• Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!

EA: "We must adopt a self-regulated, global rating system across every format"

N

nickcv

Member
http://www.polygon.com/2012/11/15/3...for-single-universal-rating-system-across-all

"We live in an incredible age," EA's John Riccitiello told the group, which included both the FCC Commissioner and Chairman. "In the past three years the audience for games has grown from roughly 200 million, to over one billion. Virtually everyone on the planet who owns a phone, can play a game. The Supreme Court has given us the same First Amendment rights as authors, musicians and film makers — a set of rights which we cherish."

"But as we are so often told: With great freedom, comes great responsibility. To live up to that responsibility, we need to do a better job informing the consumer, no matter the channel, the platform or the geography. We must adopt a self-regulated, global rating system across every format games are played on."
Click to expand...

"We're at a point in history when we've never been so free to create and distribute content," he said. "But we're also at a point when we need to update the way we inform consumers. Consumers are finding many new places to get their games — Facebook, Google, Apple, as well as services like Steam and Origin. Most have a rating system, but none are consistent. Consequently, we are confusing the consumer."

"We must move beyond the alphabet soup of game ratings and consolidate behind a single standard that consumers will recognize and, ultimately, demand."
Click to expand...

i honestly don't think esrb, pegi and cero will ever agree with that.
 
While such a thing would be great as it would mean one less argument in favour of region locking, I honestly can't see it happening.
 
Besides the clusterfuck that would occur as a result, dissonance of values between cultures would render this impossible.

Take Nocturne for example. In the US it was rated M, in Europe 11+, in Japan the equivalent of E and if we throw in Korea for extra measure it was rated 15+.
 
It's a nice idea in theory, but linguistic and cultural differences would make it almost completely unworkable in the real world.
 
Yeah the differences in cultures and laws too would prevent this from happening. A nice idea but too impractical to implement worldwide.
 
Most people in the UK seemed to like having the same ratings for films as games, the industry pushed for PEGI for some reason. Guess it was less effort for them to submit to each ratings board? A little self serving if you ask me.

If you can't be bothered to follow a country's local procedure you don't deserve to release your game there. As is seen with games in Germany.
 
You trust companies to "self-regulate" and do what is in the best interest of the public? That would be a first...but yeah, let's give it a shot.
 
awKHB.jpg


The best. No letter soup.
 
No surprise that Patricia Vance, president of the ESRB, has been behind this idea for quite some time. Why? It would take the ESRB for a national player to an international one. Got to keep the salary going up, up, up. According to the ESA's 2010 990 tax form, she made $616,480 in base salary and bonuses (this doesn't even include benefits).

A better argument could made that we need to move away from ratings entirely (books and comics don't have them). Sure, movies have them and we all know how well that works. (See: This Move Is Not Yet Rated.)I wrote an editorial entitled, "Does the industry need the ESRB?" on this a few years ago and its points still hold true today. The ESRB benefits people in the ESRB, nothing more.
 
Goldenroad said:
You trust companies to "self-regulate" and do what is in the best interest of the public? That would be a first...but yeah, let's give it a shot.
Click to expand...

When it comes to media content I'll take self regulation over government. Most cases I wouldn't but censorship and making it harder for smaller devs isn't good.
 
RedFalcon said:
No surprise that Patricia Vance, president of the ESRB, has been behind this idea for quite some time. Why? It would take the ESRB for a national player to an international one. Got to keep the salary going up, up, up. According to the ESA's 2010 990 tax form, she made $616,480 in base salary and bonuses (this doesn't even include benefits).

A better argument could made that we need to move away from ratings entirely (books and comics don't have them). Sure, movies have them and we all know how well that works. (See: This Move Is Not Yet Rated.)I wrote an editorial entitled, "Does the industry need the ESRB?" on this a few years ago and its points still hold true today. The ESRB benefits people in the ESRB, nothing more.
Click to expand...

The ESRB benefits the American games industry and gamers as a whole because otherwise there would probably be state by state government regulation of videogames.
 
Goldenroad said:
You trust companies to "self-regulate" and do what is in the best interest of the public? That would be a first...but yeah, let's give it a shot.
Click to expand...

This is technically what the ESRB is. It was the 'private' option offered up by the industry instead of one created by Congress.

I'm all for universal rating systems, because people are coming up with their own ratings anyway. All that's needed is an agreed upon formula and no fees to pay for the trademark of the rating.

If you have to pay trademark fees, etc, then of course it won't get anywhere.

