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GameTrailers, by way of video podcast "Invisible Walls," has ripped the ESRB to shreds following the forced removal of Fallout 3 content from the site. Using the kind of language that has killed elderly women, editor-in-chief Shane Satterfield and co-star "Grumpy" criticized the way in which the ESRB has handled the promotion for Bethesda's latest game, likening their activities to those of the Mafia.

GamePolitics handily transcribed some of the show comments, which you can read after the jump. You can also listen to the full thing, which kicks in after around the 26-minute mark. The basic story, however, is that the ESRB ordered the removal of Bethesda's material from GT, which obviously hacked them off. In response, GameTrailers made its own violent Fallout 3 video, which the ESRB had no jurisdiction over. However, the ESRB allegedly retaliated by forcing the publisher to ask GT to take it down, under the threat that GT and that publisher might not be able to work together in the future.

Naturally, this has disgusted the GameTrailers crew and if this is how it went down, who can blame them? The ESRB seems to be going the way of the BBFC -- flaunting power for the sake of it and protecting its own dignity rather than the needs of game makers. From the sounds of it, the ratings board went above and beyond both its duty and its jurisdiction, seemingly just to make a point.  

The ESRB is now in a convenient position where it has become the standard for the industry, and as such, can act how it pleases. Absolute power, however, corrupts absolutely. While its job is a necessary one, things like this breed nothing but contempt between the board and the industry it claims to serve. Whoever was in charge of this rather bizarre and unnecessary Fallout 3 situation might want to reconsider whether they want to work for a ratings board, or the Chinese government.

Grumpy: Wankers! ...I am just absolutely flabbergasted about the ESRB. They're a bunch of bleepwads sitting in Washington.

Shane: Hear, hear!

Grumpy: ...they get publishers to pull video footage. They assisted in getting the Fallout 3 ads taken out of Washington because some dumb bleepwit... on a bus got upset that they were showing images of decimated Washington...

Shane: Never watched a movie before!

Grumpy: Exactly. It's a futuristic, post-apocalyptic game. I am so sick of this nanny state... they are not a government organization. They are a body made up of unqualified nincompoops... unfortunately, they're taking the nanny state to the nth degree... They make the FCC look like a bunch of broad-minded, non-censorship individuals... It sucks that Bethesda had to pull all this Fallout 3 stuff, because it was bleeping good media...

Shane: All age-gated...

Grumpy: ...nobody could get at it. But because some little toe-rag at ESRB decides to get pissed off about something, all that good work is gone... Good job, Bethesda. It sucks that they have to kowtow to the ESRB...

Shane: I hate the ESRB... The week before that we had gotten an exclusive on a trailer... suddenly we get a call... and the publisher is telling us to take it down because of the ESRB... The ESRB can only regulate media that the publishers send us. Anything that we create in-house, as GameTrailers, they can't touch... we'll make our own violent-as-hell trailer that they can't do anything about. So we did. We put it up, it was huge... then we get a call from publisher X [who said] "...the ESRB is putting pressure on us and so that bleep is going to run downhill to where we can't work with you guys unless you do what the ESRB says" ...they are like the frickin' Mafia... These people have totally gone like a frickin' power trip...


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43 comments | showing # 1 to 43

Holyetheline's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/09/2008 14:06
Holyetheline
That's disgusting that the ESRB would go through all that trouble over a few trailers. So lame.
Funky Goodness's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/09/2008 14:11
Funky Goodness
I find it funny that Fallout 3 gets away totally scot free with literally eyeball popping gore, yet stuff like No More Heroes and Manhunt 2 get banned/censored over here in Europe.

And STILL they find a way to extract some form of controversy from it.
Jordan Devore's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/09/2008 14:13
Jordan Devore
I pray for the day when the industry doesn't have to deal with garbage like this.
Funky Goodness's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/09/2008 14:14
Funky Goodness
I find it funny that Fallout 3 gets away totally scot free with literally eyeball popping gore, yet stuff like No More Heroes and Manhunt 2 get banned/censored like fuck over here in Europe.

And they STILL find a way to extract some form of controversy from it...
nukka jdav's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/09/2008 14:17
nukka jdav
Holy cow, I'm actually enraged about this.
Rosseh's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/09/2008 14:24
Rosseh
This is beyond a joke. They do this kind of crap and the whole deal with them making the limited edition Gears 2 Lancer gold because it looked too much like a real gun this whole thing is getting way out of hand.

