http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/03/AR2006050302415.html.

Let that myth die already. The stuff that caused a rerating to M was in the game, just that the reviewers weren't initially made aware of it and gave it a T rating based on faulty information. The only game in the main series that got a legitimate T was Morrowind. The ESRB wasn't around for Arena (but would likely be given an M), Daggerfall got M, Morrowind got T, and Oblivion's legitmate rating is M. They've said that Skyrim will likely be M as well.

Blood, guts and bad words. That's truly mature!

Judging from how brutal the combat looks from what little we saw in the trailers. This is going to be rated M for sure.

The one comment we've seen is that Todd said "they're not aiming for a specific rating".


So, while it'll probably get M (since the combat system looks to be at least a little more violent than Oblivion's), they're not going to say "WOOHOO! M rated! Okay boys, throw in lots of curses and nudity!"


Which is good, because that'd be immature and silly.

So did Morrowind, and can you guess what it's rated? T, that's what.

And yes, as has been said, Oblivion was rated T as well upon release, than ESRB changed this rating, there seems to be some debate as to the reasons of this and I have no wish to participate in it, but it DOES show us that when ESRB first examined the game,

In any case, Bethesda is not aiming for a specific rating, if what we're told by them is true. They make the game they want, and let it get the rating ESRB sees fit, and that's what I'd want them to do. Because whether you want a T rating or M rating, going out of your way to get a specific rating may lead to developers making choices that could be harmful to the game for the sake of the rating. If you aim for a T or lower rating, then you may have to cut out some things so that it doesn't get anything higher, but if you decide to get an M rating from the start, you may need to add in unneeded swearing or a shot of a briast that serves absolutely no purpose just so it can get an M rating, and is that really better? As a player, the main advantage of M rated games to me is that there are fewer limitations as to what the game can have in it that way, but that's only an effective selling point if the game actually benefits from its "mature content". If the developers just tack on some pointless swearing purely for the sake of an M rating, though, not only might it not benefit the game, it could even become distracting as it does not fit with the feel of an otherwise tame game.

Still, Oblivion did seem a little too tame for an M rating, I agree, it basically felt like it only barely warranted its M rating, in fact, it felt more like a T rated game with a few more severed heads thrown in. So for Skyrim, I'd say bring on the blood and gore, I wouldn't even mind nudity if it isn't used too gratuitously, though I'm sure that won't happen. So long as everything is done in a way that's appropriate rather than being handled in a "Here's some blood and gore for you to gawk at." sort of way, I do believe Skyrim can benefit from being less conservative in the mature content department than the two most recent Elder Scrolls game.

I like Todd but I think he's lying through his teeth with that statement. Game Developers have to aim for a particular rating because they need to figure out ok what's my targeted audience and what can I put in this game. Do I put in a Blood svcking Harpie that's going to assure my Game is rated M or do I put in a less censored version of the Harpie and the game is rated T.

Honestly not bothered about rating lol. I was watching 18 movies when i was like 13 and stuff but im 18 now so its fine

You can appeal to the same target audience in different ways. For example, football games are mainly a bunch of sweaty men running into each other and a ton of beer commercials. God of War is a bare-chested buff guy and lots of boobs and blood. College frat boys love both.

Aiming for a rating and aiming for a target audience are only as related as the developer makes them. No person will see previews for an awesome game and then decide not to buy it because he sees it's rated T. There are lots of parents who won't let their kids get an awesome game because it's rated M. I'm not saying that this means you should make a game more kiddy, I'm saying you have more to lose by making it M for no good reason.

Besides, adding nudity, gore, and language to make it more "mature" is about as much like a 12-year-old squeeker trying to be cool as you can get.

Just because a game is rated M, doesn't mean it has to be distasteful.

I on the other hand, would love it. :tongue:

There is nothing wrong with gore, cursing and nudity in games like the Elder Scrolls IMO. They are not child games. Most of the target audience is advlt or atleast 16-17 year olds. They don't die because they see a little gore or a briast. Infact they probably see much worse things in movies on a daily basis.

That said, it shouldn't be over the top. I don't want to see something like God of War or anything... but finishing moves, cursing and a little nudity when it makes sense? I really don't understand why annyone would have a problem with that.

The point is that, just because something is M (or R, in the case of movies) doesn't mean you need to automatically pour in more blood / nudity / language. That's artistically bankrupt and immature. A game or movie should be designed the way it's "meant" to be.... and let the rating fall where it may.

(Ex.... you can have a drama intended for advlts, with not much cursing. You can have an action movie, intended for "young advlt males" with plenty of nudity and cursing. They're both R. But that doesn't mean the drama should have blood & language like the fratguy flick. The movies should be designed true to their purpose, not just loaded with random stuff because it's "R".)



Throwing in random gratuitous crap like that is pandering to the lowest common denominator, not making something good.

I bet you are wrong. I bet it was the nipbles. You know what a bunch of bass akwards witch-hunters run the show in these parts. CSI shows amputated limbs and blood a plenty every night on CBS at around 9 o' the clock, and never a peep is said. Justin Timberlake flashed one of Janet Jackson's nipbles for all of five seconds, ( pretty sure if you didn't have tivo and a zoom feature you probably couldn't even see it) in the same time slot on the same network. . . EXPLOSION of BS outrage over absolutely nothing. So I wouldn't be so sure. In a logical world the Dark Brotherhood quests, and all the gruesome corpses scattered in THe Deadlands, along the road to Kvaetch, and in the lairs of Necromancers wouldhave been the tipping point. .. but that is in a logical world. We don't live in any such a creature.

And I still don't see what the thing with ratings is for anyway. I've been exposed to blood, foul language and the existence of six for as long as I can remember. I became a serial murderer of anthropomorphic pixels the moment I started playing games and was even made aware of, hold your breath, the P-E-N-I-S while looking at the pictures in my first History coursebook. If the ratings I've so happily ignored my entire life really meant anything, I wonder just how dangerously degenerate I would be today...

I agree. All i am saying is that i don't think they should hold back when it makes sense.

In Morrowind, Oblivion and Fallout 3 it seemed like Bethesda was afraid to offend someone and that is certainly not a good thing either, atleast not from an artistic point of view. Granted, Fallout 3 was definitely better in the gore department, maybe even a little too good if you ask some people but personaly i think they did the right thing. There is no child friendly way to show your character beating a mutated scorpion to death... atleast not a good one anyway. Nudity would not only have made sense in a place like Desele's House of Earthly Delights, it would have added to the overall atmosphere and believability of the place Bethesda tried to portray.

:blink:

Just goes to show how perceptions are different. I thought Fallout 3 was pretty "out there" in regards to the kind of stuff you're talking about. I certainly hope that Skyrim is nothing like that, and would be surprised if it was - the TES universe has never had that sort of style to it.

idc what LA Noire or what Over the top bullet storm is doing. The Elder scrolls game are all about the roll playing not the cussing, advlt themes, and over the top gore. this game will be rated m and be more hardcoe than oblivion but dont expect hardcoe bulletstorm GTA cussing or super gorey stuff... or pedophiles. It will be enough to be worth being called an m rated game but u cant go too far with that with an elder scrolls title or ur kind of altering the image of the brand. I want it to be something someone young could play as well. I got into the elder scrolls when i was 13 or 14 and i would like for others to be introduced to it at that age as well and for the right reason not because it has the quirks of an M rated game. But thats just my opinion.

with the excutions im sure it will be rated M,

im not to worried about it i am sure it won't be like fallout gore (bloodymess perk)

im sure there will be more blood than OB, if i remeber nights of the nine added more gore to OB. i hoping blood looks more fluid like instead of just turning my sword red, make it shine in light on the sword and dry to a dark red, blood and snow seems like a great way for a tracking mission.

no i don't want gore to get out of hand, all i want is the gore to add more realism. Mature ratings should not mean it has cussing every five seconds, a mature rating means it should be a game for a more mature person.

nudity is not a problem for me, i recently played L.A noire, lots of nudity in that game,but it puts nudity into the game to add realism, not so i can undress a female character and prance around the streets naked.

Really... I dont get the appeal of having constant cursing and six references... It doesnt add to a game like Oblivion for ME personally... Maybe you like playing your games alone and hearing the cursing makes you feel the orgismic appeal of gaming.... But I play my games in my living room... with my protective father nearby wondering what his teenage daughter is up to. Perhaps make it an option? Like in some games, you can turn it off if you feel like it? That would be grand

As i said, Fallout 3 had gore but that really is the only thing which seperate it from Morrowind and Oblivion IMO.

I don't know about foul language but nudity is certainly not something new in the TES Universe. Daggerfall had it.

I don't want characters to curse and swear every 10 seconds. I hate it when people have a small unintelligent vocabulary. The oblivion scenes were pretty gory with the sacs of flesh and prisoners. Beth says they aren't aiming for a specific rating but it will probably be mature. I've never cut someone with a sword in real life but I bet blood doesn't spurt everywhere (unless jugular). Realistic gore isn't 'good' enough for many gamers now. I don't care about the gore, it's more about what the game allows me to do.

oblivion had gore, not alot but i remember seeing heads on stakes, to me thats pretty gorey, a little more realism to the blood would be nice though, i dont want it to be like fallout 3 gore, but make it real, an arrow through the chest is gonna make you bleed.
or another example, axes have a perk for bleed damage, so if someone is beleeding i should see it.

i could care less for cursing, they are just words. but other words can be used instead.

I'd say the ability to decapitate a person or not would be a significant difference in maturity levels. Not to mention F3 had much more cursing along with more drug, alcohol, sixual references than either Morrowind or Oblivion had.

OB was T with nipbles , if they go for some deep political / religious conflict okay but M just for some cheap nudity , blood stains and port side language will be [censored].

Non that I could take seriously. And skooma? Yeah it's a drug in name only. No down effect to the player at all

I find it odd that Oblivion got a M, and yet in Morrowind there is a strip bar, a homosixual that tells you to take off your clothes, and a Dremora that threatens to [censored] you.