ESRB and CTIA Detail Voluntary Ratings System for Mobile Games

November 29, 2011

The ESRB and CTIA have finally revealed details on the voluntary rating system for mobile apps that was revealed last week. The ratings system currently has the support of six major mobile service and hardware providers including AT&T, Microsoft, Sprint, T-Mobile USA, U.S. Cellular and Verizon Wireless. Apple and Google did not throw their support behind the new ratings system because they already have their own process and system in place - and it has been refined to their satisfaction.

According to details released by the ESRB and CTIA, developers will fill out a questionnaire for their game to determine an age-appropriate rating ranging from 6+ to 18+. This process will be free of charge to developers. These ratings will be based on categories of content including sex, violence, language, the depiction of drug or alcohol use, user generated content, third-party data sharing and location sharing.

The ESRB promises that it will "routinely test the most popular applications" to make sure the ratings being generated are accurate, and respond to user complaints by adjusting ratings swiftly if they are found to be inaccurate.

Arkansas senator Mark Pryor lightly praised the new system, saying that he applauds both groups for "this consumer-friendly initiative," adding that it is a "win-win when industry takes proactive, responsible steps to protect children from inappropriate content."

Source: Gamasutra

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Comments

Re: ESRB and CTIA Detail Voluntary Ratings System for Mobile ...

Submitted by Cheater87 on Tue, 11/29/2011 - 16:50.

So its ratings are 6 to banned? Or will 18+ games be allowed to be sold on phones but still not allowed on consoles?

Re: ESRB and CTIA Detail Voluntary Ratings System for Mobile ...

Submitted by E. Zachary Knight on Tue, 11/29/2011 - 17:16.

Considering these ratings are voluntary and only for mobile games, I doubt any will be banned. At least not by the ESRB. Some app store providers may not want 18+ games, as Andrew said, but the developer is still free to sell and distribute the apps themselves.

E. Zachary Knight
Divine Knight Gaming
OK Game Devs
Random Tower

Re: ESRB and CTIA Detail Voluntary Ratings System for Mobile ...

Submitted by Cheater87 on Tue, 11/29/2011 - 17:41.

I know not legally banned but AO style banned.

Re: ESRB and CTIA Detail Voluntary Ratings System for Mobile ...

Submitted by Andrew Eisen on Tue, 11/29/2011 - 16:59.

There's no law against it so it will be up to the service providers. If Apple doesn't want to sell 18+ games then there won't be any in the app store.

Andrew Eisen

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DorthLous: Anybody tried Hiversaire? Thoughts?05/22/2013 - 5:48pm

E. Zachary Knight: New Humble Bundle Weekly Sale. Alan Wake: https://www.humblebundle.com/weekly No Linux or Mac support. :(05/22/2013 - 1:46pm

E. Zachary Knight: Microsoft talks about the lack of backward compatability. You're backwards. http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/192801/If_youre_backwards_compatible_youre_really_backwards.php05/22/2013 - 1:39pm

E. Zachary Knight: That is absolutely nuts there. As bad an experience XBox Indie Games was, the problems weren't with the self published side of things. Forcing a publisher onto independent studios is not going to help.05/22/2013 - 10:43am

MaskedPixelante: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-05-22-microsoft-wont-let-indies-self-publish-on-xbox-one And the hits just keep on coming.05/22/2013 - 9:20am

E. Zachary Knight: AE: You beat me to it. That's what I get for taking the night off.05/22/2013 - 7:40am

E. Zachary Knight: To continue the confused and convoluted messaging system present in EA, They are making Wii U games: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/192753/EA_is_working_on_Wii_U_games_after_all.php05/22/2013 - 7:33am

Imautobot: I gotta admit, I seriously believed Microsoft was going to "Bring It" with this new console. But they failed, and I think that failure might be Epic.05/22/2013 - 7:27am

Andrew Eisen: Well, the Xbox One reveal certainly had an interesting affect on the big 3's stock prices. https://twitter.com/AndrewEisen/status/33705126448977100805/21/2013 - 10:45pm

PHX Corp: http://kotaku.com/so-the-xbox-one-reveal-screwed-up-a-lot-of-peoples-kin-509179256 So The Xbox One Reveal Screwed With Some People's Kinects05/21/2013 - 10:36pm

Zen: On a funny side note...both of my boys have already voted NOT to get the Xbox One as soon as they found out Minecraft won't transfer lol. Some people have priorities damnit! ;)05/21/2013 - 9:27pm

Andrew Eisen: Here's the full quote on EA making Wii U games according to Neogaf: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=56112105/21/2013 - 8:19pm

Andrew Eisen: Xbox One may not be always on but that doesn't mean you can use it without an internet connection. http://kotaku.com/xbox-one-does-require-internet-connection-cant-play-o-50916410905/21/2013 - 7:39pm

Andrew Eisen: Polygon says EA's CFO says it is developing games for Wii U but doesn't provide that quote. http://www.polygon.com/2013/5/21/4351844/ea-developing-wii-u-games05/21/2013 - 7:11pm

Andrew Eisen: Well, I was right. Both Sony and Microsoft's consoles will be out by the year's end and both will be significantly more powerful than the current gen.05/21/2013 - 5:06pm

james_fudge: thnx05/21/2013 - 4:47pm

Zen: Just to let ya know...you called it the "Xbox 260" in the backwards compatibility article lol.05/21/2013 - 4:26pm

Zen: @PHX Awesome, I will hit those up after class tonight. Going back to college finally! :) My kids have had a blast telling ME to do my homework now lol.05/21/2013 - 4:19pm

PHX Corp: @Zen I sent you a friend request on both PSN and XBL, just a heads up05/21/2013 - 4:16pm

Zen: I noticed it with the football players when EA showed off Madden as well.05/21/2013 - 4:11pm

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