ESRB Raises Nondisclosure Fine
Hot Coffee Costs $1 Million
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In light of last year's "Hot Coffee" scandal the Entertainment Software Ratings Board has announced that they will impose a $1 million fine on publishers who violate their nondisclosure clause. The self-policing system has come under much scrutiny since the aforementioned scandal and re-rating of Bethesda's Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and hopes that it can rebuild itself to suit the legislators.
ESRB president Patricia Vance stated: "After a game ships, if disclosure is found to have been incomplete, recent enhancements to the ESRB enforcement system will soon allow for the imposition of fines up to USD 1 million."
Although a step forward, many believe that the problem isn't with the ESRB's penalties but with the initial rating of the titles. Due to the length and amount of titles released today it would be near impossible for the firm to play through and experience everything that each game has to offer. Instead the ESRB relies on documentation from the publishers themselves, something that obviously caused them great headache with the "Hot Coffee" scandal. It appears that the ESRB hopes the fine is large enough for publishers to be extra cautious with the documentation they send to be rated.
Source: GamesIndustry Article
ESRB president Patricia Vance stated: "After a game ships, if disclosure is found to have been incomplete, recent enhancements to the ESRB enforcement system will soon allow for the imposition of fines up to USD 1 million."
Although a step forward, many believe that the problem isn't with the ESRB's penalties but with the initial rating of the titles. Due to the length and amount of titles released today it would be near impossible for the firm to play through and experience everything that each game has to offer. Instead the ESRB relies on documentation from the publishers themselves, something that obviously caused them great headache with the "Hot Coffee" scandal. It appears that the ESRB hopes the fine is large enough for publishers to be extra cautious with the documentation they send to be rated.
Source: GamesIndustry Article