What do you think the ESRB rating will be?

[qojira]

Didn't the Bayonetta DLC get a T rating or am I tripping

 

[Dreamking]

E10 just like the previous installment.

 

[The Smash Nerd II.0.]

Didn't the Bayonetta DLC get a T rating or am I tripping

Your random tripping.

 

[KEYLIME SSB]

Judging by the consistency of ESRB ratings it could get anything at this point.

 

[smashingDoug]

Adults only

Sorry Nintendo’s ruling no adults only games on their systems, and it won’t come to pc... so game going be canceled

 

[TheMisterManGuy]

DLC doesn't magically dodge the ESRB, if the DLC changes the rating, the rating WILL be changed.

ESRB actually doesn't look at downloadable content when rating a game, especially when most of this game's DLC was worked on after the game released. Bayo and Snake's inclusion should bump Ultimate up to a T, along with the fact that the game has more of a focus on aggressive violence than past Smash Bros. games.

 

[TheTrueBrawler]

The last skins for Zero Suit Samus and Shulk were favorites of many, and Bayonetta was way too revealing and explicit for a game rated E10+. Then again, I don't think the people that gave Smash 4 the ESBR rating anticipated DLC. In Brawl, Snake used to have a huge rear end, and there was nothing to hide the stuff under the girl's dresses if one was lucky enough to pause at the right time. It may just be me, but these were little things I enjoyed discovering and wouldn't at all. I personally wouldn't mind if these little things returned.

In fact, I would argue that because Snake and Bayonetta are already being brought back, the game is going to be T for teen anyways. Nintendo would have to get a miracle for anything lower. The flexibility for models already exists.

 

[Yarael-BJ-Poof]

So....Simon Belmont trailer.

It's definitely going to be T.

 

[ChozoRidley]

The trailer with Luigi getting murdered would probably give the game a T rating but it might not be included in the game itself. The one with Ridley seeming to kill Mario and Mega Man might have gotten away with it because nothing was shown, but in this one you could see Luigi getting struck by the scythe, and Death himself looked pretty creepy.

They might keep the trailers out of the game this time, though, and not include them in the Videos section.

From the actual game itself, it seems like they are trying to avoid anything that could give it a T rating. Snake and ZSS have been toned down, and in ZSS's case it looks like they have removed the ending outfit skins.

 

[Bayopuff]

I'm thinking T.

 

[An Archie]

It's been revealed actually. Look on the picture:
mobile.twitter.com/NintendoEurope/status/1027201332678217728

 

[TheMisterManGuy]

From the actual game itself, it seems like they are trying to avoid anything that could give it a T rating. Snake and ZSS have been toned down, and in ZSS's case it looks like they have removed the ending outfit skins.

Toned down in what way? In any case, I think a T rating is all but locked at this point. Bayonetta's guns, Snake's weapons and Castlevainia's religious references would give a T rating by default. I doubt Nintendo would really care now, Switch is a completely different era and console from Wii U with a much more diverse audience.

 

[Mario & Sonic Guy]

If the game gets the Teen rating, then there's no reason to be censoring female Corrin's legs, or putting a black void inside Peach's dress. But because those things are censored, you can't help but wonder if E10+ is still the target rating.

 

[TheMisterManGuy]

If the game gets the Teen rating, then there's no reason to be censoring female Corrin's legs, or putting a black void inside Peach's dress. But because those things are censored, you can't help but wonder if E10+ is still the target rating.

Ultimate lifts most of its assets from Smash 4, so either the developers didn't think to change those parts, or in the case of Peach it could be brought back and was simply removed from Smash 4 because of hardware limitations (IE, the 3DS couldn't render that stuff and Sakurai wanted both versions to maintain parity). But not that it matters. ESRB only looks at the base surface level content when rating, not a player controlled camera.

