PEGI becomes UK standard for games Comments by Matt Martin

Wohoo!!!! Yeah!!! In your face BBFC!!!

Sorry, just felt someone should comment.

Can't wait to see what wacky symbols they come up with for parents to be ignorant of, this time! :o)

this is worrying at the fact that while working at various retailers, hardly any parents even noticed the PEGI ratings system. To get the public on track with knowing the PEGI system after the BBFC has been in place for so long will be a difficult effort.

This is brilliant news! I literally laughed out loud in joy. Never again will I have to see those hideous BBFC emblems on my precious games again!

Nice, I prefer the PEGI system. Indeed, the very few times I've seen parents pay attention to ratings, it's those ones they look at. Though as far as I understand it, he PEGI system is more about self-certification, so a more developed version of that would be ideal.

It gives a more specific breakdown of the content at least, though a couple of the symbols were a bit obscure. I'm curiosu to see how this develops.

I hope they incorporate the 'sad onion' logos

http://www.equitoy.com/images/0-3symbol.gif

"Selling a videogame rated 12 or over to a minor will now be illegal."

Hang on.....it wasnt illegal before?

They're going to need to make this really clear to parents and the naive, because no-one here really notices the PEGI ratings system - they look for the red of BBFC 15 or 18, and if they're not there, no-one takes any notice.

I can see difficulty in adapting to this for a good year or two.

"Selling a videogame rated 12 or over to a minor will now be illegal."

But isn't a minor someone under 18?!

So, what are they going to do about dumb-ass parents that buy 18 rated games for little Jonny and then express outrage at the content.

Good news. :)

Neat.

"Selling a videogame rated 12 or over to a minor will now be illegal."

"Hang on.....it wasnt illegal before?"

PEGI wasn't legally enforceable and I believe you only got BBFC ratings on 15 and 18 games.

teabagger - its not the government's job to teach parents how to be parents, simply to establish a ratings system.

Good news, means consistency with Europe and no potential BBFC caused dealys or issues. Pegi is often more lenient than the BBFC.

Whilst I agree that parents recognise BBFC logos but not PEGI ones, I guess it's best that PEGI - the industry body - got the nod, as they are best placed to respond to changes in the industry, and reflect the content more accurately.

It's good that they're not legally enforcable, too; although, on the downside, I make a little entertainment news package at work, aimed at kids, and I've often included 12+ games in the past, as under 12s (our target audience) could still buy them. I suppose now either my guidelines or the games I feature will have to change! Still, it's probably for the best.

PEGI wasn't legally enforceable and I believe you only BBFC ratings on 15 and 18 games.

There are plenty of BBFC 12 rated games, Tomb Raider Underworld is a recent example.

Am I the only person that thinks the BBFC PG/12/15/18 rating system is far clearer and therefore better than the PEGI system?

edit: had I bothered reading more of the comments I can see that I'm not the only one. Phew, eh?

I fail to see how this is going to make any impact on the sale of inappropriate games to minors. The problem isn't retailers selling games to minors, it's dumb parents buying said games specifically for the minors!!!

If they can't take the big ass Rated 18 symbol on the game box as a hint, they sure as hell won't even look at the PEGI symbols!!

Well, I guess they just want to *look* like they're trying to do something

A stupid decision.

"The new system of classification follows the essential criteria set out by Professor Tanya Byron, who recommended a trustworthy, uniform and clear set of symbols that is flexible and future proof"

And in the same report she states that most parents don't recognise the PEGI classifcation, but the BBFC system is instantly recognisable. So which one do they go for?

[/facepalm]

They must have changed the 15/18 only thing then. It's irrelevant now, I guess. :)

At the end of the day, this will be a nice simplification. There's only going to be one set of age ratings on the box and no potentially confusing 15+ and 16+ on the same game.

It's pretty ridiculous that parents in the UK didn't understand the PEGI emblems to begin with. The rest of the EU, except Germany, seemingly has no problem. Furthermore, what the hell is up with parents being able to understand a red emblem with an 18 on it but not a black and white emblem with an 18+ rating present on the box. Stuff like that has led to articles such as this one.

So we're going to have bunches of BBFC censors - er, "Classifiers", their brains twisted to INHUMAN SAVAGERY by the thousands of hours of lowbrow videogame swearing, roaming the streets? I'm scared.

I've always prefered the BBFC.

From my experience, customers who look at the PEGI rating think that it's a recommended age for skill and not for content, because it starts at 3+. When they see the BBFC 18, they know exactly what it means, and if the parents choose to ignore it then they are taking that responsibility.

Having the same system for games and movies makes a lot of sense, moving to the crazy PEGI symbol system is a huge step backwards, in my opinion. I am also aware of several instances where PEGI has given games entirely wrong ratings that contradict their previous works.

XIII being rated 12+ is the most blatant example of a PEGI screw up I'm aware of. It's a pretty violent game with blood and bad language, but it looks like a cartoon so it must be okay for kids to play. I don't trust PEGI, I do trust the BBFC.

Dr Byron's report was obviously flawed. They should get Dr Alice Roberts to do another report. She's the world's greatest anthropologist ever, so ideally suited. I can volunteer if she needs a test subject to experiment on.

Seriously, big numbers slapped on the front of the box - you can't make it any cleared!

The UK made the right choice. Only Germany has to follow now. Sadly, the ignorance of German politicians is overwhelming and the concept is therefore unlikely to manifest itself.

PEGI is self-regulation as opposed to independent regulation like the BBFC. This is good for the publishers but perhaps not what Parents really want.

