Did ESRB mess up?

I'm just wondering why Dead Or Alive Dimensions was rated T for Teen when all the other games in the series were rated M? I've read that the sexual content, violence, or suggestive themes have been toned down, but I own the game and don't see a real lack of those themes.

It isn't that I'm surprised DOAD is rated T, because that makes sense to me, I'm actually surprised that if DOAD is T then why are all the other games not rated that as well? I mean, there isn't actual nudity in any of the older DOA games, nor is there actual gore. And to compare, Soul Calibur 2 is somewhat bloody, is surprising sexual when you really look at it, and is just as violent but is rated T.

If I'm just dumb and need a history lesson than let me have it cause I'm just confused as to why ESRB changed the rating. The game is so intense and keeps much of the DOA experience so I'd be surprised if it changed other aspects as well.

Meh, they felt like labeling it T. Maybe cause what used to be considered M rated Material is now a norm, for 5 year olds and teens lol.

@mariokart97: I'm no ESRB expert or anything, but I highly doubt that they messed up the rating for a game like Dead or Alive Dimensions. From what I've seen and played of the game, the experience did come off as tamer than the series' norm. That's not to say it was a bad game, but there isn't as many of the elements -costumes, cutscenes, etc.- that would put it up with most games in the series when it comes to the sexuality or violence. Heck, if I recall, even the box art was edited for the North American release of the game. Part of me feels this was by intention on Team Ninja's part, as the series was being introduced on a Nintendo platform for the first time. Another part of me also believes that, much like Master_Of_Fools suggested, timing plays a part into what rating. I'm not going to go as far as to say what the DOA series, even Dimensions, has is the "norm," but compared to DOA1 so long ago or even DOA5 now, what DOAD presented doesn't push the bar quite as far.

I'm also willing to bet that being a portable game may have affected the rating a bit. Keep in mind that Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword for DS, another game from a Team Ninja series that is known for its violence and sexuality, also received a lighter ESRB rating. When asked by Nintendo Power why the game didn't get an M-rating, one of the things former Team Ninja head Tomonobu Itagaki said was that it would be harder to make an M-rated game on the system. Even though Itagaki played no part in Dimension's development, perhaps that same theory held true with the game in question.

Honestly, I wouldn't worry to much about it, but if you're curious, you could always compare DOAD's content to the rest of the series to get a better idea of things. Just don't let the rating ruin your experience with the game in anyway. While I'm at it, I'm still quite disappointed that Dimensions is the series' first -and probably only- appearance on a Nintendo system. The timing and platform just wasn't right, and frankly, given Nintendo's bad luck with fighters outside of its own Super Smash Bros., a successful installment of Dead of Alive would have been quite telling moving forward, especially with Tecmo's interest in Nintendo systems rising in recent years.

The DOA games used to be teen rated. Only Ultimate on the Xbox and all incarnations of 5 have been rated M.

The M rating probably has a lot to do with being able to take screenshots from any position at most times.

@Eikichi-Onizuka:

Thank you! Im dumb honestly because I was under the impression that the past games were T rated