New UK PEGI Game Rating Symbols Revealed

As was outlined in the Digital Britain report earlier this week Britain has ditched the BBFC and games will now only be rated by PEGI, the Pan European Game Information, as is the standard in Europe. Unfortunately there is still no timeline set for when this will actually take-place, no doubt there will a very gradual change-over period to not confuse parents, so when you will see these symbols we don't know.

That hasn't stopped PEGI from revealing the new look of these classification symbols. Might I add they look pretty cool. Keep an eye out for these in the shops.

Instead of the U, PG, 12, 15 and 18 classification that the BBFC used previously and is generally accepted as the norm in the UK, PEGI are now opting to use a range of symbols coloured from green to orange to bright red, for ages 3, 7, 12, 16, 18 years and over.

Alongside these symbols games will also feature symbols for what was usually contained in the "parental advisory" area on the back of games to further help parents from making an easy decision on the content of the game.

These symbols will show if the game contains any "Bad Language", "Discrimination", "Gambling", "Drugs", "Fear", "Sex" and "Violence". There is also another symbol that indicates if the game is "Online only".

Alongside the new symbols PEGI will also be required to offer additional consumer advice explaining exactly why a game received its classification. This should in particular help to clarify the differences between different types of violence in games that has been a problem with classification previously before. Examples include "extreme violence", "criminal techniques", "glamorisation of crime", "strong language", "comic violence", "nudity", "strong language" and "unrealistic violence"," according to PEGI's website.

PEGI will also offer consumer advice explaining why a game received its classification, highlighting "extreme violence, criminal techniques, glamorisation of crime, strong language, comic violence, nudity, strong language and unrealistic violence," according to PEGI's website.

The real question however is not what these classifications are but how they will be understood and enforced. Having working in a shop selling games I know from personal experience the problem is not only the adults understanding the classification system but also not understanding the content of the games themselves. Adults simply don't understand that games featuring adult-content really shouldn't be played by gamers of an inappropriate age.

In the coming weeks we plans should be released by ELSPA detailing how they will run marketing campaigns to help parents understand what these symbols actually mean.

PEGI - Pan European Game Information