Microsoft has joined up with the Pan-European Game Information (PEGI) age rating system in a new initiative aimed at allowing the company’s Windows Phone platform to support a new age rating certification programme entitled “PEGI Express.”
According to the press release, the new programme is to be aimed specifically at developing mobile games. It will let developers easily submit details about the content of their games which will then allow an age rating to be set for the game in a very short span of time. In short, it means that parents will be able to have far more control over the content that their children are getting access to when using a mobile phone.
Chris Lewis, VP of Microsoft EMEA, said, “At Microsoft, providing parents with the tools to help keep their children safe online is a top priority, and we have made considerable investments in this area both in our Windows environment as well as on the Xbox 360.”
“Given the fast growing popularity of mobile gaming amongst a younger age group, we felt that it was critical to apply those same rigorous standards to our Windows Phone devices as currently apply to Xbox and Games for Windows titles”.
Simon Little, the Managing Director of PEGI S.A. said he felt that “PEGI Express fills a clear need for a system to classify mobile game content so that informed decisions can be made by parents. Windows Phone games rated via PEGI Express will use the same set of age labels that video games on consoles and PC are using already, making it easy for consumers to recognise and understand them,” something that many other mobile platforms lack at the moment.
The PEGI Express website can be accessed via https://create.msdn.com as part of the app submission process for Windows Phone.
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