Downloadable Game Ratings will now be Done by Computer
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CREDIT: ESRB |
The flood of downloadable video games being created every week has become too much for the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) - the people who assign those Ms and E to video games. In an attempt to streamline the ratings process a computer program will now be used to decide a game's rating.
So now, instead of a person, a computer program will be determining just how appropriate another computer program is.
The new system will be used for games that will be sold and downloaded through console and handheld storefronts, such as Microsoft Xbox Live, Nintendo Wii or DSi store and the Sony Playstation store.
"The ESRB rating process that has been in use since 1994 was devised before the explosion in the number of digitally delivered games and devices on which to play them," said ESRB president Patricia Vance. "This new rating process considers the very same elements weighed by our raters. The biggest difference is in our ability to scale this system as necessary while keeping our services affordable and accessible."
As of today (April 18), when publishers submit their games, they will also be required to use a slightly different submission form that has a series of multiple choice questions designed to assess content categories, such as violence, sexual content and language.The questions also address factors like the game’s realism and visual style, its incentives (whether a certain action is meant to be avoided or results in failure), and the player’s perspective (i.e., omniscient, distant or third person vs. immersed, close-up or first person).
The publisher's responses will determine the game’s rating.
For now, mobile, Facebook and all other types of games will continue to undergo the traditional rating process, which involves completion of a more open-ended questionnaire and review of a content DVD by a minimum of three raters who reach consensus on the appropriate rating.
This article was provided by InnovationNewsDaily, a sister site of TechNewsDaily.
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