Vista and ESRB Hurt Indie Games?

Found on Slashdot Games, there is a story that looks at the impact a new Windows Vista feature will have on indie games. Essentially, Vista lets administrators block games by rating on their machines, but since ESRB ratings cost developers a couple grand, most indie games don't go through the hassle. As such, indie games may not work - regardless of the content - for people using this tool.

Here's to hoping that ESRB picks up on this, realizes the damage it is doing to indie developers and the diservice to those who want ratings and offers some kind of "free" rating to games that can document themselves as truly and completely indie/low-budget. Not likely, but I can dream.

Check out the original article on GameDaily and the follow-up on GigaGamez.