From The Escapist, the magazine that occasionally takes itself a wee bit too seriously, an interesting wrap up of the 2006 Oblivion topless mod/subsequent ESRB re-rating issue. At the core is the idea a developer or publisher could be punished - by bumping an original T rating up to an M - for content that they didn't produce or distribute. But with their hands tied - a game without a rating is a game that can't be sold in retail stores - Bethesda agreed to abide by the ESRB decision. But was the Oblivion problem a blip on the radar screen, or a sign of larger future problems lurking in the distance?

Looking back, there's a reason the incident didn't make bigger headlines: The news dropped in May, just a week before the last real E3 event, and there were bigger stories to cover that month. But with player-centric content vehicles like LittleBigPlanet and PlayStation Home on this year's docket, last year's ESRB decision may prove to be the gift that keeps on giving for an already beleaguered industry.

Maggie Greene

The Breasts That Broke the Game [The Escapist]

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