In 2006, the Entertainment Software Rating Board changed the rating of
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion from Teen (13+) to Mature (17+), citing
"more detailed depictions of blood and gore" than had been previously
considered, and "the presence in the PC version of the game of a
locked-out art file that, if accessed by using an apparently
unauthorized third party tool,"—the Oblivion Topless Mod—"allows the
user to play the game with topless versions of female characters." In
response to the new content, the ESRB conducted a new review of
Oblivion, showing to its reviewers the content originally submitted by
the game's publisher along with the newly disclosed content. The new
review resulted in an M rating. The ESRB reported that Bethesda
Softworks, the game's developer and publisher, would promptly notify
all retailers of the change, issue stickers for retailers and
distributors to affix on the product, display the new rating in all
following product shipments and marketing, and create a patch for
download rendering the topless skin inaccessible. Bethesda complied
with the request, but issued a press release declaring their
disagreement with the ESRB's rationale. Although certain retailers
began to check for ID before selling Oblivion as a result of the
change, and the change elicited criticism for the ESRB, the events
passed by with little notice from the public at large. Other
commentators remarked on the injustice of punishing a company for the
actions of independent modders, and one called the event a
"pseudo-sequel" to the Hot Coffee minigame controversy.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ESRB_re-rating_of_The_Elder_Scrolls_IV%3A_Obli…
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1770:
The pelting of British soldiers with snowballs soon escalated into a
riot in Boston, Massachusetts, leaving at least five civilians dead.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Massacre)
1824:
Britain officially declared war on Burma, beginning the First
Anglo-Burmese War.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Anglo-Burmese_War)
1850:
The Britannia Bridge, a tubular bridge of wrought iron rectangular
box-section spans crossing the Menai Strait between the island of
Anglesey and the mainland of Wales, opened.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britannia_Bridge)
1872:
American entrepreneur and engineer George Westinghouse patented the
air brake for trains to stop more reliably.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/air_brake_%28rail%29)
1946:
The term "Iron Curtain" was popularized by former British Prime
Minister Winston Churchill during a speech at Westminster College in
Fulton, Missouri, USA.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Curtain)
1970:
The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, an international treaty to
limit the spread of nuclear weapons, entered into force.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_Non-Proliferation_Treaty)
1999:
Paul Okalik was elected as the first Premier of the Canadian
territory of Nunavut.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Okalik)
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Wiktionary's Word of the day:
viscous: Having a thick, sticky consistency between solid and liquid.
(
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/viscous)
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Wikiquote of the day:
Technology adds nothing to art. Two thousand years ago, I could tell
you a story, and at any point during the story I could stop, and ask,
Now do you want the hero to be kidnapped, or not? But that would, of
course, have ruined the story. Part of the experience of being
entertained is sitting back and plugging into someone else's vision.
-- Penn Jillette
(
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Penn_Jillette)