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ESRB Changes Oblivion's Rating to 'Mature'
Posted by
Zonk
on Wed May 03, 2006 03:48 PM
from the country-governed-by-infants dept.
from the country-governed-by-infants dept.
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."
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So this out yet? (Score:5, Funny)
So is this out yet?.....
Re:So this out yet? (Score:5, Funny)
The change in rating is to prevent younger players getting scared by all those women with their heads missing.
Re:So this out yet? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:So this out yet? (Score:4, Funny)
Re:So this out yet? (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Europeans watch with mouths agape (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Europeans watch with mouths agape (Score:4, Insightful)
This must be willfull ignorance. Despite the fact that "public nudity" and scanty clothing is becoming more accepted, American culture is stull much less comfortable with it than they are with good old fashioned violence. Witness the fact that all forms of entertainment recieve higher ratings for sexual content and nudity than they do for violence, such as the game mentioned in this article.
If you really examine your history, you will observe that cultures become more barbaric as they do away with their inhibitions.
The word you're looking for is decadent, not barbaric.
Inhibitions keep us from doing things that would otherwise get us killed, like jumping off of a building without a parachute just because the ride down will be fun.
No, that is self preservation. Inhibitions are what keep you from doing it *with* a parachute.
Besides the health risk of constantly exposing your privates to the elements, vulnerability to disease, etc.
There's nothing risky about not wearing pants that isn't risky about not wearing clothes in general. There aren't floating 'disease germs' that will attack your wee-wee if you don't wear underwear. This sort of made up bullshit "medical" advice is exactly why some people *do* have a problem with "nudity in general".
If the media be representative of the entire population, then any attempt at regulating morals is a complete hypocritical joke.
Any attempt at regulating morals *is* a complete hypocritical joke. It's also sadly common amongst a certain breed of insecure, repressed, power hungry person who is so uncomfortable with himself and his humanity that he needs to control everyone, not just himself (or herself. English needs better non-gendered nouns). It's right there in the Genesis as you mention above, although apparently you don't grasp the implications. Adam and Eve felt *shame* for their nudity.
Nonetheless, there are some of us who don't want to pass on to future generations that sex should be casual or that self-control is a weakness.
Self control isn't a weakness. But repression is. Look at the history of our culture and your religion.
For those of us who claim to follow the God of the bible (and the even fewer who act like it), this is a minority stance (especially on any internet forum). I don't expect everyone to adopt it.
You don't expect everyone to adopt it, but you're perfectly happy with attempting to legally mandate it?
Still, it is unfair to completely reject an idea just because someone with religious values agrees with it.
I do no such thing. However, I do reject an idea when its only supporting foundation is those same religions values. Your only non-religious mention here are ambiguous medical dangers if you walk around naked, a total falsehood. Do you have any non-religious support for the dangers of informed, mature, casual sex? Are you aware that the rate of sexual predation is higher among members of your religion than among others? That as our acceptance of nudity, pornography, and sexual freedom has raised so too has sexual equality?
mmmm (Score:4, Funny)
Screw that, Minesweeper Boobies!!! (Score:3, Funny)
Re:mmmm (Score:5, Funny)
One may laugh, but [google.com]...
Perhaps the rating should instead be... (Score:3, Insightful)
'I', for 'Immature'?
When I was your age (Score:5, Funny)
Re:When I was your age (Score:3, Funny)
Any game? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Any game? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Any game? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Any game? (Score:4, Interesting)
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...
so all mod content... (Score:4, Insightful)
Basing the rating of a game upon the available third party content seems very stupid to me. I'm sure i'm in the majority of slashdotter who think that changing the rating of a game because of mods is stupid.
this does not bode well for the future of video game ratings.
Re:so all mod content... (Score:5, Informative)
The "art file or 'skin'" was already present in the game, locked out or otherwise.
The third party tool gave you access to what was already there... exactly like GTA & their hot coffee disaster.
What the ESRB is trying to tell game makers is that they need to stop including postentially sexual content on the game discs, even if it's "locked out".
