PEGI widens remit with mobile ratings

Ratings body PEGI has introduced a new system for mobile games – and it wants the likes of Apple and Android to start using them.

Last week PEGI unveiled PEGI Express with Microsoft. The classifications and ratings seen on all PC and console games will now be included in all Windows Phone games. Microsoft has even pledged to pay for the administration costs developers incur when having their games graded.

However, PEGI wants it to be part of all mobile stores, not just Microsoft’s. Apple’s App Store and the Android Market currently use their own proprietary age ratings.

We hope that other platforms offering mobile games see the advantages of PEGI Express,” PEGI MD Simon Little told MCV.

During development we realised that, in order to be successful, it had to be a win-win-win situation: European consumers should get reliable and recognisable age ratings, developers should get an affordable solution that is in sync with the pace of the mobile games industry and platform holders should be able to use a system that builds on experience and is easier and more efficient than an in-house solution.”

He added that PEGI Express has been designed for the fast-moving mobile games sector: PEGI Express uses a post-release audit system to verify the ratings, allowing for very high volumes of ratings to be issued with a quick turnover time. If a rating needs to be changed at some point, it can be done immediately.”