August 4, 2008 -
If the entire front cover of a video game box was covered by an age rating, do you think parents might notice?
A post over at GoNintendo shows what might be a new trend of plus-sized game ratings in Germany. An illustration at GoNintendo shows poor SpongeBob mostly obscured by the game's USK (Germany’s software rating organization) rating.
Curious, we checked out Nintendo’s German website and browsed through over three hundred games. We found only two that had the enlarged USK ratings: Wario Land and a math game for the DS. The rest were no larger than your run-of-the-mill ESRB, PEGI, or BBFC rating.
Seeing as Wario Land and the math game don’t come out until September, it’s possible that these large rating labels could be a new USK standard as suggested by GoNintendo. Adding more fuel to the fire is the package art for Star Wars: The Force Unleashed for the PS3, also releasing in September. For a size comparison with ESRB ratings, check out the Star Wars: Force Unleashed boxes accompanying this article. The German version is to the right.
-Reporting from San Diego, GP Correspondent Andrew Eisen
Comments
Re: In Germany, Game Ratings Bulk Up
Once I sarcastically suggested on a forum that the entire box should be covered by the rating and the title should be on the inner flap. It would appear they are approaching that.
Re: In Germany, Game Ratings Bulk Up
You know, maybe it's just me, but the ESRB label, while smaller, seems to be more visible. Probably the higher contrast.
______________
Ben "Scorp" Stanton
Re: In Germany, Game Ratings Bulk Up
This is my interpretation of an american boxart if they make the ESRB to follow a similar system:
GEARS OF WAR ARTBOX
The cynical side of videogames (spanish only): http://thelostlevel.blogspot.com/ My DeviantArt Page (aka DeviantCensorship): http://www.darkknightstrikes.deviantart.com/
Re: In Germany, Game Ratings Bulk Up
Maybe if the ESRB had ratings that big, those asshole parents would actually see it instead of being ignorant or blind.
Re: In Germany, Game Ratings Bulk Up
Ratings are just another form of censorship. Parents, not the government should decide what games their children play.
Re: In Germany, Game Ratings Bulk Up
You're still free to give your children whatever games you see fit - the ratings just make sure, that it actually is the parents, that make the decisions, and not the kids themselves. What's your point?
Re: In Germany, Game Ratings Bulk Up
I really hope that the ratings here in the U.S. Don't get that big. When I buy a game, I prefer to actually see the box art. Sooner or later, we're going to have a big color coded box with the title printed in black letters.
Re: In Germany, Game Ratings Bulk Up
I don't get what the big fuss is about. If there is bigger ratings that means there is less for parent groups to whinge about, it becomes buyer beware. I understand the whole "thin end of the wedge" but that is what government and oversight is about.
What we need, and it's something that industry groups bang on about is education, this IS education. Tell me a parent can't see that german rating. Here in Australia we have similar coloured rating stamps. they are not that big but they are obvious and they are on the front, spine and back.
Somewhere along the line parents became stupid and required the government to raise their kids for them. I admit that is what we shoul be changing not labels, but this is a start.
Re: In Germany, Game Ratings Bulk Up
A big thing is that in the US, the ESRB rating is way way WAYY bigger than DVD ratings, and appears on both sides. Also, there aren't "unrated" video games like there are for DVD's. That's the issue here, is that some parents don't complain about the fact that anyone without perfect eyesight won't be able to read the DVD rating, but complain about the ESRB rating size. In the US. I'm not sure how rating size is in Britain and Europe for games/dvds
Re: In Germany, Game Ratings Bulk Up
The thing I have a problem with is that it's ugly and unremovable. If it weren't so ugly, I wouldn't have a problem. If it were removable, I wouldn't have a problem. But it's an eyesore.
The good news from a functionality standpoint is that its ugliness draws your attention.
Re: In Germany, Game Ratings Bulk Up
I think this can be resolved by gamers printing scanned boxart without that awful label. This is really embarassing. I really hope nobody will make ESRB to do something like that.
The cynical side of videogames (spanish only): http://thelostlevel.blogspot.com/ My DeviantArt Page (aka DeviantCensorship): http://www.darkknightstrikes.deviantart.com/
Re: In Germany, Game Ratings Bulk Up
Nearsighted politicians need the big print, so it's perfectly understandable that they would support such ridiculously oversized ratings.
Re: In Germany, Game Ratings Bulk Up
I don't know about you guys, but I think that new Wario game looks like a lot of fun. I love 2D platformers!
Re: In Germany, Game Ratings Bulk Up
They do have a colored age rating in Germany.
Re: In Germany, Game Ratings Bulk Up
It's no trend, it's the law.
Re: In Germany, Game Ratings Bulk Up
The answer is obvious! Germans have shitty eyesight.
-Entertainment isn't the reason the world sucks. It's the reason we know the world sucks. For information on games and psychology, look up: Jonathan Freedman(2002)Block & Crain(2007)Grand Theft Childhood, by Harvard researchers Larry Kutner&Cheryl Olson
Re: In Germany, Game Ratings Bulk Up
Re: In Germany, Game Ratings Bulk Up
That seems a bit much... what we have in Australia seems to be a bit more suitable...
http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2003/all/boxshots2/933036_94743.jpg
A rectangle in the bottom left with a different color for each rating, and descriptors next to it. Cant get any more simple that that really
- Tim Kowalenko
Re: In Germany, Game Ratings Bulk Up
Blurgh, I hate our new Aussie labelling. Big, bright, ugly, and intrusive, pissing all over carefully designed cover artwork.
