Poll: T rated oblivion

[William Dickbringer]

My sister picked up oblivion for 360 because I told her about everything about it and when I looked at the cover on it I noticed the T rating instead of the M rating I am use to and I was wondering if anyone else has these T rated copies?

 

[Dusquad]

I do. I believe it should still be rated T

 

[madwarper]

Wikipedia exists for a reason.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ESRB_re-rating_of_The_Elder_Scrolls_IV:_Oblivion

On May 3, 2006, the North American Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) changed the rating of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, a video game for PCs, the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360, from Teen (13+) to Mature (17+). The ESRB cited the presence of content not considered in their original review in the published edition of Oblivion. This included detailed depictions of blood and gore and sexually explicit content. The sexually explicit content was an art file, made accessible by a third party modification called the Oblivion Topless Mod, that rendered the game with topless female characters.[2][3]

In response to the new content, the ESRB conducted a new review of Oblivion, showing to its reviewers the content originally submitted by the game's publisher along with the newly disclosed content. The new review resulted in an M rating. The ESRB reported that Bethesda Softworks, the game's developer and publisher, would promptly notify all retailers of the change, issue stickers for retailers and distributors to affix on the product, display the new rating in all following product shipments and marketing, and create a downloadable patch rendering the topless skin inaccessible.[3] Bethesda complied with the request, but issued a press release declaring their disagreement with the ESRB's rationale.[4] Although certain retailers began to check for ID before selling Oblivion as a result of the change,[5][6] and the change elicited criticism for the ESRB,[7][8] the events passed by with little notice from the public at large.[2] Other commentators remarked on the injustice of punishing a company for the actions of its clients,[2][9] and one called the event a "pseudo-sequel" to the Hot Coffee minigame controversy.[10]

 

[Mouse_Crouse]

if I remember correctly all the original copies were rated "T", then after a revisit to the Brotherhood quests it got re-branded a "M". But that was internet hearsay so don't take it as fact.

Edit: Madwarper beat me by a few seconds. And his answer is more complete and correct.

 

[Krion_Vark]

My sister picked up oblivion for 360 because I told her about everything about it and when I looked at the cover on it I noticed the T rating instead of the M rating I am use to and I was wondering if anyone else has these T rated copies?

I own one of thsoe elusive copies for I bought it used from Gamestop like 4 years after it came out.

 

[TheYellowCellPhone]

The console versions are rated T, but the PC versions are rated M because of various nudity mods you can install.

Or, so I'm told.

 

[Hungry Donner]

if I remember correctly all the original copies were rated "T", then after a revisit to the Brotherhood quests it got re-branded a "M". But that was internet hearsay so don't take it as fact.

The ESRB was less clear than it should have been about their reasons for upgrading Oblivion to an M rating, and this resulted in a lot of speculation and guessing on the part of gamers that just muddled things more.

At first the topless art file seemed to be the sole issue, and since this was completely inexpressible without hacking the art file (unlike Hot Coffee) the reasoning felt flimsy at best. When further comments were made about gore many accused them of trying to cover the fact that their original reason didn't make sense . . . however as far as I could tell gore was part of their original reasoning, but after the Hot Coffee scandal the initial reports only focused on the topless art file.

There were parts of Oblivion that were pretty gory but it didn't really feel like an M rated game to me. Then again the ESRB has had a number of odd calls in the past, such as Giants Citizen Kabuto, where the developer seemed to tone down the elements getting them an M rating but they were slapped with one anyway.

 

[frizzlebyte]

Nope. Always wished I had one though, if only because they are rare.

 

[ScrubberDucky]

They rated the PC version "M" because somebody told the news corporations that it had a topless mod around. Which shouldn't have happened, since the game itself didn't contain any nudity.. but regardless, that's why. The console version(s) should be rated T.

 

[Mikeyfell]

The box says M but the disk says T it's like that on every copy of Oblivion I've seen

I actually think it's like that on every copy released in 2004

 

[Whoatemysupper]

The console versions are rated T, but the PC versions are rated M because of various nudity mods you can install.

Or, so I'm told.

No I have the PS3 version and it's M.

 

[madwarper]

I actually think it's like that on every copy released in 2004

I highly doubt that... Considering the game wasn't released until 2006.

 

[Blastinburn]

First copy of Oblivion I played was a T rated copy, it belonged to a friend of mine. These T rated copies are the first ones that were made, the game was recalled and re-reviewed after the hot coffee fiasco and nudity mods. The ratings board found objectionable content that had not been shown to them in the original demonstration, this is why it was re-rated M. (this is for all versions of the game, PC and XBox360, Ps3 version had not been released.)

 

[evilneko]

I don't think games should be rated based on the possible mods, even if the mod is just putting unused resources into play. That would lead to countless many games receiving higher ratings than deserved.

Hell, by that logic, Oblivion, Fallout 3, and Fallout New Vegas should all get AO ratings. Come to think of it, considering certain mods which I shall not name, they should be banned!

 

[Mikeyfell]

I actually think it's like that on every copy released in 2004

I highly doubt that... Considering the game wasn't released until 2006.

Oh. Oops.

I mean 2006.

Me and a friend bought it right when it came out and we both got T rated disks.

 

[Saelune]

I have it rated T, but I boight Oblivion day 1, just like I will buy Skyrim day 1 (despite some bad ideas, like the armor)

 

[Jim Stacey]

If I'm not mistaken, the retailer from which I bought my copy just put a little M sticker over the instances where T was printed on the box.

 

[Vangaurd227]

Yeh i have a t-rated copy....when i got it i looked at the shelf it was on and noticed something...the game of the year edition is rated t yet the stand alone copy is rated m....I'm not sure whats going on here