Sweet holiday haul!
If you’re wondering whether that new game you just got is fine fun for the whole family
or maybe just for after the kids go to bed, you are not alone.
Luckily most games have an age rating and today, we’ll break em down.
This is DIY in 5!
Hey everyone! Welcome to DIY in 5!
My name is Trisha Hershberger and today, we will break down age ratings in video games - what do they mean?
How do they differ based on location? And how can you determine if a game is suitable for the budding gamer in your life?
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you haven’t already so you don’t miss out on any future tech tips.
If you happen to live in the US, Mexico or Canada, your video games are typically rated
by the Entertainment Software Rating Board or ESRB.
The ESRB will rate games based on the age appropriateness of the content
with both a letter rating and a small descriptor of what parents may find questionable
or some more information as to why the game was rated that way.
If you have really little ones, an ESRB rating of EC (Early Childhood) means suitable for children ages 3 and older.
There should be zero inappropriate content here.
These games are designed with the littlest children in mind.
Next up, and more common, you’ll see the “E” for everyone rating.
Again, here there should be no images or sounds likely to scare young children but these games are designed for all ages.
Games like Just Dance or FIFA fall into this category.
The next category is “E10+” and is used for games suggested for ages 10 and up only.
These games may contain mild violence, mildly suggestive content, and/or there may be scenes
that some children find frightening.
Think Minecraft Dungeons or Plant vs Zombies.
As gamers get a bit older, you may find yourself looking at games rated “T” for teen,
which the ESRB classifies as ages 13 or above.
These games may have crude humor, suggestive themes, infrequent adult language
and/or more realistic and graphic scenes of violence like Fortnite or Sims 4, albeit still not ultra-realistic.
The ultra-realistic violence is saved for an “M” rating for Mature audiences ages 17 and above.
In addition to life-like depictions of violence with blood and gore,
an M-rated game could have adult language, tobacco or alcohol or drug use, and sexual content.
But again, still with a focus on realistic portrayal - think GTA V or Fallout 4.
The most adult rating for the ESRB is AO for Adults only
and this is depicted as suitable for adults, ages 18 and above.
This classification is reserved for games that have extreme or prolonged scenes of intense violence,
often with motiveless killing, games that glamorize the use of drugs or gambling,
and these games may involve graphic sexual content as well.
There are not many AO rated games out there - but games like Manhunt 2, certain Leisure Suit Larry installments
and GTA: San Andreas have received this rating.
The final rating, yes there is one more, is RP and this just means Rating Pending.
You’ll sometimes see it in marketing material for up and coming titles,
but this should be replaced with the full rating once it’s been determined.
Now if you live in the UK or most of Europe, your games are rated by the Pan European Games Information system or PEGI.
PEGI’s rating system is numeric and will be written as PEGI followed by the number of the rating, aka the minimum age of the intended audience.
PEGI 3 is the lowest rating, for games that are suitable for everyone with no use of sounds or imagery that would scare young children.
After that, you’ll see PEGI 7, suitable for ages 7 and above.
PEGI 7 games may contain mild forms of non-realistic or cartoon violence
or some scenes that small children may find frightening - like Plants vs Zombies.
The next rating is PEGI 12 - for ages 12 and over - potentially containing more realistic forms of violence or mild sexual situations
like the Sims or Fortnite.
Now when you get into the teenage year ratings, you’ve got PEGI 16
for games with realistic depictions of violence, adult language, drug/alcohol/tobacco use, and sexual content.
And then you’ve got PEGI 18 for games deemed to have extreme levels of violence, motiveless killing,
glamorization of drugs, gambling, sexual activity, etc.
In fact, if a game teaches you how to gamble in a realistic way, that alone is enough for a PEGI 18 rating.
Games like WWE 2K22 are rated PEGI 16 while GTA: The Trilogy and Elder Scrolls V are both rated PEGI 18.
PEGI ratings will also normally show some descriptor as to the adult content contained within the game which led to the rating.
Now it’s important to note that these age ratings only deal with the age appropriateness of the content and not the difficulty of the game.
For example, Ori and the Blind forest is a beautiful game but very challenging, and its rated E for everyone.
Maybe best for determining whether a game is appropriate to watch while older siblings or parents play?
Ultimately, it’s a personal decision what is right for a child and every kid is different,
but having a rating system in place to help inform those decisions is most welcome to many who choose to use it.
Happy gaming everyone and see you next time with more DIY in 5!