Justin Davis at Modojo has put forward an argument that mobile games need an age rating system—or at least, mobile games are now technically and graphically at the stage console games were when they got an age rating system. “id Software’s Doom ignited a firestorm of controversy in 1993, but EA Mobile’s Doom RPG didn’t attract any negative attention towards its violence, despite essentially using the same sprite artwork and weaponry. Obviously this is partially because what was cutting-edge digital violence in 1993 is orders of magnitude less realistic and less extreme than what appears in high-end games today. But it’s still the same level of violence.”
I don’t think age ratings are the magic bullet is stopping kids accessing content their parents would consider inappropriate, the main question is if they would cause any harm. The mobile game ecosystem is also a lot different from the console game ecosystem, in that most games are sold through carriers—which have a vested interest in maintaining a family friendly image. However, as games (along with other content) start being sold more and more through sources other than the carriers portal they’ll get more concerned, since they think they’ll still be held accountable for anything that is downloaded from a third-party site. I suspect it may be the carriers more than anyone else who pushes for a ratings system, especially one that allows them to block access to games if the user is deemed too young to play them. That’s something that’s going to have to include the parents as well.