I found this on a number of boards. Probably everyone has allready read this.
My question is this: how do they plan to police all the mods out there? The only way I could see this happening is if they completely disable the ability to mod any game for any reason whatsoever. I just love how thier attempting to blame mod designers for what happened with GTA:SA when it was Rockstar's damn fault!!
I hope all that this means is that the ESRB will place a warning sticker on games that tells the buyer that the game experience may change after installing 3rd party plug-ins and/or modifications.
Or they could set up an adult verification system of some sort with password protected games. Maybe even some sort of packing utility like winrar could be used as a verification system of some sort. Just simply require that if a mod may have questionable content to place it in a special packing utility that requires verification of some sort.
As far as I'm concerned, the note about 3rd party modifications is only the ESRB trying to cover it's ass with something similar to how they say "content may change with online play". They're not going to say "we're not going to rate you if you allow mods", but rather might put one of those annoying parental advisory notices on games that say "Third party content is not rated by the ESRB".
mob-messenger wrote:I hope all that this means is that the ESRB will place a warning sticker on games that tells the buyer that the game experience may change after installing 3rd party plug-ins and/or modifications.
they already do......? all of my PC Games and the newest PS2 games capable of going online, have that exact warning written in both the manual and on the box. my HALO PC Version even has it on it, and i know that came out WAAAAAAAAAY before GTA:San Andreas.
so whats the issue here? some 85 year old granny wants money? because thats all i see. its her greediness and her fault for buying a game for a kid it wasnt meant for.
They are not 'getting rid' of partial/total conversions (Mainly called MODs). They are against having MODs (hacks really) that unlock EXSISTING content. All hot coffee did was 'unlock' what Rockstar had developed and made in the first place.
It was in the game and should be considerd when rating a game.
It is NOT speaking of 3rd party 'MODs' that add textures, models and change gameplay like Team Fortress or Desert Combat. (Total/Partial conversions)
The use of the word MOD is the real problem here. I do think of the Hot Coffee 'MOD' as a easter egg or hack simmillar to cheat codes that unlock previously exsisting but unused models/textures like Darth Maul in Tony Hawk.
The problem lies in the real question - Did Rockstar not remove the unused content because they knew (or leaked themselves) the information to enable that part of the game to get around exsisting ratings standards. Since you cannot prove intentions, all content used or not, should be considered in rating a game.
I read somewhere, can't remember where right now, nor do I have the time too look it up that they were looking into Desert Combat and a number of other mods. Could have just been a paraniod geek. I remember it was on one of the gaming boards anyway. :\
Look, all of this is people speculating about how this is going to affect Desert Combat, some archane mod for KOTOR, ect. Thats just people trying to sensationalize the idea that pretty soon the ESRB will knock down their door and confiscate their computer because it has Desert Combat in it. The fact of the matter is MODS themselves cannot be controlled and they will not be banned. Thats just hogwash. All that will happen is the ESRB (which is a bunch of knee jerk hippy-pant no brainers anyway) are going to tighten the noose around developers to disclose any content on the disc that is both presented and hidden.
God forbid a parent buys for their underage kid a game with sex when it should just have excessive swearing, drugs, and crime!
The argument that the Hot Coffee was a "mod" made by a third party didn't sastisfy Clinton or Thompson.
I thinking that the degree of modability and a publisher's willingness to enforce their games rating probably will have an affect on the rating a game recieves.
I just love how thier attempting to blame mod designers for what happened with GTA:SA when it was Rockstar's damn fault!!
