Translations (JP to English)

[Akuun]

nyis started a thread saying he wants to drink alcohol in game, and people also said they want drinking in game since they have bars and guilds etc. They do understand due to the rating it might not be possible to name it alcohol like Beer or w/e specific drinks so they were just saying maybe make names look alike etc.

Original Thread Link: http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/threads/16260

It's funny that game companies still release online only games with a rating system, as the ESRB does not rate online content, and we all know that online content typically goes to the 18 range. So it's quite silly to have this be an issue.
Also WoW, which is also rated T for teen, has alcohol in it, which makes me question this even more.

[Ferth]

It's funny that game companies still release online only games with a rating system, as the ESRB does not rate online content, and we all know that online content typically goes to the 18 range. So it's quite silly to have this be an issue.
Also WoW, which is also rated T for teen, has alcohol in it, which makes me question this even more.

WoW and Lotro have alcohol but they don't make you more powerful when you use them (as far as I know.) Characters can become inebriated but then the visual effects change to reflect drunkeness... If the characters got beneficial buffs from alcohol it would potentially change the rating.

That being said the disclaimer about online content not being rated by esrb just covers interaction with other people. Basically saying you might run into some foul mouthed players online, and we can't rate for that.

The content in the game itself is still subject to rating.