[casual_games] If Vista is going to be such a problem...

[Wayne Imlach]

Does someone installing a rated game on Vista ever see who actually rated the game? Does an ESRB logo appear during installation? Is it a requirement to display this logo during install? Is it displayed when the user purchases the game? Is it displayed anywhere in-game?

If the system is totally transparent to the end user, then then it doesn't matter if the game was rated by the ESRB or the CGRB (Casual Games Rating Board) - just as long as it gets blocked when appropriate. 

In addition, if a Symbol is displayed during any of the above stages, I'd say maintaining a single ratings board is not important, but rather the ratings system used across boards is the thing to remain consistent. When a consumer picks up a rated game, they are looking at the big 'M' or 'E', not the little 'esrb' logo at the bottom. 

I don't think an alternate rating board would make a jot of difference to the consumer - however a different ratings system would probably muddy things somewhat though.

Does the ESRB have some kind of copyright on the ratings system and symbols it uses?
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Dustin Clingman 
  To: 'IGDA Casual Games SIG Mailing List' 
  Sent: Friday, December 22, 2006 1:39 PM
  Subject: Re: [casual_games] If Vista is going to be such a problem...


  I'll have to disagree with you on one front Andreas. The ESRB is a developed, connected and more importantly has reasonably consumer understood rating system. If the IGDA and CCA can do anything here for us it's to educate the ESRB et al (way too many acronyms here) on the kinds of products sold in this segment to work to generate alternatives that can allow for a lower priced solution. 

   

  Splintering off will not help; it will just force us to spend our own time and energy in propagating the new system, generating explanatory media, etc. All in all, a lot of work and money just to come back to where the ESRB already is with a hopefully lower cost solution. 

   

  Dustin 

   


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  From: casual_games-bounces at igda.org [mailto:casual_games-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of Andreas Schneider - GAMGO
  Sent: Friday, December 22, 2006 8:28 AM
  To: 'IGDA Casual Games SIG Mailing List'
  Subject: Re: [casual_games] If Vista is going to be such a problem...

   

  Good idea Allen - why not start our own rating system controled by representatives from every country and people from the casual games industry. I think the IGDA could help here. This could also be the clue to see which are casual games and which not.  I would be happy to see something like that instead of paying fees to some organisation that doesn't really know what a casual game is and is working in a totaly different genre of games. 

   

  Andreas

  gamgogames.com

   

   

   

   

   

  The ESRB is an industry generated entity designed to pre-empt legislative restrictions and oversight. The industry it monitors is 'hard core games' - we'll skip the debate over the term for now. The Casual Games Association and / or the IGDA Casual Games Sig or any established and 'known' industry representative group could easily create a parallel group that may operate based on it's own rules (and fees) and which Microsoft would have to treat the same as the ESRB (as would the federal government etc.) 

   

  We do everything else separately, why not accept the differences and impose our own regulatory agency rather than subject ourselves to one that is rife with problems.

   

  It also would distance us from those 'violent' mainstream games, give us a shot at free publicity, embed our reputation as 'safe games' and provide big time news coverage - leading to more stories about portals etc in major news outlets and overall could be a boon to the industry.

   

  --Allen

   


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  From: casual_games-bounces at igda.org [mailto:casual_games-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of Robert Headley
  Sent: Friday, December 22, 2006 1:24 AM
  To: IGDA Casual Games SIG Mailing List
  Subject: Re: [casual_games] If Vista is going to be such a problem...

   

  wasn't the ESRB actually required to play the games, after the hot coffee debacle? Ah, my bad, but it was proposed by Senator Brownback

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truth_in_Video_Game_Rating_Act 

  Also, I don't know that the ESRB is willing to risk allowing 3rd party certifiers with so many politicians out to get them.

  On 12/22/06, Joe Pantuso <jpantuso at traygames.com> wrote:

  ESRB doesn't actually load up and test anything.  You submit a video tape of gameplay to them.  And ESRB charges you $400 to $2500 for the pleasure of viewing the tape, what's the hourly rate on that?  Their business model is very simple, and there is no incentive whatsoever for them to make it any cheaper or easier for us to pay that protection, er, I mean ratings fee. 

   

  The news that we may be able to get casual games treated at the $400 rate is a good start.  I'd like to see $250, especially as the 'gameplay' video for Chess, for example, is going to pretty damn short and sweet. 

   

   


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