Battlefield Bad Company 2

This game was released by Electronic Arts, Inc. a couple of weeks ago. Many of our CGO members now own it, including me. It's rated "M" for mature, and the primary point of contention about this game has been the foul language. In addition to creative and frequent use of the dreaded "f-word," this game has apparently also gone as far as to take the Lord's name in vain. Well, that last one is a Ten Commandment issue, and thus, is a really big deal. I've read on several online forums how anybody bringing up the language issue is usually electronically beaten down by other posters who point out such things as (in no particular order of popularity): 1) Foul language is common in "real" war and if you're going to play a war game you have to get used to it; 2) If you don't like it then don't play the game; and, the less imaginative, 3) "F&*@ You!" It's a rough crowd in the online forum world sometimes.

My issue with the Battlefield Bad Company 2 game is not with those who want to insult the players who chastize us for complaining about the bad language. Rather my issue is to ask the question, "Why alienate such a big part of the market for the game?" I and thousands, if not millions, of other gamers got my start on great games such as "Battlefield 1942" and "Battlefield 2;" which were rated "T" for mild language and violence. "Battlefield 2" in particular was by all accounts a huge sales success. It could even be argued that Christian Gamers Online might not even be around but for BF2. So one has to wonder why Electronic Arts felt it necessary to put out BFBC2 with the "M" rating when it had so much success with the "T" rating in BF2? Tossing everything else aside, from a business standpoint it just seems simple that BFBC2 would have appealed to a broader market with a "T" rating. Objectively, the market numbers go down when retailers such as GameStop have policies barring sales of "M" games to minors.

Perhaps I'm wrong in my assumptions on market share and sales forecasts. Surely, EA has complex market reports and studies on this very subject. Maybe there are subjective factors they consider as well? Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 was released a month or two before BFBC2, and it is laced with foul language as well. Perhaps the "industry" is now including "M" ratings and/or fowl language as requirements in this level of FPS games? Or....could it might just be that the gaming industry has missed the mark when it comes to judging what the market wants when it comes to the language in games? Perhaps these recent releases are just now having the impact on the consumers (i.e. - the players and parents and kids of the players) that will cause us to take a longer pause before buying the next "big game?"

More to come: The Game's Out Now - Solutions?