We need to do something about this. I say we think of something along the lines of a protest. We can't just sit and complain about these things. We need to get out there and make people aware just how ridiculous this whole thing is and how unhappy we are.
Corak's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/09/2008 14:24
Corak
Yup they can show a movie poster for Saw V, where some guys face is pulled over another guys face and tied in the back and people say nothing. Show DC after a war and some fuckwit bitches. Didn't Independence Day have a picture of the white house and an alien ship over it, firing its weapon? No one complained about that? The fuck is wrong with people? Seriously. I wish I could meet these people to complain face to face.

Which of these posters looks worse to you? Both I have no problem with, but if it was say my kid, I'd say the one for Saw.



ace of knaves's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/09/2008 14:49
ace of knaves
I doubt this kind of douchery is going to end anytime soon. I mean, the MPAA still pulls shit like this all the time. *sigh*, at least I don't live in Australia.
Furyfire's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/09/2008 15:00
Furyfire
...Yay for stupid people and their pet peeves.

The ESRB needs a new set of people to do their stinkin' 'reviews' of games with open freakin' minds. :P
CelicaCrazed's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/09/2008 15:01
CelicaCrazed
Maybe the ESRB is fed up with all the trolls on GT as well ^_^
Funky Goodness's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/09/2008 15:05
Funky Goodness
Damn double post glitches...
Qraze's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/09/2008 15:12
Qraze
it ain't gonna end until we the gamers who play the games makes up a true ratings board devoid of pay offs and silly policies. WE THE GAMERS and not the soccer moms.
it will end when their is a competition to rate a game based on content. i said it and would love to create it, we just need some great sound ideas and policies concerning content and only content. publicity should not be rated by the same company, only content should. if you agree or think this is a bullshit idea, please add your critisism but be constructive and not attackative(?).
Volomon's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/09/2008 15:16
Volomon
They could easily replace ESRB, all they have to do is get PS3 Xbox and the Wii involved.
naia-the-gamer's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/09/2008 15:21
naia-the-gamer
I've been saying this for a while, but our country has gotten way too uptight over stuff like this.

What happened?
Phoenix Gamma's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/09/2008 15:22
Phoenix Gamma
Wait a second. Someone explain this for me.

The ERSB rates games...so why the bloody hell are they involved with this at all? This isn't about rating games, so why are they making people take shit down?

That's like me becoming the head of some car regulation board, then going down the street and telling the gas station to lower their prices because I'm the car regulation man. Or something like that.

It's fucking dumb.
BS3 Owner's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/09/2008 15:35
BS3 Owner
Remember the ESRB forced GameTrailers once to take down Dark Sector videos too. Because of the gruesome nature of the ingame footage.

As long as they stick to videos. & still bring Video Games Uncensored here in the US... I'm willing to deal with it.

Except this does bring up proceed with caution warning flags!
CypherVR's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/09/2008 15:35
CypherVR
someone's got some sand in their vagina >_>
Qraze's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/09/2008 15:35
Qraze
screw they, its we. no pay offs. only rate content sold as is and in later patches or dlc. no control over adds or publicity. that should lie with the publisher not a fucking ratings board for the actual game.
realyst's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/09/2008 15:44
realyst
@naia-the-gamer

Fuckwit right-wing religious extremists that force their world view by beseeching the lessons of a centuries-out-of-date book many of them never even read.

This becomes every more present as the baby boomers approach the age of death and want a cozy deity to welcome them as his 'favorite child' once the inevitable happens.
A New Challenger's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/09/2008 15:51
A New Challenger
You know those religious zealots who eagerly await Judgment Day and hope to see it in their lifetime so they get to see the Rapture and the Earth cleansed of the wicked? I hate to say it, but I kind of know how they feel. I envision a scenario where the Feds finally take over rating content for movies or games, and then instead of private entities being able to censor through contracts and pressure it becomes a legitimate First Amendment issue and no "chilling effect" pressure to alter content or advertising will be applied, a rating will simply be assigned and people will act appropriately based on the rating.

