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.