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Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion, one of the most popular games of the year, has had its rating changed by the ESRB from teen to mature. You can read the full story here.

As was the case of GTA, the rating change is the result of a third party mod. For Oblivion, the offence in question was of the topless texture mods, that allowed players to see exposed breasts on the female characters. I hate to point this out to parents and the ESRB, but if someone is smart enough to download and install the topless mod or even the hot coffee mod for GTA, then they are smart enough to gain access to whatever porn they want on the internet. Also, all the press that hot coffee received, made more people (read innocent children) aware of the mod than the internet ever did.

The ESRB had this to say, as quoted from the gamedaily piece: "It is increasingly important for parents to realize that PC games can be altered through the use of downloadable programs created by other players called 'mods' (short for modification), which are broadly available on the Internet and can change the content of a game. Since players create them, it is impossible for ESRB or any rating service to consider them in assigning a rating. However, some mods can alter a game in ways that may not be appropriate for younger players and may be inconsistent with the ESRB rating, so parents should be aware of their existence and, as always, do their best to monitor their child's gameplay."

This brings up a few interesting questions. Where does the ESRB draw the line? Is their warning not good enough? They just stated they cannot control third party mods, then why the ratings change? If mods that unlock content or even add new content to games can get a rating changed, then how long before developers start locking all the content of games out of fear of the industry? Why is killing ok in games, but not some nudity?

Bethesda, the makers of the game, say they will be releasing a patch to lock it on PC if you so choose. This is what they had to say about ESRB’s ruling.

"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.
We remain enormously proud of Oblivion and the standard of excellence in game development it represents. Oblivion is one of the highest rated games of all time and one of the most popular games available on the Xbox 360 and the PC. We greatly appreciate the understanding and support of our fans."

The full press release can be read here.

Look for a few lawsuits to pop up because of this, and for politicians to get photo ops with scared children who saw a cartoon breast. Parents just cannot be bothered to raise their own kids anymore. Remember we need the government to take care of us.

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