14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft's Game Room may be bringing back some of the classic arcade games, but, unfortunately, most of the nostalgia that we're expecting from it won't be coming along for the ride. While there's no vivider memory of our youth than playing video games while also playing hide-and-seek with out parents, whether because we weren't allowed to stay up that late for such a useless activity or because the gore of Mortal Kombat was beyond what we were allowed to experience at such a tender age, the Game Room won't give us any reasons to hide our gameplay vices.
The only games present in Microsoft's new service will be those rated E or E10+, and while the lack of Mature titles is a disappointment, the fact that even Teen titles are excluded is downright confusing. "Games available for download within 'Game Room' will carry either E or E10+ ratings," a Microsoft representative told GamerBytes. "We currently have no plans to feature titles of those [higher Teen and Mature] ratings."
And if our state of confusion demands an explanation, the given one is nothing short of a puzzling one. According to GamerBytes, Microsoft decided to get an ESRB rating not for the titles present in the Game Room, but for the service itself, thus saving a ton of money in rating fees. The downside is that since the entire Game Room is rated for nothing higher than E10+, no game that would require a higher rating could be released for it.
How valid its scheme really is remains rather unclear, since games can't really be released on trust alone. The Game Room may be E and E10+ rated, but unless they get an actual check, neither the ESRB nor Microsoft can be sure that the titles haven't crossed into the Teen category, so a rating check would still be needed. General guidelines can only get you so far, and if Rebellion's upcoming Aliens vs Predator was docile enough to earn an MA15+ rating, then nothing is set in stone anymore.