Microsoft's Chief of XNA (their user created content division) has told GameIndustry.biz that the games classification authorities, for example PEGI or the BBFC, will not have the man-power, time or ablility to adequately rate community driven content (read: shitty XNA games) on Xbox Live. He went on to say that he believes the only way forward is (and I may have taken him up wrong here) to allow a rating system akin to YouTubes 5-star system... except presumably with age ratings instead/as well.

According to Satchel: "We have to rate ourselves [by giving the community tools] - they want to see it succeed and if you give them tools they'll act responsibly." Now, don't get me wrong, I have the utmost respect for the member of the Xbox Live community. I think them be a very mature and capable lot, however, while I love the idea of an anarchic ratings system, I'm not too sure I want ten year old Jimmy from down the street telling me when he is old enough to play a game like GTA or whatever. I'm actually usually completely against compulsary ratings systems, I think that it's the parents responsibility to respect their kids maturity and allow that to influence their purchasing decision, however a ratings system can often be elpful in making that decision. I mean, if a game says 18, I'm not giving it to a five year old no matter how mature they are. Perhaps the most workable situation would be for the creator of the content to rate it themselves and then have it (the rating) peer reviewed by other content creators, but are they mature enough yet?