Oblivion now Mature rating, not Teen.

[Mutley]

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2006/05/04/elder_scrolls_game_rating_changed_mature/

Meh.

 

[The Monkey]

In Sweden it's 16+. Sucks for you though...

 

[VirusType2]

"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. We submitted a 60-page document listing the explicit language, acts, and scenes in the game. Oblivion packaging already contains warnings for 'Violence' and 'Blood and Gore. We believe that this critically acclaimed game is not typical of Mature rated titles, and does not present the central themes of violence that are common to those products."

Well for the blood and gore, you don't need to look any further than the gladiator Arena. I was never surprised or shocked at any of the violence or blood in Oblivion, it didn't seem excessive at all.

Games like the game of the year Call of Duty - a WWII military game that revolves around violence and are Teen rated. Most Cartoons suited for children revolve around violence and are usually not rated at all. I've played games that are just so gory and bloody, and they of course needed to be rated Mature, but I don't think Oblivion is one of them.


About the nudity though, theoretically, one could hack nearly any video game ever made to create nudity.

If you have noticed, on-line video games always have a notification right below the rating "Game Experience May Change During On-line Play" This is because once you are online, there may be players who use vulgarity (bad words). Well, Oblivion is an off-line game, but it allows user made modifications that are not subject to any rating, so really, modifiable games just need a new warning label, "Game Experience May Change Based on User-made Modifications"


One could say that now that teens are no longer able to buy this game, Bethesda May lose sales, but how has nudity ever hurt sales for anything before? :naughty:

 

[CptStern]

but how has nudity ever hurt sales for anything before? :naughty:

would you buy a copy of playboy if she was featured nude in it?

there's good naked and there's bad naked ..I wont post examples

 

[xombine]

And when naked there can be bad things, like sneezing. :x

 

[Unfocused]

would you buy a copy of playboy if she was featured nude in it?

there's good naked and there's bad naked ..I wont post examples

OMG Stern, where do you find those things? Yesterday I saw the video with the fat woman on a treadmill you posted in the videos' section.

 

[CptStern]

google ..I just googled "ugly woman"


I got the video of the fat woman from daily chat threads on shacknews ...they're chock full of crazy goodness

 

[BabyHeadCrab]

pretty funny, you could make women topless in an "E" rated childrens game too. Why don't they just make any game for the PC Mature.

 

[CptStern]

bethesda responds:

Bethesda Softworks made what it believes was a full, accurate, and comprehensive submission on Oblivion to the ESRB months before the game’s release. Bethesda used the ESRB’s application forms and believes it adhered closely to their requirements. Nothing was hidden from the ratings agency. No effort was made by Bethesda to lobby or influence the agency for any particular rating.

The ESRB has concluded that the game deserves a rating of Mature because: 1) partial nudity in the PC version of the game can be created by modders; and 2) the game contains excessive blood and gore that go beyond a Teen rating. The facts are as follows:

There is no nudity in Oblivion without a third party modification. In the PC version of the game only – this doesn’t apply to the Xbox 360 version – some modders have used a third party tool to hack into and modify an art archive file to make it possible to create a mesh for a partially nude (topless) female that they add into the game. Bethesda didn’t create a game with nudity and does not intend that nudity appear in Oblivion. 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.

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. We submitted a 60-page document listing the explicit language, acts, and scenes in the game. Oblivion packaging already contains warnings for “Violence” and “Blood and Gore.”

We value the role of the ESRB and believe the rating agency plays a valuable role in regulating our industry. As always, we will continue work in good faith to comply fully with the ESRB’s standards and policies.

good for Bethesda, stick it to the spineless bastards ...but I understand the ESRB's decision; they cant be seen to be doing a bad job of rating games ..that's what they want, that way they can install government regulated ratings

 

[Feath]

would you buy a copy of playboy if she was featured nude in it?

there's good naked and there's bad naked ..I wont post examples

Isn't that the Uber Christian woman from the US version of Wife swap?

 

[French Ninja]

They have Oblivion change to mature for this and not for The Lusty Argonian Maid?

 

[WhiteZero]

Cool, that means my "T" box is now a rare.

 

[Bad^Hat]

Hmm... I could have sworn I read that the topless mod only removes the bra, that everything else is left unaltered (meaning Bethesda only covered them up). Infact, you were able to remove underclothing on female characters in Daggerfall unrestricted.