ESA CEO Mike Gallagher recently made comments openly suggesting that certain games in the App Store should have ratings. ESRB president Patricia Vance mirrored those remarks in a statement to Kotaku.
"ESRB ratings empower parents to do their job," said Vance. "Considering the fact that the vast majority of parents are already aware of and regularly using ESRB ratings, Apple's adoption of them for iPhone games seems like a no-brainer. Apple just announced that the parental controls for the new version of the iPhone will block movie and TV content based on their respective ratings. Adding ESRB ratings to the controls they already plan to offer would give parents the ability to exert control over the games their children play as well."
Age ratings systems aren't exactly gamers' favorite things to think about, but we have a feeling that some sort of standard will need to come about for the App Store one way or another, especially as more and more kids these days actually have cell phones or smartphones like the iPhone.
ESRB Ratings 'No-Brainer' for App Store, says Vance
Posted June 10, 2009 by David Radd
David Radd has worked as a gaming journalist since 2004 at sites such as GamerFeed, Gigex and GameDaily Biz.
3 Comments
June 11, 2009
Why would Apple want the hassle of the ESRB? They've already installed an internal system of checks. And how many young children own an iphone? It might be a concern down the line, but this seems like the ESRB sticking their nose just to get more perceived power.
When is the MPAA going to take this job over?
June 11, 2009
You'd be surprised how many kids/teens have iPhones. Would we really want the MPAA to take over? I think the ESRB ratings work pretty well. It's not like R ratings on movies are preventing kids from seeing them at the theater or getting the DVDs. Maybe things have changed, but I was able to see R movies all the time when I was young.
June 11, 2009
It's also not just the iPhone but the iPod Touch, which I'm sure lots of children have. The ESRB certainly has itself to worry about, but it may ultimately behoove Apple to partner with them.
P.S. Good to see you've migrated to the new site, [ugly]lonelygirl13. :)