An interesting conundrum I just realized...
Will V13 be M or T rated? While of course the final choice is up to the ESRB, I'm sure the devs have already decided what their target rating is, and will build towards that as an ideal (changing things if the ESRB rates it different than they wanted)

While a T rating would purpose the greatest number of players as well as keeping with the MMO norm. A M rating would be more true the series roots (FO1/FO2 were both mature titles, as were the spin-offs TES:FO3, FOTactics, and *shudder* BoS). Going for M would be a smart choice artistically and spiritually. However going for a T rating would be better Financially.

While I know that a LARGE amount of M rated games are played by those who should be playing T rated, you are still supposed to assume they aren't going to.

I believe statistically M rated games sell better than T/E, however I'm not certain of that and I don't believe there has ever been an M rated MMO so that would certainly be interesting.

Well too bad it could not be AO (advlts only) but that will probably not sell well.

So I guess Mature will have to work. Fallout is definitely not for teens even though they are exposed to it and most parents don't stand up to it. Of course, there is always the 10% of the teens that are truly ok and know this stuff is just make believe.

Probably the game will be M and anyway kids will still play most of the time ..wihtout the knoledge of their parents ..

I am the Formless in all forms.Strenght si the only measure ,all things can be resolved with violence and blood share.

I suspect M rated as well, which may actually be a selling point for the game. As the first (correct me if I'm wrong) M rated MMO.

Age of Conan is rated M.

Age of Conan is rated M.

Thank you, I didn't realize that. Then again.. Age of Conan really isn't an MMO.. its not exactly 'massive' in terms of player base /sarcasm

As much as I hate myself for writing something like this.....we have to admit: mmos are mostly for kiddies. Before cutting my throat you should consider, that gamesas NEEDs money right now, more than anything else. Receiving an M rating will just not cut it. How about millions of those underage guys who do nothing all day but sit in front of their computers?

It would be quite naive to assume that the target audience is the hard core fans. These guys are usually above 20, and they cling to old Fallout traditions and as such, they will only be satisfied with a hard-core rpg.
This is not happening, no matter how disillusioning this is.

gamesas needs money, and they will target the widest audience possible, so don't even think of M rating. (though I cannot stress it enought that I would be the happiest person if things go the opposite)

Yeah, gamesas needs money and they can't limit their horizon by an M rated game. Unfortunatly, if you play an MMO such as WOW or SWG, even with the ratings 10 year old kids still manage to come in and ruin the game for the more mature players. On a side note, I think there needs to be some safeguards against "Chinese Farmers" (Chinese farmers sitting in giant aircraft hangers playing MMOs on free trial accounts in order to get ingame money and items in order to sell them to players of the game for legal tender, the farmers get about $0.50 and the owner of the operation makes millions), since these really destroy the game economy and it hurts gameplay, the farmers swoop in and kill bosses that are needed by players to complete quests etc. So I think this is a big issue.

I don't feel an "M" rating would stifle sales in any way. A low-violence, green blood, alcohol free wasteland however probably would.

Look at GTA IV. The rating didn't seem to stop that game from selling at record speed. Most parents either understand that video games are fictional, or they don't even know that games are rated. People of any age who want to play an M game generally will.

And on farming:

You can hardly blame someone. If there is demand there will be supply. It's pretty sad really that the economic disparity between the west and other parts of the world create a situation where it's profitable to get child slaves to farm gold in an mmo. So really the question becomes, what do you think is more humane, a child being forced to paly WoW, or sit in a textile factory? Both pretty brutal options I know

All you can do to stop farming in MMOs is stop spending real money on pretend money. I always laugh at people who do that anyway.

After a smashing a head guy you will se a green fluid on the ground ,you can fool your eyes but not the brain and you know that you kill a guy and he must bleedin.This is jus a bulshit in games that color blod not red

I am the Formless in all forms.Strenght si the only measure ,all things can be resolved with violence and blood share.

Please remember that Fallout 1 and I know 2 is M rated. It has to be. It deals with drugs, light sixual content (meaning it's not porm animation material), and war torn themes. I mean come on with a crit you can melt someone into goo with plasma\laser weapons or totally giblet them with a man portable Vulcan mini-gun.

FOOL, Fallout Online, Fallout MMO, or whatever you prefer will be M rated. I wish we could have an AO game and that would definitely shrink the potential profits so I am quite sure this game will be M rated and nothing less or more.

Truely if the fallout MMO ends up being T it will most likly svck because it will lack all the mature charm of the old games and wont even be fallout anymore. gamesas has never shyed from making M games in the past so i dont see why they would here. So in closing when i put my desert eagle under my enemys chin and pull the trigger his head better explode in a shower of blood and brain fragments not shoot rainbows and sparkles.