Two words: publicity stunt.
To be honest, I'm suprised that the ESRB didn't pay heed to the violence level until now; keep in mind that it *IS* the violence, and not the potential for a "nude mod" that were the purpose of the "M" rating, as the Xbox 360 recieved it as well, though it was well stressed that such a "nude mod" would be impossible for the Xbox 360. Also note that the PC version recieved an additional "nudity" descriptor, while the Xbox 360 version did not.
As for the violence, I'm in favor of the newer rating for it. As I've stated before, the fuss over the "topless models," (which, as we should know, were mentioned to be in the PC version LONG before the game went gold) appears to be simply a "publicity stunt." The ESRB apparently erred in rating Oblivion the first time arround, and rather than simply say "we didn't pay close enough attention to the violence," rather, they decided to focus on the issue of the "nude model."
As for BethSoft's comments, they're nothing to worry about, I'd say. Chances are slim to none that they'll actually do anything harmful to modders, other than potentially patching the model out of the game. That was largely a "cover your (spotted owl)" action on the part of BethSoft. They likely had such a move planned out.
As for removing the "topless model" from the game, nothing'll stop people from re-adding it, or perhaps simply adding a better done version of it. (as I've come to understand, the one included in the game's materials of of low quality)
P.S. This forum needs a :spotted owl: emoticon, (almost) as much as the wizard ones.
|