Don't know how to post links, but a short article on Playstationlifestyle just a few hours ago details why the ESRB chose to give ESO an M rating.

TL;DR:

* Some sequences depict large amounts of blood streaming up-close as vampires attack/feed on characters.

* Some environments depict corpse piles or skeletons hanging from torture devices

* Text descriptions or dialogue sometimes contain references to sixual material and/or innuendos (ie Lusty Argonian Maid, Molag Bal's vampire story)

And finally some things about alcohol consumption:

One sequence prompts players to engage in a drinking contest, resulting in the central characters blurred vision and slurred speech.

I don't think its even remotely Mature enough as they put, blood was non existant and Molag bal realm had to be depicted somehow, I think they overacted to that one.

But I like that zos stood their ground on this one and didn't alter the game aesthetics for some overacted label.

To be fair I, and many others I'm sure, knew the moment they announced ESO it would be rated M, heck one needs only to read up on Molag Bal to understand why the M rating.

And they could had done far far more with molag bal since the whole vampire story comes from "unwilling intimacy" (haha xD), but they purposely left that out since it would be quite hard to represent that ingame without sounding alarm bells that the whole game is about pormography. Would had loved some subtle reference to "unwilling intimacy" to preserve the true molag bal, but it's fine as it is.

Rating never stopped ppl before infact I'd go to say a high rating brings in more ppl.

Well, that basically confirms that the ESRB are pretty much the same as the MPAA: a useless bunch of self-righteous moral crusaders with no real understanding of the world around them.

Pretty much, but that was evident as soon as the ESRB came into existence as a wild over-reaction to parents losing their minds at Mortal Kombat.

Good.

As ive reached the advlt stage in my life, im more than happy to finally (hopefully) have a nice gritty game to enjoy with hopefully a lesser amount of screaming arguing children.

Its an OPINION but i for one was very happy when it got the M rating and i hope they push the game til its close to breaking into the next higher rating.

There's always that one ('m?rik?n) parent that will use his/her time, browse all the files on the DVD, find one naked female texture among all the thousands of textures used in the game, and tries to sue Bethesda. M is good for avoiding that.

What age rating is "M"?

In the UK the ratings are as follows.

Morrowind 12
Oblivion 15
Skyrim 18

Elder Scrolls Online 12

Don't really see the issue pretty much means the games available to all.

M means any child under 17 needs a parents permission though with digital downloads and whatnot ratings are all but useless nowadays.

I believe 18 and over otherwise it would be labeled t for teens

M = mature, 17 and up.

In Europe Skyrim was both 15 and 18 depending on the box distributor.

Would it? I think I prefer the UK way of using actual ages.

Don't see how it's rated for age 12 and over here but 17 and over else where?

Old news. I'm very pleased that it turned out to be rated M.

Another good thing about M rating(which is 17+ in US) is that they don't have to hold back on more advlt(not porm lol) content, themes , and storylines in future updates.

The whole story about Molag Bal starting the vampire race is actually ingame, Lenthas. 'Unwilling intimacy' and all

Well there ya go

things will only get grittier with ole Mo around

this should sum up the story well.

Maybe with less smiles though... hmm... maybe..

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/bf/Eeny_Teeny_Maya_Moe.png

I still remember the "heated" arguments at the forums by people having to strip naked in front of Uncle Crassius in Morrowind for non-mainline related quest. There were actually serious people who were thinking of suing Bethesda for being "[censored]" in the game. M is a good age limit.

I loled

omg I almost forgot about good ole Unlce Crassius, guy was a riot.

EDIT: Ack meant to edit this into the above post =/

Yet morrowind is also rated age 12 and over in the UK.

All this leads me to believe they are far too strict in the US with the ratings

Funny uk, ban pormography, but their idea of "safe" outside that remains normal, hypocrites in power ftw... xD

I doubt any parent looking for objectionable material has ever done that. It takes some technical skill, knowledge and determination to open a game's art files. If you're doing that, you're a fan of the game or an artist, and unlikely to misinterpret a nvde texture that doesn't appear in game. I assume you're talking about the M rating Oblivion got some years ago. In that instance, I am fairly sure some hobbyist put that info on the net, and it was picked up by some news site where it could be misinterpreted by non-fans.

I am pleased as punch that, for a Mature rated game, ESO seems pretty tasteful. Most games throw gore, violence, and male fanservice into a game to appeal to the lowest common denominator, mistaking shock value for maturity. ESO uses the Mature rating so they can make a better story.