Slashdot Mirror
ESRB Changes Oblivion's Rating to 'Mature'
kukyfrope writes "Perhaps reacting based on the debacle that was the 'Hot Coffee' scandal, the ESRB today changed the rating on The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion from Teen to Mature. From the article: '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 third party modification to the PC version of the game, allows the user to play with topless versions of female characters,' said the ESRB in a release."
There are certainly some aspects of the game that aren't suitable for younger audiences, which is the case with a lot of games. What really bothers me is that it wasn't any of the violence that prompted the rating, but something stupid like this. No wonder people don't have much faith in the ratings system.
The source of the data is the critical point. While the ESRB can't base their ratings on third-party content, they have every right to rate the content that actually ships on the disc. So, for a slightly more off-the-wall example, if a T-rated game shipped with a password-protected archive of Playboy photo shoots on the disc - completely unaccessible from, and unrelated to, the game itself - the ESRB would still jack the rating up because the material is being shipped.
I personally don't think bare breasts are that big of a deal (though they can be a lot of fun in RL), but the ESRB isn't there to either protect me (age 34) or to represent me (childless). They exist to keep f***ing legislatures out of the gaming business, and they've succeeded to a large extent. Since they know that politicians and many parents would care a lot about bare breasts, they've got to rate games accordingly.
In other words, I think some people here need to learn to love the ESRB...and the bomb...