 

[Kori]

With all the character deaths we've had so far, I'd guess M for Mature

 

[Nakamura]

Probably E10+ or maybe T, the violence is more cartoony, personally it doesn't affect me as much as im 20 and can buy my own games, but hopefully we get new people in the scene even if they are younger. to me the bigger the scene the better.

 

[Maikou]

Different countries have different ideas on what's appropriate for what age group. For example, Persona 3 in Australia is rated the equivalent of T, but in America it's rated M. I'm personally thinking that if the trailers are in the game itself, it's definitely going up to a T-Rating given Ridley's brutality and Simon's trailer. That said, Ridley's tail outright killing Link, if the Direct was anything to go by, happened because the footage was in a Stamina match. Ridley's attacks are more brutal than anyone else's in the games, but without things like blood or visible damage on the characters (more extreme than Little Mac's band-aids and bruises or the scuffs in Meta Knight's armor) I'm fairly certain the game will get an E10+ rating, so long as the trailers aren't included in the game itself.

 

[TheMisterManGuy]

but without things like blood or visible damage on the characters (more extreme than Little Mac's band-aids and bruises or the scuffs in Meta Knight's armor) I'm fairly certain the game will get an E10+ rating, so long as the trailers aren't included in the game itself.

Not really sure that's necessary. I think Ultimate's going to get a Teen simply due to the inclusion of Snake, Bayonetta, and Castlevainia. Characters with realistic weapons and religious references.

 

[lordvaati]

It's pretty much T rating.
DLC was never rated in Sm4sh, and the weaponry of Snake aalong with the tone of Castlevania hints to that increase.
Which at this point is no big deal, Since Brawl sold with a T rating 12+ million copies.

Also I feel Rathalos may have sealed the rating as well, since Odyssey got an E10 rating just for the detail of a certain boss mid game.

 

[chilledcalories]

The times have changed a lot in terms of what people feel is okay/not okay to be shown in a video game, mostly due to our culture becoming more increasingly open minded. Mind you, Melee had a T-rating while games that feature arguably more sexual themes/violence in the same series receive lower ratings. I don't think there was a single booty in Melee.

The game will receive a maximum rating of E10+, like Sm4sh.

 

[Over9000BPM]

The increased censorship of character designs (and on a less relevant note, the proliferation of items that can potentially KO from very low damage percentages) ruined Smash 4 for me and looks to be getting even worse in Ultimate. I imagine you’re looking at another E10+.

 

[Mario & Sonic Guy]

The times have changed a lot in terms of what people feel is okay/not okay to be shown in a video game, mostly due to our culture becoming more increasingly open minded. Mind you, Melee had a T-rating while games that feature arguably more sexual themes/violence in the same series receive lower ratings. I don't think there was a single booty in Melee.

The game will receive a maximum rating of E10+, like Sm4sh.

E10+ never existed during Melee's time. However, female underwear exposure (most notable from Peach) can be one of the reasons why Melee and Brawl received the Teen rating.

 

[chilledcalories]

E10+ never existed during Melee's time. However, female underwear exposure (most notable from Peach) can be one of the reasons why Melee and Brawl received the Teen rating.

I'm pretty sure it was cause Snake literally had guns in Brawl

 

[TheMisterManGuy]

The increased censorship of character designs (and on a less relevant note, the proliferation of items that can potentially KO from very low damage percentages) ruined Smash 4 for me and looks to be getting even worse in Ultimate. I imagine you’re looking at another E10+.

Ultimate doesn't look worse than Smash 4 in that sense. And sexual content isn't the only thing the ESRB rates games on. Intensity of violence, and other questionable content such as religion are also considered. For that reason, Castlevania alone will bump the rating up. There's no way the ESRB would let a game with Christian crosses and Death himself in an E10+ game these days.

E10+ never existed during Melee's time. However, female underwear exposure (most notable from Peach) can be one of the reasons why Melee and Brawl received the Teen rating.

