GAME EXPERIENCE MAY CHANGE DURING ONLINE PLAY

Weirdest splash screen message evah.

Never saw this on CoX, but it shows up prominently in LotRO, and, gauging from Google, it shows up various other games. 

My initial thought was that it was a warning about variable game performance, but evidently it’s an ESRB stock warning.

Online games that include user-generated content (e.g., chat, maps, skins) carry the notice “Game Experience May Change During Online Play” to warn consumers that content created by players of the game has not been rated by the ESRB.

 

I.e., LotRO is rated T-for-Teens …

Titles rated T (Teen) have content that may be suitable for ages 13 and older. Titles in this category may contain violence, suggestive themes, crude humor, minimal blood, simulated gambling, and/or infrequent use of strong language.

… but some yahoo may come up with a character name or shout something on the Chat channel that is inappropriate for that rating (if it were part of the game content).  I guess.

Seems weird — I mean, I’d assume that’s the case — but I suppose some folks need that warning.

3 thoughts on “GAME EXPERIENCE MAY CHANGE DURING ONLINE PLAY”

  1. Yet I never saw it on CoX. Not to say it’s not in there somewhere, but it really stood out in LotRO much more.

  2. I thought I saw it in CoX, but may be wrong. I always assumed that it was to keep
    people from suing the company when their class was nerfed. (“I bought this game so I could play a Swordmeister that can kill a Turbonium Dragon with a single attack! Waah!”)
    LotRO is rated T for Blood and Gore, Violence, and Use of Alcohol and Tobacco.
    I’ve been drunk in the game twice. Once when trying to complete the Tavern Run at a seasonal festival (I failed) and once when a friend and I drank the two ales I looted. I had no idea that a single drink was going to be strong enough to get us drunk! (Note that you can eliminate the effects of inebriation by lowering your graphics settings.)
    Oh, and as much as the stoners would like to believe otherwise, pipeweed is tobacco, not marijuana!

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