Of course, like the Rapture scenario, this is a complete and utter fairyland fantasy, as one need only look at the FCC to see how things would in fact play out, not to mention how little the federal government seems to think of the Constitution lately. But, on some days, I do dream of being the Lamb of Gaming God and breaking that seventh seal.
Volomon's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/09/2008 15:53
Volomon
@BS3 Owner Hate to wake you up but they censor a lot more than you are even aware of apparently. Most of time we don't even find out because it's not a public matter it's between the Publisher and ESRB. The few times we do find out it's because someone inside bitches. Even a kid from ESRB bitched about it.
Qraze's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/09/2008 16:07
Qraze
a kid from esrb? how old was this kid and how did he have any pull? just curious as to why they would allow a kid to judge a game but can't vote if he in-fact was a kid.
DJDuffy 's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/09/2008 17:20
DJDuffy
Those ESRB idiots, I can't believe that. Are there no pro-game lobbyists in Washington that can stand up to this BS?
Syn's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/09/2008 17:27
Syn
The ESRB is optional for game publishers yes? Or did it become mandatory at some point? They should just give them a giant 'fuck you' and not let them rate any of their shit any more.
ThunderHeartXI's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/09/2008 17:29
ThunderHeartXI
@DJDuffy

They're a bunch of uptight geezers, you honestly expect one of them to be pro-games?

I can only pray for the day when I'll have something like Ichi the Killer in my hands. But, until then, I'll just be angry at the ESRB and their shitty nazi policies.
Mxyzptlk's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/09/2008 17:49
Mxyzptlk
As obnoxious as I typically find the ESRB, better them rating games than the government.
bart999's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/09/2008 19:15
bart999
ESRB=fuckwads
TrailerParkJesus's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/09/2008 20:17
TrailerParkJesus
Good job ESRB. That's what rating boards totally do.
Alexradl's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/09/2008 20:37
Alexradl
Mxy is right, while the ESRB sucks huge lobster milkshakes, they are far better than having government mandated ratings.

Syn:

While the ESRB is optional, no big/well-known publisher would ever take the risk of releasing a game without a rating from the ESRB.
B-Radicate's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/09/2008 21:09
B-Radicate
They know Gears 2 allows you to saw men in half (advertised as taint to head) and bash people's faces in with the butts of your gun, or even your hands, right?

This disgusts me. Not the content, mind you, but what lengths the ESRB went to to perform an act that is wholly outside its power and purpose.
Qraze's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/09/2008 22:05
Qraze
well, i guess a bad idea was a bad idea,so another dream down the tube that could actually be good.
also, ichi the killer was fucking awesome yet a bit confusing but awesome!
Stonedfox's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/09/2008 22:54
Stonedfox
Is there a way to make an example of ESRB, the way they tried to make an example of Gametrailers here? I think someone needs to NOT hack their website and NOT call them out for the bowel-movement faced, intercourse heads they are.
Qraze's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/09/2008 23:17
Qraze
lets just raid their offices and kill their cattle and firstborns.
Coldbrand's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/10/2008 00:35
Coldbrand
If they're so much worse than government regulated ratings than why are they acting like bigger fucking bullies?

There was no point to this short of flaunting power. They've outlived their usefulness.
Conan-san's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/10/2008 01:31
Conan-san
BBFC DINOSAUR ATTACKS AGAIN!

Do Your Bit! ATTACK THE DINOSUAR AND STARVE IT OF IT@S MAIN FOOD !
Cynical Gamer's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/10/2008 06:29
Cynical Gamer
I look forward to the day they get rid of the ESRB and age checks on video sites.
parrothead's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/10/2008 08:48
parrothead
Politics as usual in the USA
Syn's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/10/2008 09:26
Syn
I suppose getting all the companies to work together against a common enemy is out of the question. If everyone dropped ESRB at the same time it wouldn't be such a risk. Especially if they started rating their own games.
Dexter345's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/10/2008 14:34
Dexter345
Yikes.
MailboxHead's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/10/2008 16:03
MailboxHead
Hurry everyone make your own ultra-violent trailer's and post em on youtube!
Citizen Erased's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/10/2008 16:46
Citizen Erased
I love Invisible Walls and the ESRB sound like a bunch of dickholes.
Jinky Williams's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/10/2008 20:04
Jinky Williams
"Wait a second. Someone explain this for me.

The ERSB rates games...so why the bloody hell are they involved with this at all? This isn't about rating games, so why are they making people take shit down?

That's like me becoming the head of some car regulation board, then going down the street and telling the gas station to lower their prices because I'm the car regulation man. Or something like that."

Or something like that. Your analogy makes the good point of showing how absurd the situation is that a ratings board has the power to forcibly affect change like that.
ender_x's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/11/2008 00:37
ender_x
I hope the ESRB will be okay. What, with Gametrailers hating them and all.
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