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Pan European Game Information

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New PEGI logo.
Old PEGI logo.

Pan European Game Information (PEGI) is a European video game content rating system. It was developed by the Interactive Software Federation of Europe (ISFE) and came into use on 24 April 2003 taking over from ELSPA.[1] PEGI is used in 32 European countries, Israel, and South Africa. It is not associated with the European Union.

Participation is voluntary and at the discretion of the game developer. To obtain the ratings for any piece of software, the developer completes a questionnaire, which is then evaluated by the Netherlands Institute for the Classification of Audiovisual Media (NICAM) and ratings are given. It is based on the Dutch Kijkwijzer system as well.

Age ratings

PEGI has five age categories. In Portugal, local legislation conflicts with some of the ratings and they are changed accordingly. Finland changed its legislation to fully adopt PEGI beginning 1 January 2007.

Country 3+ 7+ 12+ 16+ 18+
Standard Pegi 3.svg Pegi 7.svg Pegi 12.svg Pegi 16.svg Pegi 18.svg
Portugal Pegi 4.svg Pegi 6.svg Pegi 12.svg Pegi 16.svg Pegi 18.svg
Finland Pegi 3.svg Pegi 7.svg Pegi 11.svg Pegi 15.svg Pegi 18.svg
June 09 Revamp Newpegi 3.svg Newpegi 7.svg Newpegi 12.svg Newpegi 16.svg Newpegi 18.svg

PEGI is a voluntary system. Here are the ratings for the games:

  • 3+ rating: Suitable for all. Contains very mild violence or suggestive themes. These include edutainment games. Similar to the ESRB's Early Childhood and the Everyone (low end) ratings.
  • 7+ rating: These games are the same as Early Childhood ratings but may include content descriptors like mild violence and in a rare case, very mild action violence. Suitable only for persons of 7 years of age and older and similar to the Everyone (high end) and the Everyone 10+ rating (low end) ratings in the ESRB.
  • 12+ rating: Suitable only for persons of over ages 12 and older. This rating contains mild action violence or suggestive themes and mild lyrics. Similar to the ESRB's Teen (low end) and Everyone 10+ (high end) ratings.
  • 16+ rating: This rating is suitable only for persons of 16 years of age or older. Some situations include strong action violence, gambling, and rude humor, which makes this rating similar to the Mature (low end) and the Teen (high end) ratings from the ESRB.
  • 18+ rating: This rating is suitable only for persons 18 years of age and older, and is similar to the ESRB's Adults Only and Mature (high end) ratings because of very strong violence, strong sex, or gambling situations, potentially with strong language.

Content descriptions

The eight content descriptors are:

Icon Content descriptor Examples
Pegi language.svg Bad language Grand Theft Auto IV, Fallout 3, Call of Duty: World at War, Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven
Pegi discrimination.svg Discrimination Original War
Pegi drugs.svg Drugs Grand Theft Auto, Fallout 2, Deus Ex: Invisible War, The Warriors, NARC
Pegi fear.svg Fear Coraline, NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams, Silent Debuggers, the Silent Hill/Resident Evil games, Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest For Booty
Pegi sex.svg Sex Singles: Flirt Up Your Life, Leisure Suit Larry, Fallout 2, Playboy: The Mansion, BMX XXX, God of War, The Sopranos: Road to Respect
Pegi violence.svg Violence Grand Theft Auto, Fallout 2, Resistance: Fall of Man, Max Payne 2, Mortal Kombat, Counter-Strike: Source, Devil May Cry 4, Shadow the Hedgehog, Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools Of Destruction
Pegi gambling.svg Gambling 42 All-Time Classics, Fallout 2, God Hand, Street Hoops, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights
Pegi in-game purchases.svg In-Game Purchases
Pegi online.svg Online Content EVE Online, Phantasy Star Portable, The Orange Box

See also

External links

References

  1. http://www.isfe.eu/about-isfe/news?page=3 (Wayback Machine: 2012-03-18 00:49)