James Delahunty
30 Nov 2011 7:40
Pair already have ratings systems in place.
Yesterday, CTIA and the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) detailed a new plan to provide ratings to mobile apps, the same way ESRB provides ratings for the video games industry. The mobile app ratings system will be identical to the video games rating system.
Developers of mobile games will fill out a survey for each game and answer questions about the content at hand. A rating will be issued to the developer, who can appeal the rating if they feel it is unfair or incorrect. The same rating will apply across other platforms for the same app.
ESRB has seven ratings categories:
While the ESRB system will be adopted by Microsoft, Verizon Wireless, AT&T, Sprint Nextel, U.S. Cellular Corp and T-Mobile, it certainly won't help that neither Apple or Google will be participating.
Apple's App Store has approximately 500,000 apps available, while Google's Android Market touts 300,000. Combined, they are used by millions of smartphone users and tablet PC owners.
"We've put a lot of effort into Android Market's rating system, which now works well globally. While we support other systems, we think it's best for Android users and developers to stick with Android's existing ratings," a Google spokesman said.