Visualante2 said:
Most people in the UK seemed to like having the same ratings for films as games, the industry pushed for PEGI for some reason. Guess it was less effort for them to submit to each ratings board? A little self serving if you ask me.

If you can't be bothered to follow a country's local procedure you don't deserve to release your game there. As is seen with games in Germany.
Click to expand...

They aren't shared in the US because the MPAA owns the trademark for the G/PG/R ratings and didn't want to share.
 
That means everyone will have to follow American standards since it's the biggest market. No nipples, ever.
 
This will never happen. Different countries have different "sensibilities" (for lack of a better word) and thus what someone would consider okay for 6 year olds, may be very not-appropriate in others.

Many games already have very different ratings (age wise) depending on the country, a single global rating system doesn't make it easier for anyone except for EA (they'll only have to deal with 1 company and pay 1 fee)

shtof: Or they'll have to play lowest common denominator across all countries... No genitalia ala Japan, no intense violence ala Germany, no violence against police ala Australia, etc.
 
Protip: everyone is different, that's why we have different rating systems. I know EA might be shocked, but people in china and people in Russia and Nigeria and argentina aren't all going to agree on what constitutes too much violence or too much sexual content. And self regulation from an industry as juvenile as the video games industry? I must guffaw at that.
 
KojiKnight said:
This will never happen. Different countries have different "sensibilities" (for lack of a better word) and thus what someone would consider okay for 6 year olds, may be very not-appropriate in others.

Many games already have very different ratings (age wise) depending on the country, a single global rating system doesn't make it easier for anyone except for EA (they'll only have to deal with 1 company and pay 1 fee)

shtof: Or they'll have to play lowest common denominator across all countries... No genitalia ala Japan, no intense violence ala Germany, no violence against police ala Australia, etc.
Click to expand...

i didn't know about that one...

luffeN said:
Ohhh, age rating, I thought review scores xD
Click to expand...


a self regulated rating system for reviews? XD

worst vote - fantastic
best vote - mind blowing
 
KojiKnight said:
You know the US gaming industry has been self regulating for nearly 20 years right?
Click to expand...

Yeah of course. That's what the esrb is for right? They were doing so well without them and the ESRB came out of nowhere to just spoil their fun! And of course there are no controversial games that have had to be recalled or even completely toned down in order to be allowed to sell, no sirree!
 
Curufinwe said:
The ESRB benefits the American games industry and gamers as a whole because otherwise there would probably be state by state government regulation of videogames.
Click to expand...

Appreciate the comment, but this is a either-or fallacy or a false dilemma. If the ESRB goes away, it doesn't mean the government would intervene -- it could (and it would be a 1st amendment violation), but it doesn't guarantee it.

When I talked to folks at the ESRB, this was common talking point they threw out because they knew if they offer it up, people almost instantly go, "Well, better than government." Plus, you have to realize, even it government cases cropped up in the absence of something like a ratings board, judicial review would be an option to reverse legislation and acts that are 1st amendment violations.
 
Onion_Relish said:
Yeah of course. That's what the esrb is for right? They were doing so well without them and the ESRB came out of nowhere to just spoil their fun! And of course there are no controversial games that have had to be recalled or even completely toned down in order to be allowed to sell, no sirree!
Click to expand...

The ESRB IS the game industry self-regulatory agency. I'm confused as to what you're getting at.
 
How about no real "ratings" per se, but just say what the game contains (ie. Violence, sexuality, drugs, rape, etc) on the cover or back cover and parents can decide what they feel their child is mature or not mature enough to handle.

I mean, I don't agree with the notion at all that if a game contains sex it should be 18+ only and games that contain violence can be played by anyone of almost any age. Violence is far worse for society and our children than sex is, and I think it should be up to parents to determine what is best for their children, not the government and CERTAINLY not video game publishers.
 
Yeah good luck with that. I wouldn't put it past EA though that they put resources towards such a fruitless venture (lobbying, research, what have you).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

EA Lays Off Staff Across All Battlefield Studios Following Record-Breaking Battlefield 6 Launch
2 3
130
1K
Windle Poons replied
More studios should adopt the RGG format
5
701
YCoCg replied
  • Featured
Marathon |OT| A Shell of its Former Self.
|OT|  102 103 104 105 106
5K
8K
Men_in_Boxes replied
[Washington Post] How ‘Crimson Desert’ beat the critics and became a global hit
31
277
Darchaos replied
'We Were Forced to Change': Sony CEO Outlines Shift to Entertainment, and Says PS5 Must Be the Best Place to Play
Business  2 3 4 5
205
2K
cinnamonandgravy replied
Top Bottom