ESRB soon gets to say, 'You must be this old to play this iPhone game'

With this bit of news, you're mileage may vary. This could be either the most depressing or comforting news you hear all day, dependent upon your age. The ESRB, or the Entertainment Software Rating Board, will roll out a content ratings system for iOS and Android. IndustryGamers reports that the ESRB will have help from the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association.

The new system will standardize video game and app ratings across iOS and Android devices, which is admittedly a fragmented mess at the moment. While the App Store allows developers to choose ratings based on age, the Android Market features ratings with wording from "Everyone" to "High Maturity." With this system, mobile game creators would have to submit their games to the ESRB--just like they do with console and PC games--in order to receive a rating.

According to IndustryGamers, the ESRB has rated over 21,000 games since its inception in 1994. With the amount of games that hit the App Store and Android Market every week, that number is about to skyrocket. How this system will be enforced once employed is unknown, which is certainly a concern considering the amount of parents that let little Mary Sue play with the iPad.

Are you relieved or annoyed that mobile games are about to get their own standardized ratings system? How could the ESRB enforce such a system on the App Store and Android Market?

Want some free Android games? Better follow Gameloft this weekend

The insane industrious lot of you are probably amidst the shopper hordes, taking great advantage of today's sales. The rest of us? Well, we're either stuck at work or taking the lazy route, as in waiting for Cyber Monday. But the Android gaming crowd doesn't even have to leave the bed today: Gameloft is giving one Android game away for free today through Monday each day for just two hours at a time.

All you need to do is follow Gameloft's Android Twitter account, @GameloftAndroid, for when the developer opens the floodgates. Of course, Gameloft won't tell when the fateful tweets will go out each day, so you'll just have to check Twitter every 30 minutes or so, which isn't that big a deal. As of this writing, the @GameloftAndroid account hasn't been updated at all, so we're guessing the only tweets coming from this account over the next few days will be those for free games.

And if you happen to already own the games that go up for grabs for the fine price of "nada", every single Android game from Gameloft will be available for $0.99 this weekend. (And yes, that includes HD versions of its games designed for tablets.) So don't be blue about missing out on Black Friday--it's crazy town out there. At least you can get some free games out of it. (Just hope one of them isn't Order & Chaos Online, kay?)

Are you an avid Android gamer? What do you think of Gameloft's games on the platfor

Gree's OpenFeint hires ex-Glu Mobile exec, more social games coming?

The mobile social game wars are heating up, as OpenFeint just took on former Glu Mobile executive Sarah Thompson (pictured) as its director of developer relations, SocialTimes reports. In other words, OpenFeint, owned by Japanese mobile social gaming powerhouse Gree, hired Thomson to strategically acquire build relationships with independent developers.

Namely, SocialTimes's Azam Khan guesses those developers will be primarily social and mobile social game creators, given Thomson's past exploits in the industry with Glu Mobile and IUGO Entertainment before that. And frankly, we couldn't agree more. Considering OpenFeint is a social network for mobile games at heart, and Gree's existing status, it simply makes sense.

"OpenFeint is going through an exciting phase of growth right now and Sarah is exactly the kind of person we need to keep up the momentum," OpenFeint SVP Marketing and Developer Relations Eros Resmini said in a release. "Sarah's deep history in mobile gaming paired with her connections to the developer community made her a great fit for OpenFeint."

We can't help but recall what just went down between OpenFeint and Gree: The former's co-founder and CEO Jason Citron resigned, and Gree CFO Naoki Aoyagi took his place. (Though, VentureBeat reckons the move was less ... cut-and-dry.) But back to Gree and OpenFeint's future plans, the simple fact is mobile social games are growing at an exponential rate on iOS and Android devices.

"I've always admired OpenFeint for its constant innovation in the mobile gaming space," Thomson said in a release. "As the company continues to change with the market, I'm excited to help OpenFeint continue growing." And we think we have an idea of just where Thomson would like to go. It starts with an "S" and--oh, forget it. You get the point already.

Do you think this puts OpenFeint in a better place to compete with opponents like DeNA and Zynga in mobile games? Don't you wish you could have rockin' tattoos and a big time exec gig? Sound off in the comments. 3 Comments

Android gaming gets smurfalicious, Smurfs' Village launches Sept. 28

The Smurfs Village
Android owners, did you really think you could survive the blue wave for long? Capcom's Beeline Interactive announced that Smurfs' Village will launch on select Android devices for free on Sept. 28. Originally released for the iPhone and iPad in late 2010, the mobile social game skyrocketed in popularity and even resulted in one hilarious lesson in child rearing in 2011.

The game plays out much like mobile Zynga games like CityVille Hometown in that players are tasked (by Papa Smurf) to build up their very own--you guessed it--village. But this time, it's for the Smurfs to dwell in as the evil Gargamel seeks them out. During your time expanding the Smurfs' miniature empire, you'll gain access to some of the more popular Smurfs and their special abilities.

Namely, many of these blue buggers will unlock mini games for you to enjoy and find additional resources with like Greedy Smurf's Baking Game or Papa Smurf's Potion Mixing Game. Of course, players can also share their experiences with their friends on Facebook through Facebook Connect. According to Capcom, Smurfs' Village consistently ranks as a top grossing app worldwide. (We think we have an idea of how that happened back in the day.)

Most recently, Capcom and Beeline released Smurfs' Grabber to iPhone and iPad, which will soon integrate directly with Smurfs' Village. (Not to mention that Ubisoft released a full-blown Smurfs game for Facebook.) We imagine that, with the heaping gold mine that the Smurfs property has proven to be for Capcom, it won't be long before you're grabbing for goodies in Smurfs' Village with Smurfs' Grabber on Android devices, too. Until then, just focus on building your blue buddies some comfy mushroom houses.

Click here to find The Smurfs' Village on the Android Market >

Are you a fan of the recent mobile and social takes on the Smurfs in smartphones and on Facebook? Will we ever get enough of the smurfing? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment