Want Oblivion? Better have your I.D. Ready

We’re all well-knowing of last year’s infamous hot-coffee Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas scandal that resulted in a rating change for the product. Now it looks like Take Two Software has another problem on its hands as the ESRB has found more objectionable content in a game after the initial rating was received. The “offender” this time is the The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion for Xbox 360 and PC, and just like last time, the “mature” content is gameplay that was not meant to be accessed in the actual product itself.

Apparently there is a “nude skin” accessible in the PC version of the popular title, but that is only if you mod the game to allow it. In other words, it’s not meant to be in the product and is a result of the modding community. Bethesda and Take-Two software did NOT mean for this content to be included in the game. However, the ESRB will be warning of nudity in the product on future editions on the game’s box, anyway, at least "until it can be re-mastered and released with the topless skin removed.".

Also, beyond the hacked-in skin, the ESRB has also claimed that the game contains “excessive blood and gore those goes beyond a Teen (T) rating and are acting like Bethesda was attempting to “hide” this information and content from the ESRB during the rating process. Here is Bethesda’s’ response to this controversy:

“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."


A reworked version of the title is not planned, and the rating will be shot up a rating of “Mature” (M) by the ESRB for both systems’ the game is on.

All I can hear is Jack Thompson laughing like a maniac from here…