pegi - Kotaku

posts about #pegi more →
These Are New PEGI Symbols
PEGI Triumphs Over The BBFC
PEGI Should Be Legal Standard In UK - ELSPA
ELSPA Introduces Traffic Light Ratings System For Stupid Parents
PEGI: We'll Talk With You, But First, Do You Support Us?
ELSPA - BBFC Can't Cope With Game Rating
Nintendo, SEGA, Ubisoft, EA All Back PEGI Over BBFC
BBFC Disappointed By Publisher Delay Concerns
UK Government Forms Byron Review Action Plan
EA: UK Game Ratings Changes Spell Delays

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Lauraliane
06/17/09

In reply to These Are New PEGI Symbols
I find it weird that there is no color difference between 12 and 16.

The differences in the content can be quite big between those.
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ThursdayNext
06/17/09

@Lauraliane: I think there's a bigger jump from 7 to 12. If we take film classifications as a well known example there's little to call between a 12a and a 15 but the difference between a PG and a 12a can be hoooge.
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rich8606
06/17/09

In reply to These Are New PEGI Symbols
Ugh... they have colors. Same here in Australia ours are also colorful, totally ruins the cover's aesthetic.
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rich8606
06/17/09

@rich8606: The MGS4 PAL cover featuring Yoji Shinkawa's illustration is ruined by that stupid symbol.
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sits
06/17/09

In reply to These Are New PEGI Symbols
Nice. Finally, the UK further realises what it means to be European. (Yes British euroskeptics, you ARE European. Accept it already.)
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excel_excel
06/17/09

@sits: Until they get the euro in they can still claim to be not european! Thats what we irish did until we got the euro in!
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Zocks
06/17/09

In reply to These Are New PEGI Symbols
Looking pretty ok, I owuld prefer darker colours so it diesnt stands out that much, but thats what they want, to stand out. The question ist, How big are they!?

The new ones in germany are ugly and BIG, turning the most beautiful cover into shit.
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ThursdayNext
06/17/09

@tormenta3001: USK ones are partly transparent now. Happy Times. :D
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excel_excel
06/17/09

In reply to These Are New PEGI Symbols
ah red. the colour of EVIL. And mario's clothes
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drizzt_rocks
06/17/09

@excel_excel: OMG Mario is EVIL and he isn't really trying to save the princess from yet another castle instead hes *insert spoilers from braid*
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excel_excel
06/17/09

@drizzt_rocks: ...having sex with Toad? To be honest its what I'd expect. So many castles knowhatimsayin?
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Vamplosion
06/17/09

In reply to These Are New PEGI Symbols
16 seems a tad odd, why not 15? like movies
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ThursdayNext
06/17/09

@Vamplosion: It's always been 16, maybe because that's school leaving age and car driving age (in Britain at least). 16 year olds are sort of mini-adults.
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Vamplosion
06/17/09

@ThursdayNext: the driving age in britain is 17
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El-Suave
06/17/09

@Vamplosion: 16 is a standard age "barrier" in these matters across Europe, so Britain adjusted to that.
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ThursdayNext
06/17/09

@Vamplosion: Good point. Smoking was a 16 thing though, as are lottery tickets oh, and sex! I guess it just goes to show the arbitrary nature of age limits. :D
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Vamplosion
06/17/09

@ThursdayNext: I thought smoking was 18?
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ThursdayNext
06/17/09

@Vamplosion: Smoking is an 18 thing, but it was a 16 thing.
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Pombar
06/17/09

@Vamplosion: Made a lot more sense when the previous one was 13, let me tell you that.
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conditionals
06/17/09

In reply to These Are New PEGI Symbols
Boring. In Australia we have crazy colours and rounded edges for our ratings.

Also our money is colourful and plastic.

We are such an exciting country!
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Punani
06/17/09

@conditionals:We rock in Australia. Rounded edges and crazy colours are awesome! We've got green, yellow, blue, and red. Still waiting for our special black one though.

Cool PEGI ratings anyway? I guess... at least you guys have an R18+ rating.
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DrunkAus
06/17/09

@Punani: Why must you make me sad? Do want special black colour.
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coladict
06/17/09

@conditionals: do you have sheep in your money?
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DrunkAus
06/17/09

@coladict: No we have random old people who have some sort of cultural significance :P and a CRAZY little window in the corner to peek out of.
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Pombar
06/16/09

In reply to PEGI Triumphs Over The BBFC
The BBFC would be better - the public as a whole realise what the ratings mean, etc. Plus they give lower ratings to stuff like Crackdown because they realise it's cartoony and satirical, not malicious.
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SPni
06/16/09

In reply to PEGI Triumphs Over The BBFC
I'd rather have the BBFC. I think it's clearer for the mum who buys a game from GAME. A big red BBFC 18 is much more recognised than the 18+ of PEGI.
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theTOMSTA666
06/16/09

In reply to PEGI Triumphs Over The BBFC
I never even realised there was an issue.
From my knowledge BBFC always rates games 12, 15 or 18.
I thought PEGI took care of the rest?
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Azquelt
06/16/09

@theTOMSTA666:

The BBFC rated very few games. Only games with certain content had to go through the BBFC in the UK (I forget exactly what the criteria were but it included some 15+ games and most 18+ games). I recall reading several years ago on the ELSPA website that about 5% of games went through the BBFC.

