Wish List: What M-rated content do we want on the DS?

What sort of M-rated content do I want in my DS? - Image 1Four years. Not exactly the right age for guys to start driving, or playing the like of Grand Theft Auto. But for a console that’s related political-correctness and youthful innocence, that’s old enough for it to start thinking about how it wants to mature. We’ll be discussing the sort of M-rated content we’d love to see for the Nintendo DS, which you can follow in the full article.

Guess what? The DS is now officially 4 years old. And while most people can’t really do much at that age, it does leave us wondering what this little handheld’s future holds at this ripened age. One possibility we’re looking at is an influx of Mature titles, though not for the reasons many will presume…

Blood, Sex, and Violence.

We know – the first notion that everybody’s getting are these three items, which are also prevalent in almost all the major hits that recently landed (BioShock, Assassin’s Creed, Halo 3, CoD 4 to name a few). Although we have to ask – is it really feasible to bring them to the DS without a hitch?

Doki Doki Majou Shinpan - *almost* the DS' first H game - Image 1Sex can be ported onto the console, at least if you’re planning to go 2D. Doki Doki Majou Shinpan proved this point, although SNK – probably at the fear of getting the banhammer from Nintendo – decided to keep it a softcore affair with no hardcore action. Still, possibilities have already been implied.

Blood and violence are a possibility as well…sort of. Dementium and Deadly Silence are among the titles that have proven that the DS has just enough processing power to punch out ample gore and tattered flesh to merit an M.

Take note we said barely – it just isn’t scary when your opposition consist of blockish chunks of flesh-colored material that sort of resembles the living dead.

But in the end, if this were really all we’ve got to look forward to, what makes the DS all that
much different from the other consoles (aside from the touch screen)? Sure, I’d like to have a bit of blood and boobies as much as they next guy, but in the DS’ case, its limits makes this more of an nice afterthought – an extra for content that’ll hopefully carry more clout.

Foul language: colorful and funny - Image 1Pardon the French
While the DS has already had a decent run of military FPS titles the likes of CoD4 or Brothers in Arms, something was definitely MIA. And you only had to listen.

Where’s the profanity? What happened to the colorful uses of the “F” word that’s so prevalent among recruits, drill sergeants, marines, and servicemen in the real arms service?

Could we be looking at future titles that’ll put more *bleeps* in the banter? And I don’t mean developers peppering the script with profanity just to bump the title up to an M.

Most people just swear by nature, and having it in the game script gives us just a little extra
something to relate to. Well-timed profanity makes for more immersive dialogue. Can you imagine FFVII’s Cid not being a potty-mouth, or (on a slightly off-topic note) Samuel L. Jackson not ranting about snakes on a plane? Nope, didn’t think so.

The plot’s afoot
As Phoenix Wright and Hotel Dusk have proven, there’s a thriving fan-base on the DS for  intelligent, story-driven titles. So, why stop there? Could future DS games hold far darker
plots, brimming with mature content that younger and less experienced minds wouldn’t be able to fully digest?

As the little tyke of the gaming community, even the DS eventually has to grow up. And in a metaphorical sense, this means it’ll have to learn about the birds and the bees. But (pushing the metaphor a little further) it doesn’t mean it will have to turn into some rebellious youth.

We’re hoping this coming-of-age will ensure more full-bodied titles. Games that, given the
critical thinking they’ll require, were in the no-fly zone up until recent times. The DS’ coming of age will hopefully land it more food-for-thought than your usual ilk of candy-coated, politically correct fare.

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