Question:

We have three boys aged 9, 11 and 13, and the two eldest are especially keen on computer games. Now we’re experiencing a lot of nagging to play games age marked 16+. Several of their friends have such games, and I wonder what the criteria are for a game to receive a 16-year limit, and who decides these limits?

Answer from Kids and Media’s advisor:

PEGI is a system which is supposed to make clear what age group the game is best suited for, and has become the standard for marking of games in England. A game marked 16+ is only recommended for youth aged 16 and above. It is the gaming industry itself that marks the games.

On PEGI’s webpage http://www.pegi.info/en/ you can check the age limits for different games. It’s also possible to make complaints on this site if you think a game has received the wrong age limit or content symbol.

Here is an overview over what content, according to PEGI, might occur in a game marked 16+:

• Graphic/bloody, detailed and prolonged violence against unrealistic people or animals

• Graphic/bloody and detailed descriptions of murders or harm against unrealistic people or animals

• Sexual situations or intercourse

• Sexual language or blasphemy

• Suggestions to use tobacco or alcohol

• Use of illegal drugs

• Glorification of crime