Not sure what you're getting at unless by M and AO type content you're referring to sex and full nudity in the game. Because there are already plenty of M rated games on retail shelves. They are rated M for violence, blood, what have you. Can't think of one though that has sex and full nudity. So I can only assume that is what you're referring to.

Dragon Age: Origins is awash in blood. From the title screens to characters literally being bathed in it. There's plenty of skin in that game as well as other games. But there is no hardcore sex of course (again, I can only assume this is what you're referring to). And yet it's all over the stores as well as digital distribution. But there have been violent/bloody/horror/foul language games in stores since the beginning.

So, basically, I think business will continue as usual for retail and digital distribution. Some like to have the discs, others don't. Either way you'll probably always be able to get whatever you want in retail just like you can online.

Also, how is the USA more conservative in the video games industry than any other nation?

Sexuality was one of the major things I was thinking about, but not exclusively.  There are a lot of themes we never or seldom see in video games such as killing children, highly graphic, realistic violence and gore.  I'm sure I could think of a few others, but I'm split between typing this and work, so I'll keep it short.  The movie industry seems to have a lot more freedom when it comes to ratings and content.  I'd just like to see that level of creative license show up in gaming, and not just on the fringe but with high quality developers.  We're seeing some moves that direction with the GTA series, Heavy Rain, God of War, even Dragon Age contains content you'd never see just a few years ago... especially in from main stream publishers. 

As an older gamer, I'd like to see my preferred form on entertainment, that is video games, have the freedom to touch on some of the more adult themes that are common place in the main stream movie industry.  I'm not talking about porn games, though I don't have any problem with those either.  Strickly pornograqphic titles, be they movies or video games, will almost alway be in the fringe market.  I'm talking about, for instance, a video game with the same type of adult themes and content as the film Antichrist.  That's a pretty graphic film in all respects.  Right now we'd never see a mainstream game with that level of graphic depiction.

Ifa game gets an A rating it has literally commited suicide, stores won't hold and and commercials wont be shown.

As a conservative parent who used to be a 15 year old kid, I can be fair and understand your viewpoint. While I did not appreciate my parents filtering content for me when I was young I can now appreciate and understand why as an adult. We personally filter, as much as possible, all material viewed by our children and allow them to either view/play based on how we feel they will affected by the material. This varies by each kid as they all have different tollerances and understanding. That said I am not against releaseing M or AO games. There is a market for these and it is completely acceptable to release to that market. I also don't mind people who wish to protest these games as that is the foundation for our country. In this way I believe we get a respectable approach to video and game development that gives parents the tools and information to make well informed decisions.

While I respect your parenting decisions, judging by what you've written, I think should be a little bit more liberal. Sheltering your kids and being overly controlling really isn't going to help them very much. Allowing your kids to view stuff such as sex and then having a discussion about it would help prepare them for it, and when other kids start talking about it, your kids would be more mature in approaching the subjects.

Again, these are simply my opinions. I'm not trying to tell you what to do.

But obviously, because we backwards Americans don't share European culture, means that they must conform to the morally superior European standards, correct?

Also, I think games will probably become more violent and 'mature' as digital distribution increases, if only because smaller groups that might make these types of games will be able to better release their games.

The australian version of dragon age is the same as everyone else's.

just to clear up common misconceptions- australia doesn't ban games. it simply lacks the classification to classify games rated higher than MA15+. therefore anything that is unable to receive an MA15+ rating, is effectively banned. because of the way our federalist system works, an adult classification for games is essentially being prevented by just one minister from one state. he won't be in office forever

Eh, there already are games with heavy sex content.  They just aren't distributed through Steam or similar services and never will.  I'm not going to mention any sites here, but I've been using several websites that specialize in these things for years and they continue to do well.

No big name publisher is EVER going to put heavy sexual content into a game, because the backlash they get from parents with 1950's mindsets isn't worth it.  Even with retailers being slowly being removed from the equation, the console market is more lucrative than PC and people tend to get outraged over questionable console titles far more than PC exclusives.

While I'm not going to go into the stupidity of people getting outraged over tits, while okaying games where you can mow down hundreds of innocent people in a airport, it's best to just leave this matter alone IMO.  Unless there's a major change in attitudes in the near-future, just let it go and be happy the religious right doesn't know about the 'other' distribution sites.

It is difficult to comment without a common frame of reference. Those rating letters don't really mean much to me.

I have a few boxes at the side of me: Flight Sim X is 3+, AoE3 is 12+, Crysis, UT2004 and CoJ BiB are 16+, Fallout 3 and Far Cry 2 are 18. An equivalent would be helpful.

I don't know what's happened to us. We used to not have to have every bit of violence, language, and sex in our media lived out in every gory detail. Media could just give the idea that it was going on or had happened. Now we can't seem to live without it.

I am against censorship of the media, except in cases of pornography, language and violence. These I am all for censorship of, and more restrictive than it currently is. They desensitize us towards these things. Such content doesn't accomplish anything except cause us to care less and less when we see such things in real life. When we observe violence, sex, or language in real life we don't care much, because we see it all the time. I've never played a game rated higher than teen, and don't plan on it.

I guess I am in the state of mind where it is not my business to tell people what they are allowed or not allowed to watch or play or listen to. If parents aren't willing to police their own children, the answer is not to come into my home and tell me what is allowed and what isn't. I am a grown woman. It's my choice. I'd like to see more adult content (sexual and thought provoking stuff) and less violence in the games I, I repeat, I play. There are several series I don't touch because I don't care for the swearing or the excessive gore. But me not liking that sort of thing is 1) not me judging other people for liking it and 2) not me trying to police them against it. If playing a game makes someone want to do something malicious and hardens their heart to pain and suffering of other living creatures in reality, there is something already wrong with that person, and they need professional help yesterday. It's only a matter time before someone like that would have found some other trigger that sets off that kind of sadistic behavior.

As for businesses not carrying a title because of an AO or equivelant rating, that is also their choice, and hopefully digital distribution will become a more viable alternative so that sort of rejection won't be so important. E-tailers are not that different, by the way, from their BM counterparts. Amazon has pulled a few foreign games before because of objections about sexual content. I am not sure Steam, Stardock and company would be willing to take the heat either. It's pretty easy for a my belief's are right and yours are not group to start a campaign against any company.