According to Gamasutra.com, the ESRB sent out the
warning in an email to major publishers, advising:
“Coding around scenes, images, or similar
elements that might be pertinent to a rating assignment does not
render this content irrelevant from a ratings standpoint. If a
publisher wishes to 'edit out' pertinent content from a final
product, it must remove the content from the disc altogether. If
that is not feasible, the pertinent content must be disclosed to
the ESRB during the rating process so it can be taken into account
in the assignment of a rating."
The watchdog has asked publishers to review games published
since 1st September 2004, and to let it know by
9th January if the games contain any hidden content –
even if the content is inaccessible to players – that may affect
the current rating of the titles.
Failure to notify the ESRB of any such content will create
difficulties for the publisher if it subsequently becomes playable
through either authorised or unauthorised modifications, warns the
email. The ESRB threatens “punitive in addition to corrective
actions,” but does not elaborate.
The rating board’s tough stance comes in the wake of a furore
over top-selling game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
The game was re-rated to “Adults Only” by the ESRB in the
summer, after it was shown to contain hidden sexually-explicit
material, accessible to gamers who downloaded a software patch
known as Hot Coffee.
A new version of the game, without the hidden material, is due
in shops shortly, according to reports.
