12 Controversial Video Game Scandals That Rocked The Industry

2. Mortal Kombat's Gore Leads To Creation Of The ESRB

Y'know, maybe the whole "Won't somebody think of the children?!" idea did have some legs, as before the ESRB ratings board, games were ostensibly thought of as toys; interactive play-things that didn't need to be classified the same way as film or TV.

Then came Mortal Kombat, and its blood-soaked visage stared that thought process right down to the ground. "This is NOT for kids" MK appeared to say, leading to an impasse for Nintendo's Howard Lincoln, who wanted the game on his company's systems, but knew it was too mature and controversial for their otherwise kid-friendly demographic.

Cue all manner of discussions about whether games could (or should) have mature themes, as everyone from industry experts to politicians weighed in on the 'influence' of violent games on the youth - although it didn't help that Midway's adverts all featured children in the first place, rather than late teenagers or young adults.

After all the hoo-ha and hotly-debated points, Senator Joe Lieberman declared that it was up to the industry itself to provide a suitable ratings board for their own entertainment, and thus, the Entertainment Software Ratings Board was born, declaring Mortal Kombat to be the first Mature-rated game in history.

See? Violence IS the answer. No, wait...