The big difference to retailers and consumers was that BBFC ratings are legally binding, stores can receive large fines for supplying media to a person below the rated age. Hopefully GAME (who are the only big games retailer left) and HMV can be persuaded to enforce the PEGI ratings as a store policy rather than a legal one.
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ThursdayNext
06/17/09

@Azquelt: Fortunately I am intimately familiar with ratings boards.

All games in UK are (were) rated by PEGI unless:

1. They showed excessive sex/violence etc. (i.e. PEGI 18 rated games).

or

2. They contained video content other than that directly related to the game's plot. (i.e. Adverts for other games/making of documentaries).

GAME currently are very good at checking ID for games (at least they are in my local game stores) I couldn't comment on HMV but given that they deal largely in DVD's they probably have fairly robust guidelines for age checking.
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-Hairball-
06/16/09

In reply to PEGI Triumphs Over The BBFC
I think parents can understand a simple 18 sign on the front of the game (just like a dvd) better to be honest.
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Mister Jack started the Save The Lombax Foundation
06/16/09

@-Hairball-: 18? This....this means I should buy it for little Billy, and invite over 17 of his friends to play it, right?
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Mister Jack started the Save The Lombax Foundation
06/16/09

In reply to PEGI Triumphs Over The BBFC
Pish posh! How could they choose those PEGI fools! Harumph harumph harumph harumph!
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Blore07
06/16/09

real classy@Busting makes Mister Jack feel good: Real classy, I for one think that it is a travisty, without all the anti brit humour.

In england no one takes the PEGI ratings seriously at all, whereas the BBFC is quite commonly followed.

I'm fed up of seeing little shit chavs walking into Gamestation and buying a GTA or a 50 Cent game.

Like it or not there is a reason things have ratings people.
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GOD
06/16/09

@Busting makes Mister Jack feel good: Ha Ha,

Don't get yourself into a tizzle. I'll go pop the kettle on for a nice spot of earl grey.
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Mister Jack started the Save The Lombax Foundation
06/16/09

@GOD: I didn't get a harumph out of that guy...
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Antiterra
06/16/09

@Blore07: I'm not British, but I don't think they'll have too much of a hard time learning all those cryptic, indecipherable symbols: 3, 7, 12, 16, 18.

It's up to retailers and parents to take the PEGI ratings seriously. It's no different from the changes the BBFC itself went through over the years.

If the British could adapt to the metric system, getting onboard with PEGI ratings shouldn't be the end of civilisation.

...Unless, of course, people can't wrap their head around such a simple system just because *gasp* they're not used to it. In that case, then yes, civilisation is well and truly fucked.
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Chronixal
06/16/09

@Busting makes Mister Jack feel good: "Give the governor a harumph!" "Harumph!" "You watch your ass..."
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Mister Jack started the Save The Lombax Foundation
06/16/09

@Chronixal: Glad someone got it.
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-Skyline-:Offering FREE Grunt Birthday Parties!
06/16/09

In reply to PEGI Triumphs Over The BBFC
Now they should take on the ESRB. It's a better rating board isn't it?
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gahazakul
06/16/09

@Skyline7284:

No.
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Mommar
06/16/09

@gahazakul:

I will not allow some foreign classification system to hold sway over policies in my country.
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Đipic
06/16/09

@Mommar: You will and you will like it.
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Cartman86
06/16/09

@Skyline7284: The system itself might be better than the ESRB who knows. But the problem with PEGI is that it still is at the hands of the government. The government can censor content. No one in the US can censor. However to be fair no console maker will allow a non-rated or AO rated game on their system. PC's will though. I'm fine with this simply because it's the industry who has decided this instead of the government.
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phicaluk
06/16/09

@Skyline7284: Cage match!
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ThursdayNext
06/17/09

@Cartman86: "But the problem with PEGI is that it still is at the hands of the government."

Wrong, wrong, wrong 1000 times wrong. PEGI is independant from the government and all signatories to the system have joined of their own volition.

Just because we don't have "No censorship" written on a dusty bit of paper doesn't make us a bunch of right wing facists. Our government is quite capable of remembering not to censor free speech without the need to refer to a crib sheet.

"I'm fine with this simply because it's the industry who has decided this instead of the government."

The industry wanted this system precisely because it is self regulating and not tied to the government as the BBFC is. They didn't just pick it because they prefer square logos to round ones.
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stoneagedan
11/21/08

In reply to PEGI Should Be Legal Standard In UK - ELSPA
I hope they just stick with BFC: less messing around involved. There's no point flouting the fact that PEGI helps ban games (BBFC has banned very few, and even its legal role to do so can be undermined via higher authorities. The same would apply to PEGI, amking banning a useless act).

BAsucally, stciking with BBFC will conform to what Byrin said: the PEGI system is already one too many, and is an alien system compared to the familiar BBFC system. Why doesn't ELSPA throw some money into their system to help spped the process, instead of pouring cash into PR and lobbying government to swtich to a new age rating logo?
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Antiterra
11/21/08

In reply to ELSPA Introduces Traffic Light Ratings System For Stupid Parents
Ages 3 and up: teddy-bear box

7 and up: smiley-face box

12 and up: gun-shaped box

16 and up: penis-shaped box (Dildopak®)

18 and up: Duck-Hunt-motherfuckin'-dog-shaped... box
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