If that was the case, the ESRB would've put it in the content descriptors. Becasue they didn't, more likely they didn't notice or care.

 

[Over9000BPM]

What about Snake and ZSS?

 

[Over9000BPM]

Ultimate doesn't look worse than Smash 4 in that sense. And sexual content isn't the only thing the ESRB rates games on. Intensity of violence, and other questionable content such as religion are also considered. For that reason, Castlevania alone will bump the rating up. There's no way the ESRB would let a game with Christian crosses and Death himself in an E10+ game these days.



If that was the case, the ESRB would've put it in the content descriptors. Becasue they didn't, more likely they didn't notice or care.

What about Snake and ZSS? Sorry for the double post, I misunderstood the quote mechanics for this site :D

 

[TheMisterManGuy]

What about Snake and ZSS? Sorry for the double post, I misunderstood the quote mechanics for this site :D

Snake was simply the result of the rendering engine Ultimate uses compared to Brawl. For ZZS, the developers wanted her to look more faithful to how Samus normally would be. Her bust is smaller, but in exchange, she has more toned leg and thigh muscles, which fits the character more. Sakurai tends to want characters to be as close to their source material as possible.

 

[Over9000BPM]

Snake was simply the result of the rendering engine Ultimate uses compared to Brawl. For ZZS, the developers wanted her to look more faithful to how Samus normally would be. Her bust is smaller, but in exchange, she has more toned leg and thigh muscles, which fits the character more. Sakurai tends to want characters to be as close to their source material as possible.

The ZSS in Ultimate looks like no version of Samus I’m familiar with.

She’s ALWAYS been busty. Even the Samus Returns remake version that the Ultimate incarnation is allegedly based on is pretty stacked.

It looks like censorship to me. I could be wrong, of course. I’m not psychic or infallible. But that’s what it looks like to me.

 

[Khao]

I honestly think a lot of people here are kind of exaggerating when it comes to violence and/or realism.

For comparison sake, all Uncharted games have a T rating, and they feature realistic gun fights where you're shooting at people heads, they react accordingly, and you explicitly see them fall dead to the floor, sometimes there's even blood involved. And of course, they're always pushing boundaries when it comes to realism in videogames when it comes to visuals.

Compare to Smash. There's no realistic impact to any attack. There's no blood. You have exaggerated comic-book-like hit flashes, and characters are launched with cartoon smoke effects into the air instead of "actually" reacting to damage. Do you really think this requires the same rating as Uncharted when it's far goofier to the point it can barely even be compared? Nah, nothing's truly explicit here, which is why all Smash games are rated for "Cartoon Violence" or some other equivalent. Even with the inclusion of characters like Snake, the type of violence you actually see on the screen doesn't get any more explicit, it's still cartoon violence with comical reactions and effects.

The thing that made the difference for Sm4sh was the fact that they toned down on potentially suggestive stuff, like the black void in Peach's dress. But the fact that we have more brutal characters like Ridley, or realistic characters like Snake, or Bayonetta having realistic guns... That's really not gonna push the rating. Everything's still goofy ridiculous cartoon violence.

 

[TheMisterManGuy]

She’s ALWAYS been busty. Even the Samus Returns remake version that the Ultimate incarnation is allegedly based on is pretty stacked.

It looks like censorship to me. I could be wrong, of course. I’m not psychic or infallible. But that’s what it looks like to me.

Then again, it could be chalked up to the rendering engine. The game's still in development, so things could change by the time it releases. Super Mario Odyssey and Xenoblade 2 looked somewhat rough when first revealed, but were eventually cleaned up in time for release.

Compare to Smash. There's no realistic impact to any attack. There's no blood. You have exaggerated comic-book-like hit flashes, and characters are launched with cartoon smoke effects into the air instead of "actually" reacting to damage. Do you really think this requires the same rating as Uncharted when it's far goofier to the point it can barely even be compared? Nah, nothing's truly explicit here, which is why all Smash games are rated for "Cartoon Violence" or some other equivalent. Even with the inclusion of characters like Snake, the type of violence you actually see on the screen doesn't get any more explicit, it's still cartoon violence with comical reactions and effects.

