Oblivion Now Rated M

**L3e** · 05-03-2006, 08:08 PM

Lol, this is so dumb. Just because somebody modified the game they are giving it a new rating.

Quote:

The Entertainment Software Ratings Board today issued a parental advisory that it has changed the rating of Take-Two subsidiary 2K Games' hit role-playing game The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion for the PC. Originally released with a rating of T for Teen, the game has now been rerated M for Mature, due to "more detailed depictions of blood and gore than were considered in the original rating, as well as the presence of a locked-out art file or 'skin' that, if accessed through a third-party modification to the PC version of the game, allows the user to play with topless versions of female characters." The Xbox 360 version of the game will retain its T for Teen rating because the nude skin is inaccessible in that version of the game.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6148897.html

Brendon · 05-03-2006, 08:37 PM

I saw this earlier today in a press release. It may seem stupid, but it's a smart move.

**L3e** · 05-04-2006, 02:50 AM

Looks like this applies to the 360 version as well. Who made the smart move ESRB? and why is it smart?

Chris™ · 05-04-2006, 08:42 PM

I think it's fairly dumb in that it requires a third-party modification to take advantage (heh heh) of it - this isn't something in the game.

**L3e** · 05-05-2006, 10:44 AM

Exactly, couldn't a third party do that to pretty much anygame by swapping out the models or textures or whatever?

Chris™ · 05-05-2006, 12:25 PM

Yep, and they have before, one game that comes to mind is Unreal Tournament. Sure, it was already rated M, but still, most any game could be modified like this.

Brendon · 05-05-2006, 05:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by L3e

Looks like this applies to the 360 version as well. Who made the smart move ESRB? and why is it smart?

Because they're doing it themselves rather than waiting for some stupid controversy to occur due to a "questionable" mod. It's stupid that they would have to do it in the first place, but they made a smart move doing it themselves rather than letting some nutcase lawyer and his gaggle of soccer moms turn it into a media frenzy.

Chris™ · 05-05-2006, 06:23 PM

I can understand why they would do it from that perspective, but this is going to cause developers to completely block modders, which in turn takes more time and higher costs, so then games become more expensive because of this sort of thing.

Brendon · 05-06-2006, 06:08 AM

I don't think this is going to cause people to block modders. Only an extremely high profile game like Oblivion needs to really worry about the rating in conjunction with the mods out there, since people don't like to waste time taking on smaller games. Look at all of the games out there that have nudity mods and hacks, but what's the one that is most targetted? The Sims.

Basically, it's my opinion that if a game DOES change their rating due to the possibility of the mods causing some controversy, they acknowledge that the mods are a large part of their game and wouldn't stop making games which allow modders access to the tools.

Chris™ · 05-06-2006, 10:18 AM

I see your point, but if there is a chance that their game could be forced to change its rating to M, why would developers allow modders the opportunity to cause that? By having their game rated M, they potentially lose business.