TIGA criticises PEGI ratings pricing

UK game industry trade body TIGA has criticised PEGI for its punitive” pricing policy for game ratings that it claims is hurting small studios.

Currently developers have to pay a fee for a game content rating every time they release a title on a different console, even if the content is exactly the same. This can prove particularly difficult for studios that aim to release on multiple platforms.

PEGI’s pricing policy imposes potentially damaging and unreasonably high fees, which have a disproportionate impact on small games businesses," said TIGA CEO Richard Wilson."It cannot be right to charge a developer a fee for content rating every time it launches a game on a different console platform even if the content is exactly the same.

Significantly, US developers do not have to pay their equivalent ratings body, the ESRB, anything at all for rating identical content on additional platforms. If the UK and European development sector is to thrive then we need a pricing policy from PEGI which is helpful, not a hindrance; is proportionate, not punitive; and is equitable, not exorbitant.”

Develop has more details.