PEGI Pan European Game Information ROLE AND PURPOSE

PEGI Pan European Game Information

ROLE AND PURPOSE PEGI is a European video game content rating system created to help European consumers make informed decisions when buying video games or apps through the use of age recommendations and content descriptors. The system is supported by the major console manufacturers, including Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo, as well as by publishers and developers of interactive games throughout Europe.

LEGAL POWER The PEGI System is based on a Code of Conduct - a set of rules to which every publisher using the PEGI system is contractually committed. The Code deals with age labelling, promotion and marketing and reflects the video games industry’s commitment to provide information to the public in a responsible manner.

CASE STUDY Grand Theft Auto V (GTA V) was released on the 17 th September 2013, on Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. The game has since generated a multitude of controversies, most relating to its violence and depiction of women. PEGI gave the game an 18 -certificate and on the box, there are warnings for violence, bad language as well as a warning for online capibilities. Furthermore, due to the popularity it would seem that most people who purchase a copy of Grand Theft Auto V, or even illegally download a copy, know what they’re getting their hands on.

CONTROVERSY A case that caused much controversy regarded the assignment of an over the age of 3 for the game named ‘NBA 2 K 20’. That was because the trailer was composed by a series of extremely realistic images of gambling in a casino style. Therefore, PEGI admitted that the game “may get too close for comfort for some people”. In fact, the only way gambling becomes an adult age descriptor is when it teaches you how to gamble or encourages it in life-like contexts whilst NBA 2 K 20 did not.