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[gai_shain]

Twitch has updated its rules of conduct to disallow streaming of Adult Only games, the company announced today. That means any game classified with an AO rating by the ESRB will be banned from the service, including games such as Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and Manhunt 2.

"Previously, we made game-specific decisions about which games would and would not be available for broadcast – sometimes due to overtly sexual content, sometimes due to Gratuitous Violence," the company said in its statement.

Update: we received clarification from Twitch regarding potential restrictions in Europe and Australia. Looks like bans will only apply to AO games in the US, as below:

"if the game is AO in the US, then it is not allowed. If the game is not AO in the US, but has a different rating abroad, like The Witcher 3, it is permitted."

http://www.pcgamer.com/twitch-bans-adults-only-games/

Not sure what I think about this, if people want to stream AO games I think they should be able to do that. But I see why there might be a problem when minors are watching, I dont think its the right decision though

 

[onimonkii]

i wonder if this has anything to do with "hatred" coming out soon

 

[Thomper]

Kind of a shame, but on the other hand: aren't there only like twelve Adults Only games? The examples they give in the article are Manhunt 2 and GTA San Andreas, games that are well over ten years old.

Edit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_AO-rated_video_games yep, it's an incredibly small amount of games. GTA and Manhunt are pretty much the only interesting games.

 

[Wyndstryker]

What about games not rated by the ESRB? Many PC games fall into that category and thats where many AO games lie.

 

[Ferrio]

Sounds fair. They needed a clear cut rule instead of just banning games as they came up.

 

[Pankratous]

Absolutely ridiculous. People should be able to stream any game they want.

 

[JaseC]

i wonder if this has anything to do with "hatred" coming out soon

Hatred hasn't been rated.

 

[Dusk Golem]

A lot of the adult games are not rated though...

Well, another moment I'm glad to be a Hitbox.tv streamer.

 

[onimonkii]

Hatred hasn't been rated.

that's weird. their website seems to think they have been

 

[Papercuts]

Wow, San Andreas? I didn't realize that still held the AO rating, I thought it only ever got that on the PC on top of it.

 

[SliceSabre]

Ehh, I don't have much to say there on that one. Seems reasonable enough.

 

[JaseC]

that's weird. their website seems to think they have been

Yeah, there's also an AO ESRB logo on the game's Steam page (Valve allows AO-rated games provided they're not sexually explicit), but it hasn't actually been given a rating:

Search results
Your search by title 'hatred' returned 0 ratings.

I think the devs just use the logo to drive home the point that it's ultra-violent.

 

[chaobreaker]

Are any notable AO games even played on twitch? Most games streamed on twitch are PC games. A lot of PC games aren't rated by the ESRB so I'm wondering why they put this policy in.

 

[sportzhead]

Watch someone shot and kill people point blank in a game, Yes great fun. Watch someone walk around nude in a game, No that is too much. This country is so backwards when it comes to violence and sex.

 

[Justinh]

I saw this while breezing through siftd. I don't see this being an issue, as so few games area rates AO, right?
Also, wouldn't they have to implement some kind of age gating system if they did? Do our twitch profiles contain our birthdays? I can't remember

Streamers can set their stream to mature, you'll get a little notice when you first visit the stream and whether you want to continue.

oh that's right. Duh, i have to click that button on mostly every stream I watch, lol.

 

[undu]

So, why wouldn't an age verification for those videos work instead of outright blocking access to them?
You know, just like youtube does.

 

[Ferrio]

I saw this while breezing through siftd. I don't see this being an issue, as so few games area rates AO, right?
Also, wouldn't they have to implement some kind of age gating system if they did? Do our twitch profiles contain our birthdays? I can't remember

Streamers can set their stream to mature, you'll get a little notice when you first visit the stream and whether you want to continue.

 

[Dr. Black Jack]

Absolutely ridiculous. People should be able to stream any game they want.

They can, just not on Twitch.