Re: In Germany, Game Ratings Bulk Up
And it´s still gross...
The cynical side of videogames (spanish only): http://thelostlevel.blogspot.com/ My DeviantArt Page (aka DeviantCensorship): http://www.darkknightstrikes.deviantart.com/
Re: In Germany, Game Ratings Bulk Up
"The German version is on the right"
There's nothing on the right, just a huge ratings logo
Amazing how they want to protect their people in pretty much the same way as was done 70 years ago, you know "restricting access to materials which could give people ideas that are not beneficial to our great nation" sort of thing? it's amazing just how well it works when done "for the children", history repeats I guess.
Your soul is a tasty refreshing treat to ones such as I
Re: In Germany, Game Ratings Bulk Up
Oh please for the love of God don't put godwin's law into the mix. Need I remind you that one of the staes in the U.S. tried the exact same thing (they didn't pass, but the point is, it isn't something only Germany thought of).
Re: In Germany, Game Ratings Bulk Up
Godwins law would be acceptable in this particular case, seeing as the person or persons in question here have a history directly tied to Godwin's unlying theme. Godwin's law is only applicable in discussions that would not have otherwise led to the discussion of this political party. To say that Germany is acting like it did 70 years ago is a fair statement.
Re: In Germany, Game Ratings Bulk Up
70 years ago they would've thrown it on the fire AND treated it like it was diseased. Here they are only doing the latter but probably only because it's video games' turn to be panicked over.
Re: In Germany, Game Ratings Bulk Up
70 years ago they would have forbidden anything which isn't german.
Nowadays they are just bulking up the labels for god's sake to inform the parents and not to discriminate anyone.
And as for the other statement god what's up with you guys? Have you ever seen a german walking around with a Hakenkreuzbandage or in a Wehrmacht uniform since the Nazi time? I haven't and for the politics you can't say that they are acting nowadays like back then do you even know how much has changed in germany? I guess not when you are making such a statement. Geez i guess godwin's law will always appear as long as so many ignorant and prejudiced people will have an access to the internet.
these were my few seconds.
PS. oh and all of you who are going to make now statements like "bleh he's a nazi" etc. F*** YOU!
Re: In Germany, Game Ratings Bulk Up
They could have at least made it square instead of diamond..
Re: In Germany, Game Ratings Bulk Up
It's HUGE! Well let's hope it's removable for a collector's sake.
I'm pretty sure that no matter how big or detailed the ratings are, a certain percentage of buyers (mostly likely ignorant parents) would ignore them and use their judgment, like looking on the covert art or game title. Bigger signs does not necessarily mean bigger awareness.
http://vgresearcher.wordpress.com/
http://vgresearcher.wordpress.com/
Re: In Germany, Game Ratings Bulk Up
Nope... not removeable as it is printed on the cover and not just a sticker.
Re: In Germany, Game Ratings Bulk Up
But it's so ugly!
Re: In Germany, Game Ratings Bulk Up
This is indeed the new standard in Germany. Those are the result of an amendment which became effective on July 1st 2008. According to the new law all games sold in Germany must have this oversized logo in the future. However publishers have been granted a transit period till 2010 meaning they can sell boxes with the old logo until then, afterwards only those with the new logo on it.
P.S. If you thought those looked fugly on a PS3 box take a look a NDS box... the logo takes approximately a quarter of the front... cheers to our government for this "brilliant idea"...
Re: In Germany, Game Ratings Bulk Up
The situation in the US would be no different if we increased the size of ratings. People already complain that our rating symbols, which happen to be 10X the size of movie ratings, are too small.
E. Zachary Knight
http://www.editorialgames.com
Oklahoma City Chapter of the ECA
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E. Zachary Knight
Divine Knight Gaming
OK Game Devs
Random Tower
Re: In Germany, Game Ratings Bulk Up
"Seeing as Wario Land and the math game don’t come out until September, it’s possible that these large rating labels could be a new USK standard as suggested by GoNintendo."
That's right, this will be standard. On May this year, Germany decided to tighten the Protection of Young Persons Act. The bigger labels are part of this resolution.
Re: In Germany, Game Ratings Bulk Up
Quite a label...now, if a parent STILL can't figure stuff like this out, they really should'nt have f**ked in the first place.
Re: In Germany, Game Ratings Bulk Up
That poor Stormtrooper.
Re: In Germany, Game Ratings Bulk Up
"If the entire front cover of a video game box was covered by an age rating, do you think parents might notice?"
Whether they notice or not doesn't matter if they don't care, which seems to be the case of the people that complain about violence in video games. I mean, if you can find the tiny, often near-invisible rating on the back of DVDs, you have no excuse for not being able to find the larger, black-and-white rating on BOTH SIDES of game cases.
Also, I hope that sticker can be taken off, because it is noticeably ugly.
Re: In Germany, Game Ratings Bulk Up
On both sides of the game case, on the manual, on the disc itself, on the screen when the game is turned on(in some cases a voice says the rating), and even in the commercials for the game on TV.
There hasn't been an excuse.