Tagged News: esrb

Following earlier surprising news stating that no nudity whatsoever will be featured in Age of Conan's North American edition, a new post by Funcom's community manager Shannon "Pharamond" Drake claimed that the same version will in fact, include nipples, but not full nudity:

It has come to our attention that the North American edition of the game was submitted (by Eidos) to the ESRB without any server-side censorship:

-full blood
-full fatalities
-breasts with nipples
-not full nudity

The ESRB reviewed our application and gave us a rating of Mature 17+. The full rating with descriptors has not yet been publicly announced but will be posted on the ESRB web site on 13 February 2008.

This announcement came as a relief to many Conan fans, who would like to keep the brutal and seedy theme of Hyboria intact.

Reuters reports that the ESRB has re-evaluated Manhunt 2 and labeled it "Mature", a move that effectively allows the game to be released in the United States on Halloween. The article contains no word on what if any measures Take 2 undertook to get the new rating.

"Manhunt 2," a brutally violent video game that was effectively banned in the United States, has risen from the grave in a modified form and will go on sale for Halloween, its publisher said.

Take-Two Interactive Software Inc (TTWO.O) said a new version of the game, which features an insane asylum escapee killing enemies in gruesome ways, had won a "Mature" rating from the U.S. Entertainment Software Ratings Board, meaning it is meant for players aged 17 and over.

Read more here.

Found on Slashdot Games, there is a story that looks at the impact a new Windows Vista feature will have on indie games. Essentially, Vista lets administrators block games by rating on their machines, but since ESRB ratings cost developers a couple grand, most indie games don't go through the hassle. As such, indie games may not work - regardless of the content - for people using this tool.

Here's to hoping that ESRB picks up on this, realizes the damage it is doing to indie developers and the diservice to those who want ratings and offers some kind of "free" rating to games that can document themselves as truly and completely indie/low-budget. Not likely, but I can dream.

Check out the original article on GameDaily and the follow-up on GigaGamez.