The thing that made the difference for Sm4sh was the fact that they toned down on potentially suggestive stuff, like the black void in Peach's dress. But the fact that we have more brutal characters like Ridley, or realistic characters like Snake, or Bayonetta having realistic guns... That's really not gonna push the rating. Everything's still goofy ridiculous cartoon violence.

Intensity of violence also factors into ESRB ratings. Like, it's one thing to just list cartoon violence, but the ESRB also looks at how intense said cartoon violence is. Smash games have stylized cartoon violence yes, but, you still got Snake running around choking people with one of his grabs and using real explosives like grenades and C4 mines. You've got Bayonetta using real guns and strutting her stuff, you have close up shots of Ridley impaling people in the chest, you've got Simon and Richter using "Holly Water" as one of their attacks, you have more realistic and violent sounding effects when hit. All that stuff adds up and is likely going to push the rating more than people expect. Uncharted is a poor example, because stylized Violence can still be considered too intense for an E10+ rating, which is why even Cartoony fighting games like Arc System Works Fighters get rated T. Ultimate is way more intense than Smash 4 was, so it's more likely to get a higher rating not because the content is necessarily different, but the intensity of content is higher.

 

[Over9000BPM]

Then again, it could be chalked up to the rendering engine. The game's still in development, so things could change by the time it releases. Super Mario Odyssey and Xenoblade 2 looked somewhat rough when first revealed, but were eventually cleaned up in time for release.

I really hope you’re right. Because ZSS just looks all wrong to me as is. I know it’s more “realistic” but Metroid is gloriously unrealistic even by Sci-fi standards. Samus being a seven foot tall top-heavy amazoness is just a drop in the ocean of Metroid’s overall strangeness. But to me, it’s a very important drop.

If I’m totally honest, I had no idea Snake’s posterior was such a phenomenon. I only have a very passing familiarity with Metal Gear. But I’m outraged on the behalf of people who look at it and feel wronged the same way I do about Samus. So I really hope things improve for both characters.

 

[TheMisterManGuy]

If I’m totally honest, I had no idea Snake’s posterior was such a phenomenon. I only have a very passing familiarity with Metal Gear. But I’m outraged on the behalf of people who look at it and feel wronged the same way I do about Samus. So I really hope things improve for both characters.

I don't mind the smaller bust size as it fits Samus' character more. The more toned leg muscles is much more accurate to her character I feel. As for Snake, the whole butt downgrade thing didn't become a thing until people pointed it out. Even then, it's more of a meme than a serious movement. Again, I chalk that up to the rendering engine. In Brawl, the the textures were made deliberately overly detailed to compensate for the Wii's lack of HD. But Ultimate's rendering and lighting engine simply gives the illusion of a smaller butt than Brawl.

 

[Over9000BPM]

I don't mind the smaller bust size as it fits Samus' character more. The more toned leg muscles is much more accurate to her character I feel. As for Snake, the whole butt downgrade thing didn't become a thing until people pointed it out. Even then, it's more of a meme than a serious movement. Again, I chalk that up to the rendering engine. In Brawl, the the textures were made deliberately overly detailed to compensate for the Wii's lack of HD. But Ultimate's rendering and lighting engine simply gives the illusion of a smaller butt than Brawl.

That’s the thing though, I don’t think it does. It’s nothing like any version of Samus I’ve ever seen.

I thought the Snake movement was slightly serious as they’d got David Hayter involved, but I guess I misread the situation.

I really really hope they reconsider things like that and Peach’s black void, because E10+ Smash with its censored character designs and Mario Kart Wii levels of item-based insanity is leaving me cold.

