to think that we don't really have enough examples to prove that, either way. If this list is accurate:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_AO_rated_computer_and_video_games

then there have barely been two dozen games to ever receive the rating. When GTA:SA was relabeled as AO, it was already well past the initial surge in sales...but we didn't see a sudden revocation of the game from the market. But with the exception of GTA:SA and the "director's cut" of Inidigo Prophecy, virtually every game on that list is sexually explicit (and most are PC games or hentai dating sims).

That certainly shows where the bias lies with regards to violence versus sexual content....and remember, GTA only got an AO because the Hot Coffee mod on the PC version unlocked a sexually themed mini-game left in the code. Inidigo Prophecy also only got an AO rating for the download-only version that reinstated the sex scenes to the game.

Manhunt 2 would be the first game receiving an AO for extreme violence, if that were to occur. How that would impact sales is a matter for debate, since most retailers weren't carrying AO games because, for all intents and purposes, they contained sexual or in some cases pornographic content. Also at debate is how successful Manhunt 2 would be with just an 'M' rating. I mean, was the original Manhunt that big of a commercial success? It was banned in several countries too, as I recall. I doubt Rockstar is all that concerned; to them, this is just a way to develop media attention, anyhow.