@BigJonno: The rule about the BBFC split was that if you as a developer or publisher thought you had too much sex or violence in your game, you made a judgement call to send your game to the BBFC. By and large most people consider "too much" to be within the 18 rating, but as it's a judgement call, a few games weren't as bad as the dev/pub thought and got 15s and even 12s.

In the other direction, there have been titles given a PEGI rating of 16+ in the UK marketplace for some time.

@ Dead_Man_Typing

Like I was saying, people who cannot successfully comprehend what the PEGI age ratings mean should read this article and ponder whether they are mentally incompetent.

They need to redesign the stupid monochrome PEGI symbols, they really don't stand out at all. Other than that I agree that the more specific ratings of PEGI are better for games, but seriously - drop the current logos and create new, colour-coded ones - bright red for 18+ and greens and blues for 3+, 7+ etc.

Im fairly sure i have seen 10yo's buying games like GTA/Manhunt so it really makes no difference does it

So, what form of ID proves a child is 12+?

its the best possible system we can hope for, would you prefer the government to brand parents buying games for their preteens illegal? This way it is at least inforcable by law AND gives a certain amout of free will for the parent to make their own decision.

I have to disagree with it will never be seen as a true rating.

Yes we all know what the BBFC ones mean because they have been around for a long time, but ti won't take long for people to get to know the PEGI ratings, before long people will forget how it use to be. It was an 18 before and now its an 18+ if people can't make the link then they have bigger issues than what game to play.

So Mass Effect goes from a 12 (under BBFC) to 18 (under PEGI). Woo hoo! Sounds like the government bowing to the bullshit claims of publishers. Would be fine if thoughts on age ratings were consistant across Europe but they are clearly not.

35th1!

PEGI? Seriously? Damn... should have kept the BBFC on the job!

@ asphaltcowboy

Not with those hideous rating emblems!

PEGI ratings have been supported by the mainstream retail chains (gamestation/game) for a while. PEGI ratings can have the ability to mess up the system. for example, the 12+ PEGI and BBFC rating becomes a particular problem as the only real form of I.D they can carry is a passport. Once you begin to make the 7+ PEGI ratings obey a legal requirement, it becomes a major problem.

From the view of a staff member, i do not want to sell a 7+ game to any kid unless they look about ten years old to protect my back! That is how its going to be and i am going to get more abusive parents demanding me to answer why i can not sell their child a game that they are apparently old enough to have. The rating systems were fine as they are, the only plus i can gather from the PEGI system is that there will be more information on the actual content which can help parents understand what they are buying. I apologize for the rant...

YAY! another company to pay money to before you can release your game....

Seems a bit strange since the BBFC were expanding their own section and seemed to know what they were doing technology wise. Depends on PEGI too since even with self regulation.These industries can become very self serving and carry agendas like the MPAA in the US and the BBFC, while also self regulated, had to answer to the government a lot as well. Since PEGI is Pan-European, will we be subjected to agendas that other countries influence like religious and sexual agendas?

Not convinced at all really. The BBFC were doing a decent job and PEGI sounds too shaddy and too politicised by the industry. Time will tell though

@RobotRocker probably because the BBFC needed the industry to point out sections to look at otherwise would never be able to check every game on its own so might as well let the industry do it themselves with PEGI.

The new rating labels are similar, but coloured.
http://www.pegi.info/en/index/id/33

How on earth can people not understand the PEGI system? The big number in a box = minimum age, the picture of needles = drugs, the picture of a punch = violence. How could that confuse anyone - I didn't even need to look them up, it goes without saying!

@ 20charactersmax

They look a lot better than I expected them to look. I like the cleanliness and uniformity that they have. Thanks for the link!

How on earth can people not understand the PEGI system? The big number in a box = minimum age, the picture of needles = drugs, the picture of a punch = violence. How could that confuse anyone - I didn't even need to look them up, it goes without saying!

Dr. Julius Hibbert: Homer, I'm afraid you'll have to undergo a coronary bypass operation.
Homer Simpson: Say it in English, Doc!
Dr. Julius Hibbert: You're going to need open-heart surgery.
Homer Simpson: Spare me your medical mumbo jumbo!
Dr. Julius Hibbert: We're going to cut you open and tinker with your ticker.
Homer Simpson: Could you dumb it down a shade?

@ callum9999

I ask myself that very same question every time the subject comes up. Still, people aren't afraid to use this argument against utilising the PEGI as industry standard. This article depicts the absurdity of it all quite well.

As long as their infernal logos don't take up too much space on the game covers, I'm down with it.
Though I love buying games with the 18 certificate. Makes me feel like a real grown up boy!

I'm all for this. People will just have to learn what the new symbols mean, it's hardly rocket science. Putting an end to the blatant bias the BBFC had when rating games can only be a good thing too.

GAME have been treating PEGI ratings as law for the last few years now, much to the dismay of many 12 year olds across the world... well... the UK.

Pegi was just an indication for parents (not that parents looked at it )...and not legal. BBFC was a legal certification.

My ten year old tells me most of his class mates have played GTA4, and that kinda shows how bad parents have been on the usage front...

Now Pegi.... sorry but Pegi is rubbish, at least BBFC had a pretty strict set of rules to follow on why they gave ratings to films and games... can anyone tell me why Terminator has a Pegi rating is a 16+... seriously the only violence is fantasy (your shooting robots), there is one swear word... and you dont see any death sequences at all... Now anyone seen the movie... which is a 12A...anyone under 12 can see with a parent... this is one of the reasons why this is a sad day for ratings! Pegi do not have a clue.