Video games: Wii gets Mature

Nintendo's Wii has become the most popular video-game console largely because of its family-friendly reputation. But something has been happening lately. The Wii is growing up.

In the Wii's first 26 months, only 20 out of hundreds of games were rated Mature -- for players 17 and older -- by the Entertainment Software Rating Board. Five more have been added in the past five weeks.

The titles offer a clue to their content: "Tenchu: Shadow Assassins," "House of the Dead: Overkill," "Onechanbara: Bikini Zombie Slayers" and "Dead Rising: Chop Til You Drop."

The Wii's recent hack-and-slash flurry reached its gore-driven peak with last week's release of "MadWorld" -- a game that developer Sega pitches as being "blood-soaked action for the Wii!"

The game has black-and-white graphics, except for the bright red blood that is spilled liberally as characters wield chainsaws and spiked bats to survive a kill-or-be-killed game show.

Andy Reiner, executive editor of Game Informer, called "MadWorld" the most violent video game he has ever played. He also rated it a 9 out of 10 in his review for the Minneapolis-based magazine.

"The violence stretches from 'torture porn,' where you sit back and get shivers and freak out a bit about what your character is doing, to 'Itchy and Scratchy,' where you throw a guy in a catapult and launch him to the moon," Reiner explained. "So it's kind of all over the place -- it makes you cringe; it makes you laugh."

Not surprisingly, one person who isn't laughing is David Walsh, founder of the National Institute on Media and the Family. Tuesday's release of "MadWorld" drew a sharp rebuke from his Minneapolis-based organization.

"In the past, the Wii has successfully sold itself as being the gaming console for the entire family and a way to bring family-game nights back into people's living rooms," Walsh said. "Unfortunately, Nintendo opened its doors to the violent video game genre. [We hope] that Nintendo does not lose sight of its initial audience."

Actually, Nintendo hasn't developed any M-rated games. They have all come from other companies, such as Sega. In fact, Nintendo has produced only six of the 135 Teen-rated Wii games released since the Wii's November 2006 debut.

"Third-party publishers realize that Wii is the current platform of choice in this generation," a Nintendo spokesman said. The fact that developers are aiming at older gamers illustrates that "their bottom lines depend on appealing to the largest base."

Sega, a Nintendo rival in the '80s and '90s, has released three other M-rated Wii games besides "MadHouse," including "Overkill" and "Splatterhouse 2."

In an interview with the Associated Press, Sega President Simon Jeffery noted that his company also has released many casual and family-friendly games for the Wii, including titles in its popular Sonic the Hedgehog series. According to the rating board, 78 Sega titles rated for Everyone or Everyone 10+ are available for the Wii.

But Jeffery told the AP that "70 to 80 percent of Wii owners are young [adult] males, and there hasn't been much fodder for them on the Wii." That's the reason behind Sega's development of older-skewing Wii-only titles, including the upcoming first-person shooter "Conduit."

'The day's worries seem to die'

"MadWorld" prompted Walsh to remind parents that they need to be aware of what their kids are playing.

But Reiner noted that the M-rated Wii titles are clearly aimed at grown-up gamers. "Obviously, you're not going to buy these for your children. They're über-violent," he said.

One such gamer is Aaron Wilson, 33, who preordered "MadWorld" before its release. The Minneapolis resident, who teaches literature at a Twin Cities vocational college and reviews short fiction on his blog, the Soulless Machine Review (www.soullessmachine.com), bought the Wii so he and his wife could play "Wii Sports," "Rock Band" and "Wii Fit" -- the kind of family-friendly games that have made the system popular.

But Wilson is also a computer gamer who likes the horror genre, including the M-rated "Diablo."

"I find myself working off the stress of a hard day at work by playing a few hours of 'Diablo,' killing hordes of skeletons, zombies and other abominations," he said by e-mail. "With each click of the mouse, swing of a sword, the day's worries seem to die, die, die, along with each horror vanquished."

The recent Wii games aren't just sensational titles riding on the notoriety of an M rating for a "family-friendly" system, as Reiner's glowing review for "MadWorld" indicates.

"I would say that 'MadWorld' is hands down the best," he said. "'House of the Dead,' if you like Quentin Tarantino movies, is kind of rekindling that vibe, the grindhouse phenomenon -- that game is fantastic as well. They're all games that are worth checking out."

While the Wii will maintain its overwhelming library of family-friendly titles, Reiner said there's nothing wrong with its having a more mature outlook, especially considering the backlash from gamers after last year's E3 industry trade show.

"Last year, Nintendo was criticized at E3, where everything was family-focused," he said. "The big title at the end of their show was 'Wii Music,' and everyone was, like, 'Seriously?' Nintendo heard that backlash and said, 'We're not turning our back on the core gamer.' They definitely see that that's an audience of theirs, too."

Randy A. Salas • 612-673-4542