 

[Jamie OD]

Was somebody caught streaming hentai games on the site or something?

 

[danthefan]

Absolutely ridiculous. People should be able to stream any game they want.

People can stream whatever they want - just not on Twitch.

You can't say whatever you want on GAF or a number of other message boards.


Edit - beaten

 

[AHindD]

This is stupid. They'll need to update the share feature on the console twins too, as the share button shouldn't work for streaming AO games. Going to miss watching GTA:sa speed runs on twitch.

 

[Majine]

What about breasts in games? Don't Witcher 3 have some of that?

 

[Matty77]

I thought only the hot coffee code version of SA was reclassified as AO and then Rockstar pulled the game and reissued without the code in it to retain the M rating?

Not a big twitch fan to begin with but if they ban a game that you have to hack to get the content, with later versions removing the content that's kind of sketchy.

 

[Fliesen]

The only game i'd consider a loss would be San Andreas, as Adam_AK speedruns it.

 

[Hamster Plugin]

So, why wouldn't an age verification for those videos work instead of outright blocking access to them?
You know, just like youtube does.

Youtube doesn't allow the kind of content that would get you AO, even with their age gate.

 

[Corpekata]

This is stupid. They'll need to update the share feature on the console twins too, as the share button shouldn't work for streaming AO games. Going to miss watching GTA:sa speed runs on twitch.

Are there any AO games on the console twins?

 

[Red Arremer]

What about breasts in games? Don't Witcher 3 have some of that?

Boobies like in Witcher are fine as long as they're not the main content of the game (so an obvious porn anime game won't fly).

 

[Skux]

Wait how is GTA:SA adults only? I just checked the ESRB site and it's M.

 

[stan423321]

Wait how is GTA:SA adults only? I just checked the ESRB site and it's M.

The older revision is related to AO because you can modify a single byte or something in game files and get cut AO sex scenes.

 

[dex3108]

Yeah, there's also an AO ESRB logo on the game's Steam page (Valve allows AO-rated games provided they're not sexually explicit), but it hasn't actually been given a rating:



I think the devs just use the logo to drive home the point that it's ultra-violent.

It is rated by PEGI only.

 

[Hamster Plugin]

Wait how is GTA:SA adults only? I just checked the ESRB site and it's M.

It was re-rated because of hot coffee. Rockstar made an updated version that removes any leftover hot coffee code for real.

That's how ridiculous America is. San Andreas is a very violent game (family friendly fun!), but the moment the main character has consensual sex with his girlfriend that's too much and must be banned.

 

[dark_prinny]

Stupid. Fuck censorship.

 

[Matty77]

Wait how is GTA:SA adults only? I just checked the ESRB site and it's M.

When hot coffee was found the ESRB reclassified it as AO. Rockstar pulled the game from the shelf and all versions going forward removed that code from the game, so it was put back to an M. So as I said in my first post if twitch bans it I think that's kind of sketchy.

 

[Chaos17]

What about breasts in games? Don't Witcher 3 have some of that?

It does, Witcher 2 too and same with DA:I if you romance Cansandra.

 

[L~A]

To people freaking out about San Andreas, you should check out the official blog instead of PC Gamer:

However, ESRB rated Mature versions of Adults Only titles are permitted for streaming, such as Mature versions of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and Fahrenheit: Indigo Prophecy.

So SA is perfectly fine, nothing to worry about.

I believe only the PC version of San Andreas was rated AO, due to the Hot Coffee stuff.

Also, console makers (Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft) don't allow AO games on their platforms, period. So they won't need to update anything, since you can't play AO games on their consoles.

 

[red731]

Well shit.

 

[Kingpin Rogers]

Kind of a shame, but on the other hand: aren't there only like twelve Adults Only games? The examples they give in the article are Manhunt 2 and GTA San Andreas, games that are well over ten years old.

