Re: [android-developers] Re: Have an extra $800 lying around for a mobile ESRB rating? Didn't think so.

Binx,

I don't know if you've noticed this, but generally there's an
understanding in the industry that mobile titles don't yield the kind of
numbers that desktop titles do. Have a look at the pricing for various
third party tools and you'll find that they are asking far less money
for their products in the mobile space. If your hypothetical situation
did indeed come to pass, which it may, I would guess that the cost
associated with the rating would be far lower than for other titles. I
don't think that would cause any grief whatsoever to publishers of
console and desktop games, since they're likely to be able to re-use
their already purchased desktop/console rating for the mobile market as
well.

Anyway, absent any actual evidence that this is happening, or even
planned to begin happening, it's all just speculation. It's probably a
better to spend your idle moments planning your next release or whatever.

On 11/28/2011 1:13 AM, Binxalot wrote:
> There's nothing in writing from Google that games will not be promoted
> on the marketplace without a rating just rumors. - but - there is no
> other reason to suspect that the new rating system as it applies to
> mobile phones would be different than the one for desktops and
> consoles. Why would it? It's the same content, just a different
> distribution platform. So yes, when this announcement is made then
> there will be two types of games - games with a rating and games
> without - and like on all other platforms the hopes of getting your
> game in to a mainstream outlet would require an upfront cost of $800
> for a rating. It couldn't be anything other than that or console game
> developers and other game developers would cry fowl at having to pay
> two fees for the same rating on two platforms. Also all of the mobile
> companies involved would have to accept this agreement or be seen as
> allowing children access to violent games by customers / competition,
> and if they accept the terms of the ESRB mobile rating system then
> there's no addition need for more useless legislation from the
> government.
>
> In the end the small developer loses, I can pay $800 for a rating, it
> would take me months to save up for it, but in the end I have to now
> make up the loss of the rating cost and then after I dig out of that
> hole if I'm lucky. Only months later would I see a profit from my game
> on the store. Then we'd still be fighting against the mega AAA titles
> which now litter featured marketplace.
>
> Also this goes even further because now we have a breakup of the
> android marketplace with Verizon and Amazon both pushing their own
> separate app stores which all have a separate submission process and
> hoops to jump through.
>

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