Despite all of Bungie’s Halo games receiving a Mature rating, it has been officially announced that Destiny will be rated Teen: for ‘animated blood and violence.’ This news comes courtesy of Polygon, who not only delivers the Destiny information, but questions the ESRB‘s previous ratings of Halo: Polygon columnist states “Halo has long been a Star Wars in a world of Pulp Fictions, and the Mature rating never seemed to make sense.”
This is why I have a problem with companies like the ESRB and MPAA, there is little baseline or consistency with how they rate; perhaps Halo is violent, but most gamers have played more violent Teen rated games. With that said, Bungie seems indifferent about the ratings board and claim that they were never seeking a particular rating.
“We’ve always set out to make games that lots of players can enjoy, and to build experiences that matter to people…For Destiny, we didn’t aggressively pursue one rating over another, though. We constructed foundational pillars that have guided development from start to finish. We wanted our worlds to be a place people felt good about spending time in. We wanted our worlds to be worthy of heroes…For us that meant Destiny would never be reprehensible, but rather bright, hopeful, and adventurous. That’s a world that resonates with us, and we hope it resonates with gamers, too.”
However, I will have to disagree with their claim that they were not seeking a particular rating. While it is not hard to buy a Mature rated game, a Teen rated product has more mainstream appeal. It is like how action films tend to go for a PG-13 over an R-rating, which in the end could result in bigger box office receipts; and I am sure Activision is happy with the Teen rating, since Destiny is a $500 million gamble.
Either way, the gaming community is ecstatic about Destiny and the world shall see what Bungie has to offer on September 9, when it is released for the PS4, Xbox One, PS3 and Xbox 360. If you want to get your hands on the game early, its beta will be available for PS4 and PS3 on July 17: and on Microsoft platforms, sometime at the end of July. Let us know your thoughts on Destiny’s rating and for all updates continue to read Gamer Headlines.
