2006-05-04 - ESRB Madness Options

[stargelman]

Want to hear something really silly? Ok, here it comes. The ESRB has revoked it's Teen rating for Oblivion and changed it to Mature. Why? Because someone made a mod that used a mesh that was burried somewhere in Oblivion's game files (but never used). This particular mesh is that of a female upper body. Topless. That, and because the level of violence and gore supposedly exceeds what the ESRB had expected.

What does that mean for the average gamer? Well, if you're living in the US and you're younger than 17, and your parents actually care about the ESRB rating, you might find yourself having a difficult time getting this game now. Unfortunately, that does not appear to be the only consequence. From Bethesda Softwork's official reaction:

There is no nude female character in a section of the game that can be “unlocked.” Bethesda can not control tampering with Oblivion by third parties. Bethesda is taking steps to ensure that modders can not continue to hack into Oblivion’s art archives to create partially nude figures.

Now perhaps it's just me, but that last sentence sounds as if it was a good reason to worry. What exactly does that mean, prevent "hacking" into Oblivion's art files? And how is this to happen retroactively, after the game has shipped? A clarification on this issue is required, and it should come soon and from someone in charge.

BethSoft's Press Release on ESRB rating change for Oblivion

[Nottheking]

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.