Edit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_AO-rated_video_games yep, it's an incredibly small amount of games. GTA and Manhunt are pretty much the only interesting games.

I'm personally a big fan of "Wet: The Sexy Empire" so this is a big blow to me

 

[grandjedi6]

You can tell the author of this sticker article only looked up a list of AO games as San Andreas is no longer AO and only the uncut version of Mancut 2 is.

Overall, there are only 26 AO games (including San Andreas) and most of them are sex games on the PC from two different publishers. Which probably weren't being streamed anyway. So this changes nothing.

 

[RedAssedApe]

odd...so gta:v is ok but not san andreas. where you can have sex with hookers and see it along with slurping sounds, and vulgar language straight out of a porno haha...alrightly

 

[Matty77]

To people freaking out about San Andreas, you should check out the official blog instead of PC Gamer:



So SA is perfectly fine, nothing to worry about.

I believe only the PC version of San Andreas was rated AO, due to the Hot Coffee stuff.

Also, console makers (Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft) don't allow AO games on their platforms, period. So they won't need to update anything, since you can't play AO games on their consoles.

No it was all versions of SA it was never released as AO that was a reclassification that was fixed, unlike Manhunt 2 which they released on PC AO on purpose.

 

[airjoca]

How about letting people prove their age, and allow them to watch whatever they want when signed in...

 

[oneils]

Are any notable AO games even played on twitch? Most games streamed on twitch are PC games. A lot of PC games aren't rated by the ESRB so I'm wondering why they put this policy in.

A lot of speed runners play San Andreas and they get thousands of viewers. I wonder what they will do.

To people freaking out about San Andreas, you should check out the official blog instead of PC Gamer:



So SA is perfectly fine, nothing to worry about.

I believe only the PC version of San Andreas was rated AO, due to the Hot Coffee stuff.

Also, console makers (Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft) don't allow AO games on their platforms, period. So they won't need to update anything, since you can't play AO games on their consoles.

Cool, looks like PC gamer goofed.

Edit... Aaaaand PC gamer updated their article.

 

[Thomper]

odd...so gta:v is ok but not san andreas. where you can have sex with hookers and see it along with slurping sounds, and vulgar language straight out of a porno haha...alrightly

GTA SA had 'explicit' sex with hot coffee. GTA V is relatively tame compared to that.

Also, standards change over time. It's been ten years since SA. We're less strict now.

 

[bishopcruz]

So does this mean you can stream the HD Remaster of Fahrenheit, but not the director's cut of Indigo Prophecy? That's kinda hilarious.

 

[Backfoggen]

Yeah, there's also an AO ESRB logo on the game's Steam page (Valve allows AO-rated games provided they're not sexually explicit), but it hasn't actually been given a rating:



I think the devs just use the logo to drive home the point that it's ultra-violent.

Hatred definitely had an entry on the ESRB page before. They must have removed it.

 

[daniels]

ok kinda stupid so... why?

 

[Mr. Enigma]

Adults Only games are verbotent, but borderline prostitution is still perfectly cool with Twitch:

 

[Skux]

Time for a new challenger I guess.

So many products, programs and websites fall into this cycle.

1) Be the plucky underdog upstart with an amazing product, the best of its class that does everything the competitors do but faster, better, and cheaper (or even for free).

2) Become a "people's champion" hero in that product space due to word of mouth.

3) Do something to alienate the fanbase who made you popular in the first place (add shitty monetisation, put features behind a paywall, add bloatware/malware).

4) Fade away into obscurity as people flock to alternatives.

 

[Prime crotch]

Absolutely ridiculous. People should be able to stream any game they want.

Should they, through Twitch at least? The only right I see here is Twitch's to restrict the type of content on their platform. I'd venture to say that they took a look at exactly what sort of stuff was their content and decided to clean up their act.
So, yeah, no more dumb internet readily avaiable on twitch, unfortunately

 

[SmokyDave]

Four days before Hatred releases, eh?

Huh.