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Germany's ESRB = USK presented their annual report for 2009
Germany's software rating organization USK presented their annual report for 2009. They tested 3100 games (114 more than last year) and only seven percent were rated M for Mature.
1 Min Read
Decline in the FPS genre
1,1 percent gained a 'no rating' tag (2008: 1,4 percent) which is the equivalent of an 'AO' rating in the US. Most of those titles did not get the M-rating because of 'extreme violence'. The USK explains the lower numbers because of a decline in FPS games they get to see and test in 2009 (bear in mind, many AAA titles never made it to the German market).
In 2008 the USK had to test 148 FPS games, while in 2009 they only had 66 games to look at. They also made a statement that the number of casual games and music games is growing.
As for the PC-heavy market - Germany is not a PC powerhouse anymore. According to the USK, the PC market share - at least in games that they rate - is shrinking steadily. In 2009 the amount of PC games they had to test was 40 percent less.
New Areas of Activity
Since the German USK was founded in 1994 they tested more than 26.600 titles. For 2010 they are expecting another record year. Since the German laws are revised again, they expect to be allowed to test Online-Games in the near future. According to the laws right now, they are only allowed to test retail games.
USK Webpage: http://www.usk.de/
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