Nintendo eShop: IARC now supported in Japan

IARC (International Age Rating Coalition) is a system that offers a “globally streamlined age classification process for digital games”. It allows publishers and indie developers to get the required age ratings to release their games on digital platforms such as the Nintendo eShop. It’s a rather simple, straightforward, and more importantly free system.

And starting today, IARC is now supported on the Nintendo eShop (Nintendo Switch) in Japan, which means that publishers and indie developers no longer have to go through CERO to release digital games. The first game using the IARC system was released today in Japan (The Legend of Ninja), with a second one coming on October 22nd (inbento).

For indie developers, this is a pretty big deal as they will no longer have to send game materials for CERO to review, and they will not have to pay a rating fee (which can be quite prohibitive for small developers with limited funds, which is why many choose to go with a publisher). Releasing games is quite the arduous task, and IARC being supported on the Nintendo eShop means one less hurdle for them to overcome to bring their games in Japan.

For players, this is also a pretty big deal, because that means more indie games releasing in Japan, and potentially more Japanese indie developers making/porting games to the Nintendo Switch.

Source: 4Gamer