It is all happening again.

Over at GamingDaily.biz, there is an interesting article regarding Bethesda Softworks’ new game - The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion for the PC and X360 - being re-rated by the Electronic Software Ratings Board (ESRB) on account of a recently created modification that allows full-frontal nudity on female avatars.

The inappropriate content is only available for the computer version of the game, and is accessed by renaming files in order to get the rendered female torso to appear in place of a regular character skin. The nudity was not intended to be accessible through natural methods within the game.

Since the game was re-rated, there has been an incredible uproar from members of the gaming community, Bethesda Softworks and the people in poltics who advocate video game legislation. All in all, the issue is a bit sticky.

The response from gamers has been mostly negative. Take a look at the comments from the article:

“As for the ‘nudefemaletop.nif’ file included in the game, people don’t seem to know how easy it is to access pornography on computers. What teenager who would download such a mod to replace the normal, scantily clad top female bodies would download that over the many free and easily accessible pornography agents strewn across the internet?”

“How can the ESRB base a rating off of a third party modification of a game? This seems completely illogical since any game, given enough time, can be modded into showing nude models, more gore, sexual themes, etc. I bet if given enough time and some motivation, experienced modders could turn Dora the Explorer for the PC into a M rated game… I am very disappointed with the ESRB.”

The following response was from Bethesda itself:

“”Bethesda didn’t create a game with nudity and does not intend [for] that nudity [to] appear in Oblivion. There is no nude female character in a section of the game that can be ‘unlocked.’”

The two gamer comments are the stereotypical rantings of a psychotic forum boy, who does not realise that gaming - as an art and hobby - is much bigger than his constant mirth. The response are shrouded in the naivity of someone who never really considered the issue.

Yes, pornography is rampant on the Internet and in print media. However, it is not the job of the ESRB to police such mediums. The ESRB was created to rate video games, and they are merely doing their job.

The second gamer comment, and the comment from Bethesda, shows that the Hot Coffee controversy of August 2005 has quickly been forgotten. To those who have let the memory fade into nothingness, allow me to refresh things.

The Hot Coffee controversy surrounded a game developed by Rockstar Games, entitled Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, becoming the “victim” of a third-party modification that allowed access to a sex mini-game originally encoded by the company which had been rendered inaccessible in the final, retail version of the game.

Rockstar, Take-Two Interactive and the ESRB were all slammed for the tremendous blunder. The ESRB re-rated the game one rating higher, moving it from Mature to Adults Only (a ratings decision that would kill the game in retail outlets). Rockstar recalled all copies and re-issued a new version with the content removed, and the new version was allowed to maintain its Mature rating. The ESRB - however - stayed under heavy scrutiny by any and all concerned parties, and was cited as being no longer an effective ratings system.

Fast-forward to now, and you can see that the same situation is occuring. A third party modification allows access to nude content that was originally programmed by Bethesda, but was not readily accessible in the final, retail version of Oblivion.

However, in this instance, the ESRB reacted in a pre-emptive strike to the inappropriate content and initially false rating. Rather than waiting for political activists to react first, the ESRB identified the problem and addressed it. The rating was changed from Teen to Mature - a change that will definitely not deter the success of sales - and the game was not forced to be recalled.

Even so, gamers are furious at the ESRB’s decision, not realizing that it was - in fact - in the best interests of gamers. The ESRB is showing to the government of the United States that it is dedicated to providing an accurate rating system that is beneficial to the consumer. If the government can see that the ESRB is actually a good thing, then we will likely see all variations of video game legislation plummet into purgatory, which - in the end - means more freedom for gaming on the whole.

Instead, gamers are taking offense to the new rating, despite the fact that it ultimately doesn’t matter. An Adults Only rating means that most retailers will not carry it. A Mature rating means that it is cool, and it becomes a must-have. Grand Theft Auto was rated Mature, and it is currently one of the best selling franchises on the consoles. This new rating is irrelevant, and gamers should drop the issue.

On Bethesda’s side of things, they need to accept that there was some undisclosed content. A miniscule slap on the wrist does not harm their business, nor does it destroy their companies image. The best course to take is to say that it was an oversight, that the ESRB did the right thing, and that they will make efforts to ensure no inappropriate content remains undisclosed in the future.

What people need to realise is that the ESRB is merely upholding the rules it laid in place after the Hot Coffee incident. Now, under the ESRB, even “locked” content is subject to review and rating. Bethesda had nude skins for avatars available on the disc, and neglected to submit it. The product was re-rated. However, the new rating is not damaging to sales.

End of story. Let it be.

EDIT: Also, the Senior Editor of Gamedaily’s blog content seems to really show that he has completely forgotten Hot Coffee. They are comparable situations. The only differences include the severity of the content and the haste with which the ESRB reacted. That’s it.

He says “Re-rating the game changes nothing, as people will still pick it up in droves.”

So then, what’s the problem? The ESRB does the morally upstanding thing politically, and it doesn’t change anything else. Let the issue go.

No, technically, the industry should have never allowed altered ratings because of Hot Coffee. Unfortunately, it chose to set the standard of re-ratings, and we have to live with it.