Nnooo: Indie dev calls for change in Australian classification policy

Indie developer Nnooo of escapeVektor and Spirit Hunters Inc. fame has shed some light on the often-costly process of having games age-rated on digital platforms. Currently the process is expensive in Australia and for many studios, isn't worth the money due to low returns. The Australian studio has called for a change in policy in a new interview.

In an interview with Vooks, business and marketing director Bruce Thomson shed light in why the Australian method is problematic.

"We can sell a game in the Americas (with a population of about 1 billion) for no ratings fees," Thomson explained, "in Europe (with a population of over 700 million) for 500 Euros per platform and in Australia (23 million) for AUS$430, considering that only 2 percent of our revenue comes from Australian sales you can see how ridiculous this is.

"Changing the current classification system in Australia to a self-rated, no-fee model like the one operated by the ESRB would be a big help for small devs like us where every dollar counts.
The current Australian ratings system increases the cost of making games for the Australian market and prevents many small developers from releasing their titles here."

Given the low income of some indies - especially those starting out - should such barriers be lifted in Australia? Let us know below.

Thanks Nintendo Life.