Re:so all mod content... (Score:5, Insightful)
Now, my mod is simply taking stuff that's already on the disc and displaying it. It's just doing so in a way that the developers didn't intend. 18+ rating for everything!
There's got to be a line drawn, and it should be drawn by saying that if you can access the content without the use of third party tools/mods/whatever, then it should count for the rating. If you have to hack the system in order to modify the game in order to gain access to content, then it shouldn't count against the rating. Once you allow content unlocked by a third-party modification to the game to count for ratings purposes, you've started down a slippery slope.
It's still a mod (Score:3, Informative)
1. There's the game as you bought it, and it doesn't show any nipples.
2. You download a mod which, regardless of HOW, replaces the bra texture with a skin and nipple textur
Woohoo! (Score:3, Funny)
Nudity is fine (Score:4, Funny)
Finally. (Score:5, Insightful)
Way too graphic.
Now if you'll excuse me, I'll go buy one of the last 'T'-labeled games, and sell it for a profit later on.
Re:Finally. (Score:5, Insightful)
Oh, there's nothing wrong with decomposing bodies, according to the ESRB. But look, one of them has the tits hanging out. And you can almost see the nipple! OMG! Think of the chiiildren!
Re:Finally. (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Finally. (Score:3, Informative)
You think that was just a cover-up (no pun intended)?
Re:Finally. (Score:4, Insightful)
I love the game, but there is no way it should ever have been Teen.
The necromancer and vampire lairs can be very graphic (If you've seen Memorial Cave, you know what I'm talking about.), way too graphic for a little kid.
Unfair distinctions (Score:5, Insightful)
And, since they have started this crusade, why hasn't the Sims 2 been pulled and modded Adults Only yet? That has far more explicit mods and in-your-face sexuality. Hell, the only way to get ahead in that game is to have sex, and that only gets a Teen rating still?
If the ESRB is going to keep pulling this, all game makers should just slap Adults Only labels on their games and let the parents figure out which ones are safe for their kids, like they are supposed to be doing in the first place.
Re:Unfair distinctions (Score:4, Insightful)
The ESRB is officially punishing game companies for what users do to the game. "Hot Coffee" was never normally accessible in GTA; therefore, they can't be rated for it because a user has to specifically unlock it themselves. The same with this, and it's even more silly because the only reason the nude textures are included is because Bethesda needs a nude body texture to display clothes on top of. It was just for their clothing system, for crying out loud, not some malicious erotic intent. I guess if there weren't any nipples, the ESRB wouldn't care?
Fucking idiots.
Breasts! OMG! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:idiot (Score:4, Funny)
So would Oedipus.
Check out the nude patch in action! (Score:4, Informative)
3rd party modification? (Score:5, Funny)
False claims (Score:5, Funny)
If the nudity isn't available in the basic game but needs a third party hack, isn't it false advertising to claim "nudity" on the box? I'd expect a refund if I bought this and found no nudity included.
Re:False claims (Score:5, Insightful)
You just don't understand the new thinking, is all. See, we need to be "protected" not simply against what things are but also against what things can be made to do. And, frankly, it is the fault of godless monsters like Bethesda for putting tools into people's hands that are capable of creating nude images, and they should be labeled as the pornmongers they are.
Seriously, it won't be long until game makers lock down code so that modding is impossible. There will never be another Counter-Strike for fear that someone will make a whorehouse map.
Great idea... (Score:3, Insightful)
Hot Mead? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Hot Mead? (Score:3, Funny)
Hot skooma! Just to confuse those who haven't played the game.
This sick filth must stop! (Score:5, Funny)
The Lusty Argonian Maid (Score:4, Informative)
The Lusty Argonian Maid
by Crassius Curio
Act IV, Scene III, continued
Lifts-Her-Tail: Certainly not, kind sir! I am here but to clean your chambers.
Crantius Colto: Is that all you have come here for, little one? My chambers?
Lifts-Her-Tail: I have no idea what it is you imply, master. I am but a poor Argonian maid.
Crantius Colto: So you are, my dumpling. And a good one at that. Such strong legs and shapely tail.
