PEGI ratings become the legally-enforced standard for games in UK on July 30th


Prometheus

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I just heard the news that, in the UK, PEGI ratings will be the official, legally-enforcable game age ratings standard from July 30th, and I really have to express my extreme disappointment.


I've ranted at length about PEGI's oddball policies before, of course, but not about this particular event.


Time and again, PEGI has proven itself to be bizarre (for example, the comic book-esque Kid Icarus: Uprising, the compilation of classic card and board games 42 All-Time Classics, and, when it was still in production, the cartoon-like MegaMan Legends 3, all received the same 12 age-rating, for example, Otogi 2 - as a game that features lots of gore

https://www.youtube.com/embed/-a5758cpTXU?feature=oembed), and is frequently not recognised as a content suitability rating.

The latter shows up a big problem with the fact that PEGI will be legally enforcable - the system is just not understood by most people*, unlike the universally understood BBFC ratings, which are clearer in their purpose (Universal - Suitable for All; 12; 15; 18; All with accompanying text on the packaging to further clarify their purpose). You'll often see this issue in customer reviews or overhear it in game shops - "It said 3+, but my kid can't read and it has a lot of text, so obviously there's a problem with this game.", "You're not having that, it says it's for babies!", and so on and so forth. And now this confusing system is supposed to be the law?


*(3+; 7+; 12+; 16+; and 18+ look to most people like "This is for this age-group.", rather than any indicator of content suitability; The design of these ratings images does not give any indication that they are an age-rating (they're rendered as large, colourful squares), and there is no accompanying text to give further detail on the ratings; It has silly descriptor icons that don't really tell you anything useful that couldn't be done better in text form (for example, if you saw a picture of a spider on the back of a game's box, what would your immediate thought be as to the icon's meaning? Bear in mind that PEGI icons don't feature text to tell you what they mean); And, in spite of being called the Pan-European Game Information ratings, the system is not even remotely consistent across Europe - quite often you can go across the channel to France, for example, and see the very same games, but with completely different age-ratings - rated under this same allegedly universal system. It's very much a "Me too!" ratings system that wants so very badly to be all grown-up like the BBFC's widely-understood ratings, but which fails due to its poor and confusing design, and which doesn't want to allow the oversight of such an organisation any longer.)


I also remember the storm created when the BBFC denied a rating to a particularly grim product. To be quite honest, I would not trust an industry-run body to have the same oversight, or to have anything but its own interests at heart, and this is another reason that I feel concern at PEGI being granted status as the legal age-ratings system for video games in the UK.


Has anyone else heard about this? Is anyone else bothered by it, too?
 
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it is realy stupid and pegi worth nothing... that said I prefer when stupidity like that pass rather than ACTA or any other badtm think like that...
 
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Oh for the love of cheese filled Pinapples why don't they make it so a adult must be present at the purchase of a game regardless of the rating there you see that Tommy who likes Mario can buy it and Jane who likes Mortal Kombat can buy it ! So long as Mr. Price who is strict can allow or Ms.Goodfellow who is not can continue with her crackberry !
 
To sum it up even though our ratings are more sensible I still hope that does not happen here in the US of A
 
I find it completely ridiculous in France. Film ratings are not consistent with game ratings (pegi). Films are rated 10, 12 and 18 (pornographic).


Films like Bruno, Piranha, black swan etc. got a 12 rating whereas COD, just cause 2 etc. gets an 18 rating. It really should be consistent.
 
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I find it completely ridiculous in France. Film ratings are not consistent with game ratings (pegi). Films are rated 10, 12 and 18 (pornographic).


Films like Bruno, Piranha, black swan etc. got a 12 rating whereas COD, just cause 2 etc. gets an 18 rating. It really should be consistent.

Piranha - the only file you can see a cgi cock get bitten off and eaten by a cgi piranha. Quality.... <_<
 
Hadn't heard about it but agree that the BBFC is a clearer ratings system, one we all used to.


As you say, these PEGI types look more like the 'recommended' age groups rather than the 'suitable only for' age groupings.


Wonder what this pan-europe ratings system would result in for the banned in UK games?


I'm thinking Thrill Kill [PS1] as an example, this got banned from UK and never released, when I was at school I got hold of an Italian copy of it to play in the chipped PS.


One of my all time greats too.


What would happen here then, do 'all' of Europe have to agree on the rating? So this game, had it been released now, 'would' be released in UK, or the other side of things where this would've been banned throughout Europe, even Italy?


PS: Bruno and Piranha are only rated 12? I'm bit surprised at this. No wonder our kids are fo0ked up, it ain't the video games corrupting them then
 
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At least PEGI isn't as retarded as our classification ratings here in Australia.
Or the worst of all, the USK/FSK here in germany. :D


If you are "lucky", you will get an "FSK 18" labeled game that is still heavily cutted and censored "to protect the youth"... :rolleyes:


We would be happy to have the PEGI ratings here in germany, believe me.
 
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