Category Archives: Safe Gaming Content

Game Rating for Parents

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As the graphic quality and production values used in console games are on a par with movies, it is important for parents to consider which games are suitable for their children. Children can play games on a variety of devices from consoles to mobiles. Regardless of the device, the game’s rating should be checked to see if it suitable for young player.

There are various game rating systems used around the world. PEGI (Pan European Game Information) is the system used in Europe and Ireland. Essentially PEGI is an age rating system used to classify games. It is similar to the film rating system where you are tags such as PG (parental guidance) and R (restricted). Age ratings are a simple way to help parents decide if the content is appropriate for their children.

PEGI does not take into account the difficulty of the game – it only considers the age suitability of a game. So, if you buy a PEGI7, there is no guarantee that your 7-year-old will like it.

Game Rating

Here are the PEGI Ratings:

PEGI 3
FOR THE YOUNGEST – VERY MILD
The content of apps with this rating is considered suitable for all age groups. Some violence in a comical cartoon context is acceptable. A child should not be able to associate the character on the screen with real-life characters; they should be distinctly fantasy. The app should not contain anything that are likely to scare young children, including bad language.

PEGI 7
FOR DEVELOPING CHILDREN
This is similar to PEGI3 but may contain some content that could possibly be frightening for children. There can only be very mild violence in a PEGI 7 e.g. think falling into water, getting hit of the head – again, more cartoon like, nothing realistic

PEGI 12
MORE REALISTIC
With this rating, the games are becoming a bit more realistic. They may show violence of a slightly more graphic nature towards fantasy characters, or non-graphic violence towards human-looking characters or animals. The game character will look more lifelike. Their clothes and attire will be more typical of male and female game characters. Any bad language in this category must be mild and fall short of sexual expletives.

PEGI 16
REAL LIFE CONTENT
Once the depiction of violence or sexual activity reaches a stage that looks the same as would be expected in real life, this rating is applied. Stronger inappropriate language, encouraging the use of tobacco or drugs, and depicting criminal activities can be content of apps that are rated 16.

PEGI 18
ADULT ONLY
The adult classification is applied when the level of violence reaches a stage where it becomes a depiction of gross violence and/or includes elements of specific types of violence (motiveless killing, violence towards defenseless characters or sexual violence). It may also include graphic sexual content, discrimination or the glamorisation of illegal drug use.

Hopefully you find this these rating useful when considering game content for your children. Another tip would be look at the game trailer and screenshots before purchasing a game. The game trailer will give a quick overview of the gameplay and is useful in assessing its suitability.

Playing Online or Mobile Games – Protecting your Children’s Privacy

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The traditional view of safe gaming content for children is having non-violent content without any adult themes. Much like movies, parents should follow the rating guidelines attached to the game. The PEGI (Pan European Game Information) rating system is widely used in Europe and Ireland. As a parent, you should not let your child play a game that is not PEGI rated.

However, PEGI only considers appropriate gaming content. What about your child’s online information? Even without registering an account, most games track your gameplay data. Free-to-play games rely heavily on advertising, so they track as much player data as possible. So how do you protect your child’s online data?

Well to start, you need to make sure that the publisher/developer of the game has an available privacy statement, regarding their content. They need to acknowledge and comply with GDPR and have a nominated Data Protection Official. GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) are the regulations in EU law on data protection and privacy. Essentially GDPR  aims primarily to give control to individuals over their personal data .

Also, parents need to be aware of games that need registered accounts. Children (under 13) should not set up game accounts. They should be setup by the parents. For older children and teenagers, parents should still be aware of any game accounts registered. Even though they may not be commercial accounts, younger players could still be supplying personal information via the account. For many game companies, information in the new currency and players of all ages need to be aware of this.

 The best advice for parents is to stay involved when your child is gaming. Like all online content, it is very important to maintain an open dialogue with your children on their online activities.