Lifts-Her-Tail: You embarrass me, sir!
Crantius Colto: Fear not. You are safe here with me.
Lifts-Her-Tail: I must finish my cleaning, sir. The mistress will have my head if I do not!
Crantius Colto: Cleaning, eh? I have something for you. Here, polish my spear.
Lifts-Her-Tail: But it is huge! It could take me all night!
Crantius Colto: Plenty of time, my sweet. Plenty of time.
END OF ACT IV, SCENE III
---
(and make friends to the alchemist in Skingrad, she'll ask you an interesting question...)
Accountability in Gamin (Score:4, Insightful)
So I'm addicted to Oblivion, at least an hour a day of late. It's a great game, and one of the aspects that builds on this is that there is a sense of Accountability in the game. If you outright kill someone, things change. If you steal, people get pissed at you. If you punch someone, they go rounds with you. Isn't it more important when rating a game that it enforces proper consequences upon the player?
This is in addition to how ridiciulous it is that you can Mod it, therefore it's MA. Guess what, I can render porn in another well known program, called Windows, so I want it rated MA too (MA for what I say when it crashes).
--
Goblez
Ooh yeah (Score:3, Funny)
Now there's a candidate for rephrasing if ever I heard one.
Barbie Dolls are now Adult Only!! (Score:4, Insightful)
Dear ERSB... (Score:3, Insightful)
The Teen rating was appropriate. The Mature rating based off of third party modifications is not.
Re:The difference between this and The Sims 2 is.. (Score:5, Insightful)
Most games handle clothing by making it directly part of the character model. Oblivion models character bodies and clothing seperately. Although this approach increases the complexity of the graphics, it allows more reuse of art assests. With this approach, you can mix and match body types and clothing without having to redo the artwork for the different combos. This patch simply removes the clothing layer.
Also, according to the mod author's comments, the topless women don't quite look right. The models were designed to look right wearing clothing, not bare.
Re:The difference between this and The Sims 2 is.. (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Adult Quests (Score:3, Insightful)
Care to actually be informed and know what
Re:Oblivion nudity (Score:4, Informative)
The nude female skin included in the file isn't even female. The proportions are quite distinctly male as evidenced by the placement of the nipples being way too far appart and thus rendering them on the side of the breasts rather than the front when it is placed over the female upper body mesh in the mod. The mesh file of the supposed nude still distincly shows the folds of the bra (rendered normally as a folded up, dirty off-white cloth going around the upper body) giving the topless characters lumpy shadows where the bra was.
In other words, this was not a 'hidden' nudity thing. The males can be rendered without shirts and clothing made with exposure of various parts of the upper body. The female was made the same way, and since the nipples would never be shown, it didn't matter that they used the male skin 'skin' for it as well.
Re:Oh man! Are you kidding me? (Score:5, Informative)
I think that the presence of nipples are the foremost concern for those who object to the "nudity" nipples are apparently the most offensive part of the mammary and must therefore never be shown to children of any age. But if we consider the role a nipple might play in the modelling of armor and clothing (although I will admit that I have no experience in this matter and will defer to the knowledge of anyone who does), such as providing a boundary for how far the neck of a peice of attire can go. The nipple play a part in determining where a seam might be placed on a blouse or an indentation on a tight fitting dress.
Unlike the Hot coffee mod, which was an intentional inclusion of graphic content, Oblivion's mesh and texture were created to make the game run more smoothly and quite possibly as a modder's resource. The "nipple" on the topless mesh is barely distinguishable from the rest of the breast, and Bethsoft goes to great lengths to make it's content appropriate for younger audiences. For example, in Daggerfall (and Arena?) the book series known as "The Real Barenziah" had very graphic sexual content, Which they removed from Morrowind (and Oblivion) and replaced with the phrase "this passage has been removed by order of the church" They also removed all nude daedra or provided more consevative versions of them for Morrowind. I don't think Bethsoft ever intended for the mesh and texture to be used for this purpose, and while Bethesda certainly expected nude content to become available, they should not be obliged to provide such content for ESRB screening purposes.