Age rating of Windows Store games in plain language

It is no secret that in Russia since 01.09.2012, age restrictions on TV have been introduced, so it is not surprising that age restrictions also apply to games in the Windows Store. Considering that you can provide your game for the markets of various countries, it is advisable to know the specifics of foreign licensing.



For those who find it hard to read manuals, who prefer the absence of unnecessary details and are ready to put up with a rather loose language, I will try to explain how to get a rating for the game under the cut on fingers.







Attention! This material should be understandable to you if you already have at least 16 years old and not yet 60 years old.





')

Even if assigning a rating to games would not be necessary (and in most countries this is not necessary), this procedure would still make sense. Users have a certain confidence in rated games. This information can increase the number of downloads.



In the Windows Store, you need to specify the certificates when placing the application in the following paragraph:







You will be prompted to download the GDF file and certificate files.







This is only part of the certificates that can be sent - the rest of the certificates are optional. As a recommendation about Korea and Taiwan, I can offer to do as I do - not to bother and just remove these countries from the markets of your application. If someone in the comments gives a description of the process of creating a certificate for these countries - Welcome! As a certificate for Brazil in my case, the PEGI certificate came up (how to get it, read on).



The GDF file is a game self-assessment file. It can be created using the GDFMaker utility. I have it in two folders at once:

C: \ Program Files (x86) \ Windows Kits \ 8.0 \ bin \ x86

C: \ Program Files (x86) \ Windows Kits \ 8.1 \ bin \ x86



Visually differences in the files of different versions are not noticed.

The official instructions for the program are here: Creating a GDF file



In short the points, then:



1. Create a new project. File Menu - New Project

2. We do not choose any languages, but enter the name of the project and select the folder

3. Remove the check mark next to Use Windows Experience Index

4. Find the “Play Tasks” tab, go to it and click below Add

5. Enter the name of the game in the Path field and click OK (this is a formality, but we will not create GDF without it)

6. Under the text Game Rating Information, click Add and add the necessary ratings. Click OK

7. In the Resources menu, click on the Build Script for Project item.

8. We can use the xml file from the NEU folder.



What can be noted is that it is a bit inconvenient on the Play Tasks tab to add a new task for the game in case the monitor resolution is 768 in height.



The GDFMaker program window with all added ratings looks like this:







Exactly the same as for the Windows Store, the GDF file is also required for games in the Windows Phone store.

The window with all loaded certificates looks like this:







Pay attention to the CSRR rating. In this case, I did not upload the ReplacementRating.pdf file. All I did was choose the desired rating from the drop-down list.







I downloaded the ESRB and PEGI certificates. Instead of the rest uploaded the GDF file. PEGI_PT is, apparently, the PEGI rating for Portugal.



For Windows Store applications, the rating required for Russia is RSVR - Russian Age Rating System. From the description on the page Age Ratings and Evaluation Commissions it becomes clear that this is a self-assessment rating, which is based on PEGI.

The Windows Store description also indicates that: “For PCBP and DJCTQ, you can use the existing PEGI certificate after completing the self-assessment process.”

In the Windows Phone store for Russia, the required rating is immediately indicated by PEGI.

Pegi

It turns out that the necessary rating for hosting a Windows application in Russia is PEGI - Pan European Game Information www.pegi.info .



As you can see from the name, this rating is suitable for distributing the game throughout Europe.

What turned out to be surprising for me is that to get a rating, it is enough to fill out an online form https://wp-rating.pegi.eu/Games/Submit for free.



At the first stage you will need to specify the name of the game, the genre and the release date:







Next, select the elements that are present in our game. Swearing, horror stories, violence, sex, drugs, rock and roll , crime, etc.







After we ourselves evaluate our game for the presence of unsuitable behavior for children, the most amazing part comes. We will see an icon with a rating assigned to our game and, having filled out the following small form, we will be able to download a zip file with a license.







Another surprising point is the presence in the list of countries that use the PEGI rating of countries such as Argentina, Bahrain, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Uruguay, Venezuela and many others.

ESRB

I do not think that I can explain how the ESRB rating is assigned better than the following picture explains, but I will try.







Rating for the United States or Canada is Entertainment Software Rating Board. Getting a rating is also free. The rating is not mandatory, but since the markets of these countries are rather large, it is rather desirable. In this case, after filling in the application form, the license will be sent to the e-mail address. The application form is filled in at: https://autoratingtool.esrb.org/ARTclient/WindowsPhone.aspx .



We fill in the fields with the name of the application, indicate our e-mail address (I did not receive the license for a free e-mail address, I had to fill it again, indicating the address on my personal domain)







Next, fill in a questionnaire similar to the PEGI questionnaire, indicating Yes / No answers to questions about the presence of certain content in the application.









Click Next, see the picture with the assigned rating, accept the terms of the agreement and click Confirm. We are waiting for letters in the mail. It's pretty simple.