XBLA: Microsoft's Genius - Rate The Room, Rate Every Game - But Those Rated Teen And Up Left Out?
Some might say that Nintendo's Virtual Console is "free money" for publishers. While true for games that are very popular and guaranteed to sell, lesser known titles may end up costing publishers if only a few people buy them.
The reason for this is rating systems - every game costs money to be rated by the ESRB, PEGI and so forth. [EDIT: Games with a lower budget cost around $800 to rate, apparently, not $2500-$3000, as we said before.] It's not much money for a publisher, but it is a barrier with a minimum sell through rate for them to break even.
But it appears that Microsoft are doing something quite different, something that skips all of it and makes Game Room an incredibly cheap deal - they've rated the Game Room application itself.
Game Room has been rated E10+ by the ESRB for its initial set of 30 games, an interesting concept. So what's going to happen going forward? If it's an ever expanding compilation disc, will each individual addition need to be rated as it is added? We don't think so.
But what of games that are rated, or could be rated, Teen or Mature? When asked a Microsoft representative responded thusly: "Games available for download within “Game Room” will carry either E or E10+ ratings", "We currently have no plans to feature titles of those [higher Teen and Mature] ratings".
This means that Teen or Mature rated games will not be available in Game Room. For the most part this is not a problem as almost all games before the 1990s fit within the range of E or E10+, but what this does mean is we won't be seeing the likes of Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter in Game Room - both which were rated Teen for Virtual Console.
It's not as particularly as strict as one may think though - looking back at past ESRB decisions for Virtual Console, games from the Streets of Rage series as well as the first two Final Fight games all got E10+ ratings. The harsher ratings generally involve games like Splatterhouse or SNK's Metal Slug series, which were Teen rated.
While not having Teen or Mature titles might seem a bit restrictive, as we understand it, most titles that Microsoft can get the license to redistribute can be put on Game Room with little money involved, outside of the emulation process. Activision's full Atari 2600 catalog can be put onto the Game Room, and looking into the future, games like Sega's Green Dog or EA's Desert Strike series could painlessly come onto the console with little money involved.
It's a fantastic idea and allows a much more open system to allow games to be made for download cheaper than before - although whether the ESRB will check in on the added games every few weeks or months, or just not check at all, is unclear.
Besides - you already have Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 and Street Fighter HD Remix, what other Teen game could you possibly want, that's not based on a license, would you want for the Game Room?
[UPDATE: Some commenters have questioned the logic of this article. Thus far, we know that the Game Room itself (with 30 games bundled in) was assigned a single rating, so it doesn't look like individual Game Room games will be rated. However, the ESRB may have some kind of periodic rating process for new titles that we're not aware of - we're reaching out to them for more information.]
Comments
Titles like Splatterhouse, Primal Rage or Killer Instinct would have been nice so this is pretty dissapointing news.
Seems they really go for the popular classic stuff only and dash my hopes to see less known titles like Osman/Cannon Dancer, Guwange or Golden Axe: Revenge of Death Adder on Game Room...
Now back to Mame:-)
Posted by: slang | January 29, 2010 5:08 PM
Too bad they aren't passing that savings along to the consumer. $3-$5 for one 2600 game, ridiculous.
Posted by: Eric | January 29, 2010 9:44 PM
This doesn't make much sense. The application and the first 30 games have been rated E10+. If additional games will be released and they have to be E10+, they have to be rated in advance, as well (unless they have been rated for other systems or for compilation disks, already). So, even if this means that only E10+ games will be released in the Game Room, that does not mean that future titles don't have to be rated.
Posted by: Grauberts | January 29, 2010 11:11 PM
Yes... this isn't at all logical. How do you say a game made before 1990 isn't a mature game if it's never been re-released, and hence never re-rated. Like, the sex games on Atari 2600 would receive a mature rating, and obviously they've never been re-released.
Posted by: superflat | January 29, 2010 11:45 PM
It means they now have a rule guideline to follow, and can release new "downloadable content" through the room, as long as it follows the guidelines.
Think of it not like a downloadable game, but a "new level" download for a game like Assassin's Creed II or Prince of Persia which does not need to be rerated.
The only downloadable content that has to be rerated is that which may change the rating - the GTAIV expansion required new descriptors (male nudity) so it got rated again.
Posted by: Ryan Langley | January 30, 2010 4:13 AM
I guess that means that "Porky's" and "Custer's Revenge" are out.
Posted by: hectorpuppet | January 30, 2010 10:37 PM