LogIn"We're not a group of corporate men in suits trying to stop everybody's fun."
Games Rating Authority
Every gamer is aware of PEGI ratings, largely thanks to Richard Wells, who voiced the famous line you often hear in video games. While hearing "PEGI 18" in Mortal Kombat and similar violent games is not surprising, some rating decisions baffle players. So how does the organization behind it assign those numbers?
Eurogamer talked to the representatives of the Games Rating Authority, one of the two groups that issue the ratings (specifically the 12, 16, and 18 ones), and learned about the steps every game has to go through to get them in Europe. Apparently, this strict company isn't as scary as one might think: Ian Rice, the director of the GRA, and Craig Lapper, director of policy and communications, came to the meeting in casual red and black hoodies.
"We're not a group of corporate men in suits in an office in London that are trying to stop everybody's fun," Rice said. "We are people that play games, that like games, that are just trying to help parents make informed decisions. We're just regular, normal, down to earth people that are making these judgements day to day."
NetherRealm Studios
So what do these people need to think of when making decisions? First, the company that wants the rating can ask for advice and a consultation to see what they can and shouldn't do for a particular number. Then, the official process begins about three months before the game's release, where it selects which of the 35 criteria apply to its game.
After, the company sends short videos with explanations of what the game contains, which proves that it exists and helps the GRA see its comprehension. "Did they understand if it was realistic or unrealistic?" Rice clarified. "Is it an 18 category of violence, so is it gross violence, torture, violence towards vulnerable or defenceless characters?" This is the stage where the parties can have a discussion about what the publisher wants and what the GRA can give it.
"You get some publishers that are aiming for 16 and there'll be a particular criteria that caught them off guard versus, say, the ESRB in the [United] States," Rice said. "So we might say, 'Because your character was restrained in that chair, they were tied up, that's actually an 18 characteristic here.' So do you want to untie that character that's being interrogated? You could possibly end up with a slightly different rating. Or if you take that particular word out, you're not going to get a 16, you'll get a 12, which are easy adjustments to make."
After the clips, cutscenes, and scripts have been sent, the final stage is playing the game to see it matches what has already been submitted.
Naturally, not everyone likes the outcome: "Unfortunately for them, it's a case of, 'We've seen this particular type of content. If you're not going to take it out, we don't have a choice. We're going have to issue this rating.'"
However, the company can appeal the decision, and then an independent group outside the Games Rating Authority will check again. Rice admitted that PEGI ratings are subjective and can differ from what the American ESRB assigns. He says it's often due to "different cultural standards," and both organizations can be stricter in some situations and more lenient in others.
LocalThunk
A relatively famous case of a surprising rating decision is Balatro, a card game that uses some poker rules, whose age rating jumped from 3+ to 18+ overnight, upsetting its developer, who believes it was unjustified.
Rice thinks it was the right decision as Balatro might promote gambling: "The PEGI criteria requires games that teach or glamorise gambling to be rated 18, and after close examination we believed there was sufficient content in the game to teach someone fundamental skills and knowledge useful in poker."
So while everyone has seen the ratings, how often did you actually drop a game because it was too mature for your age? Do they really work? Rice said that 84% of parents find PEGI ratings useful and 86% trust them. Almost half of those follow their advice, and 27% use the labels but do not always follow them.
"You will always have parents let their kids play games that are not exactly bang on the age rating. They're making a decision based off of how they know their child, which is absolutely fine. All we ask is that they're making an informed decision."
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