Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) has issued a parental advisory yesterday noting that The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (both PC and Xbox 360) versions were re-rated. New rating is Mature (M, 17+) instead of Teen (T, 13+).
According to ESRB announcement, “the content causing the ESRB to change the rating involves 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 thirdparty modification to the PC version of the game, allows the user to play with topless versions of female characters... In line with its mission to inform consumers about the age-suitability and content of computer and video games, this ESRB Parent Advisory has been issued to ensure that parents who have purchased this game are immediately notified of the rating change. Parents should also know that a patch for the PC version of the game that disables access to the file with the topless skin will be made available shortly.”
Re-ratings are rare for ESRB - the last notable case was Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, re-rated last year due to discovery in the PC and and PS2 versions a hidden minigame with sexual content that could be unlocked (on the PC version) with a modification called Hot Coffee. Nudity cannot be unlocked in Xbox 360 version of Oblivion, but gore and violence issues regard both PC and console versions. PC version will carry an additional content descriptor for Nudity, until a new version of the game is issued where access to questionable content will be blocked. Bethesda is also obliged to release a patch that blocks access to topless female meshes, and today’s
press release from the developer confirmed that this patch will soon be available.
Current content descriptors - Violence, Blood and Gore, Sexual Themes, Language, and Use of Alcohol - will remain. However, ESRB stated that video tape provided by Bethesda several months before the game release understated the detail and intensity of the blood and gore available in final version of Oblivion. Press release issued by Bethesda has a different explanation: “With regard to violence, Bethesda advised the ESRB during the ratings process that violence and blood effects were "frequent" in the game - checking the box on the form that is the maximum warning. We further advised that the game contained occasional torture, vulgar acts, and gore. We gave accurate answers and descriptions about the type and frequency of violence that appears in the game.”
Regarding nudity, same press release says that “Bethesda didn't create a game with nudity and does not intend that nudity appear in Oblivion... Bethesda can not control tampering with Oblivion by third parties.” Like in GTA: Hot Coffee case, mods became target for ESRB investigation, though unlike GTA, questionable content seems to have been added to the game by modification, not exactly unlocked. Fact that Xbox 360 version got a new rating too proves that topless females were not exactly the main reason for Board’s actions. This is, however, a precedent that might force some publishers (and developers) to make games less moddable. As everyone knows, even now not many developers care about modding tools for their games. After this case, situation surely won’t improve, cause lack of mods will guarantee safer rating and safer profits.
As for profits, Take-Two (to be precise, its subsidiary 2K Games that co-publishes Oblivion with Bethesda) is not going to lose as much as last year: Mature rating, unlike Adults Only that GTA:SA received, will not force retailers to remove Oblivion from shelves. Moreover, publicity over topless mods that were previously unknown for general public will certainly draw more attention to the game, including attention from teenagers and children that ESRB is theoretically trying to protect.
Read
complete version of statement by Bethesda to know more details.
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