 

[TheMisterManGuy]

That’s the thing though, I don’t think it does. It’s nothing like any version of Samus I’ve ever seen.

If Samus doesn't look like a strong warrior who can break your neck, then something is off IMO.

I thought the Snake movement was slightly serious as they’d got David Hayter involved, but I guess I misread the situation.

I'm pretty sure its a joke. The ESRB tends to be more concerned with Female objectification than Male objectification apparently.

I really really hope they reconsider things like that and Peach’s black void, because E10+ Smash with its censored character designs and Mario Kart Wii levels of item-based insanity is leaving me cold.

Sakurai said with Smash 4 that he wanted to make the characters more accurate to their source material. Being able to peak under Peach's dress simply feels out of character in that sense, especially since Plautena wasn't effected by the void because it fits her character more. Palutena's a spunky, somewhat flirtatious goddess, so it makes sense for her to dress somewhat suggestively than it does Peach who's supposed to be innocent.

 

[Over9000BPM]

If Samus doesn't look like a strong warrior who can break your neck, then something is off IMO.
^
Oh yeah, not arguing with the addition of sculpted muscle. My only complaint is the non-existent chest.


I'm pretty sure its a joke. The ESRB tends to be more concerned with Female objectification than Male objectification apparently.
^
Well if it doesn’t actually bother people then it’s no skin off my nose.


Sakurai said with Smash 4 that he wanted to make the characters more accurate to their source material. Being able to peak under Peach's dress simply feels out of character in that sense, especially since Plautena wasn't effected by the void because it fits her character more. Palutena's a spunky, somewhat flirtatious goddess, so it makes sense for her to dress somewhat suggestively than it does Peach who's supposed to be innocent
^
I can respect that. It’s not a big deal by itself, it’s all a bunch of small niggles that have all added up to one big niggle. ZSS is the straw that might have broken the camel’s back for me.

 

[TheTrueBrawler]

Defiantly atleast a T simply because of the existence of Simon, Richter, Snake, and Bayonetta. The violence also feels like it was kicked up several notches from the previous game. Nintendo has the wiggle room for more explicit models this game than in Smash 4 which I hope he takes advantage of.

 

[TheMisterManGuy]

Defiantly atleast a T simply because of the existence of Simon, Richter, Snake, and Bayonetta. The violence also feels like it was kicked up several notches from the previous game. Nintendo has the wiggle room for more explicit models this game than in Smash 4 which I hope he takes advantage of.

I'd also like to add that Switch era Nintendo is far less concerned about protecting a sacred image than Wii U era Nintendo. With Switch, Nintendo is family friendly, but they can still push boundaries and take risks. Wii U era Nintendo felt obsessed with sanitizing everything deem too intense for the 5 year olds. I feel that's one of the reason's Smash 4's tone was lighter and more whimsical.

 

[soviet prince]

That’s the thing though, I don’t think it does. It’s nothing like any version of Samus I’ve ever seen.

I thought the Snake movement was slightly serious as they’d got David Hayter involved, but I guess I misread the situation.

I really really hope they reconsider things like that and Peach’s black void, because E10+ Smash with its censored character designs and Mario Kart Wii levels of item-based insanity is leaving me cold.

the black void needs to stay and why does anyone care how big zss bust is? This is supposed to be a fighting game and putting ridiculous sized boobs on women characters is ridiculous.

 

[Over9000BPM]

the black void needs to stay and why does anyone care how big zss bust is? This is supposed to be a fighting game and putting ridiculous sized boobs on women characters is ridiculous.

I just hate change for change’s own sake. I know it’s petty.

 

[TheTrueBrawler]

the black void needs to stay and why does anyone care how big zss bust is? This is supposed to be a fighting game and putting ridiculous sized boobs on women characters is ridiculous.

Not everyone takes Smash Bros as a competitive fighting game. Some like to play for fun. Besides, those who do play competitively probably won't even notice when fighting in tournaments or online.