News - PEGI wins UK videogames rating battle

[HEXUS]

The battle between PEGI and the BBFC finally comes to a close with PEGI now becoming the sole videogame rating system in the UK.

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[kalniel]

I liked the BBFC one - parents understood and respected it.

Sounds like they're backing this one up with legal powers across the board though.

[Russ]

I liked the BBFC one - parents understood and respected it.

Sounds like they're backing this one up with legal powers across the board though.

is that a joke? never once have i heard a parent say "oh how splendid, this is rated by BBFC, i can sleep tonight knowing little John will only be killing prostitutes that are STD free"

[kalniel]

is that a joke? never once have i heard a parent say "oh how splendid, this is rated by BBFC, i can sleep tonight knowing little John will only be killing prostitutes that are STD free"

Go to a games shop and watch a parent - if the game has a BBFC rating on it they take notice because they understand it. If the game has a PEGI rating they ignore it.

[chrism]

There's not much to understand about an age rating, though I can understand it being easier to miss if it's not colour coded like the current BBFC ratings.

Still, if parents care about what their child is playing, they'll be looking for a rating as guidance (the cover of the title should also give some clue as to the content).

[Russ]

Go to a games shop and watch a parent - if the game has a BBFC rating on it they take notice because they understand it. If the game has a PEGI rating they ignore it.

i have my doubts tbh...

also, how hard is the new PEGI rating to understand
3
7
12
16
18

if parents cant understand that, then maybe they shouldnt be having kids...

[jim]

Go to a games shop and watch a parent - if the game has a BBFC rating on it they take notice because they understand it. If the game has a PEGI rating they ignore it.

I agree. The red circle has an air of authority about it that everybody knows and understands.

PEGI really need to change their rating logos, because it's far too easy to ignore in its current format. I only noticed that CoD4 had a rating on it because I just looked now to check, it just isn't as prevalent.

[kalniel]

i have my doubts tbh...

also, how hard is the new PEGI rating to understand
3
7
12
16
18

if parents cant understand that, then maybe they shouldnt be having kids...

It's just a number - it doesn't resonate with them. With BBFC they know it means a restriction and what to expect for each age category - PEGI they either ignore or think is some kind of nanny state recommendation to be ignored.

Germany's USK does the best job IMHO - big, understandable stickers, and when it gets into anything restricted the warnings are in really clear english on the front of the box. Take Chronicles of Riddick for example, it has a PEGI 16+ box, which doesn't say anything else, just www.pegi.info. Turning to the back you can see some more obscure symbols that don't really mean anything. Now look at the USK for the same thing: On the front are two stickers - one big diamond saying not for sale to people 14 or under, another box with a MA 15+ restricted title, with 'strong violence and coarse language' - it's much clearer.

[Russ]

Your right it probably is a lot clearer, but do parents really pay attention? do many even know that age ratings on games exist?

[kalniel]

Your right it probably is a lot clearer, but do parents really pay attention? do many even know that age ratings on games exist?

Most parents do look (briefly) at the front of the box that a child is proffering to their face to buy. If they see a BBFC 18 logo they recognise it and know that it's an age rating like a film. I've seen it time and time again, and I've seen kids try to cover up the BBFC logo as they show it for exactly that reason.

The USK stuff is simply too big and clear to cover up, and I think chances are a parent would notice it straight away when looking at the front of the box.

The one thing that parents don't notice at all is the PEGI rating - it's just a number, I've heard kids sucessfully explaining it's the number of players a game allows in multi-player, all sorts.

For PEGI to be effective it either needs to completely re-educate all parents out there and imprint the PEGI logo into our heads as much as the BBFC logo is, backed up by legal powers, or it needs to be such plain english and noticeable that a parent can get the warning from just a wave of the front of the box.

[Russ]

then maybe its down to the retailers to warn parents at the till, just a thought?

[beanbandit]

They've changed their age logo's, so they shouldn't cause too much confusion.

http://www.pegi.info/en/index/id/33/

[kalniel]

then maybe its down to the retailers to warn parents at the till, just a thought?

Yep agreed that till attendants should do more - some do a brilliant job to be honest, but many don't make it clear to the parent beyond a cursory check (and they are pressed for time).

They've changed their age logo's, so they shouldn't cause too much confusion.

http://www.pegi.info/en/index/id/33/

Still the same problem - the colours might help a little, but it's not a recognised logo, and further information is still shoved onto the back of the case with little detail.