Pan European Game Information
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Pan European Game Information (PEGI) is a European video game content rating system. It was developed by the Interactive Software Federation of Europe (ISFE) and came into use in April 2003 taking over from ELSPA. PEGI is used in 32 European countries, Israel, and South Africa. It is not associated with the European Union.
Participation is voluntary and at the discretion of the game developer. To obtain the ratings for any piece of software, the developer completes a questionnaire, which is then evaluated by the Netherlands Institute for the Classification of Audiovisual Media (NICAM) and ratings are given. It is based on the Dutch Kijkwijzer system as well.
Age ratings
PEGI has five age categories. In Portugal, local legislation conflicts with some of the ratings and they are changed accordingly. Finland changed its legislation to fully adopt PEGI beginning 1 January 2007.
| Country | 3+ | 7+ | 12+ | 16+ | 18+ |
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| Portugal | 
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| Finland |
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| June 09 Revamp | 
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PEGI is a voluntary system. Here are the ratings for the games:
- 3+ rating: Suitable for all. Contains very mild violence or suggestive themes. These include edutainment games. Similar to the ESRB's Early Childhood and the Everyone (low end) ratings.
- 7+ rating: These games are the same as Early Childhood ratings but may include content descriptors like mild violence and in a rare case, very mild action violence. Suitable only for persons of 7 years of age and older and similar to the Everyone (high end) and the Everyone 10+ rating (low end) ratings in the ESRB.
- 12+ rating: Suitable only for persons of over ages 12 and older. This rating contains mild action violence or suggestive themes and mild lyrics. Similar to the ESRB's Teen (low end) and Everyone 10+ (high end) ratings.
- 16+ rating: This rating is suitable only for persons of 16 years of age or older. Some situations include strong action violence, gambling, and rude humor, which makes this rating similar to the Mature (low end) and the Teen (high end) ratings from the ESRB.
- 18+ rating: This rating is suitable only for persons 18 years of age and older, and is similar to the ESRB's Adults Only and Mature (high end) ratings because of very strong violence, strong sex, or gambling situations, potentially with strong language.
Content descriptions
The eight content descriptors are:
| Icon | Content descriptor | Examples |
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Bad language | Grand Theft Auto IV, Fallout 3, Call of Duty: World at War, Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven |
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Discrimination | Original War |
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Drugs | Grand Theft Auto, Fallout 2, Deus Ex: Invisible War, The Warriors, NARC |
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Fear | Coraline, NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams, Silent Debuggers, the Silent Hill/Resident Evil games, Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest For Booty |
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Sex | Singles: Flirt Up Your Life, Leisure Suit Larry, Fallout 2, Playboy: The Mansion, BMX XXX, God of War, The Sopranos: Road to Respect |
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Violence | Grand Theft Auto, Fallout 2, Resistance: Fall of Man, Max Payne 2, Mortal Kombat, Counter-Strike: Source, Devil May Cry 4, Shadow the Hedgehog, Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools Of Destruction |
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Gambling | 42 All-Time Classics, Fallout 2, God Hand, Street Hoops, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights |
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Online Content | EVE Online, Phantasy Star Portable, The Orange Box |
See also
- Australia - Office of Film and Literature Classification
- Brazil - Department of Justice, Rating, Titles and Qualification
- France - Syndicat des éditeurs de logiciels de loisirs (defunct)
- Germany - Voluntary Monitoring Organisation of Entertainment Software
- Japan - Computer Entertainment Rating Organization
- Korea - Game Rating Board
- Spain - Asociación Española de Distribuidores y Editores de Software de Entretenimiento (mostly defunct)
- United Kingdom - British Board of Film Classification
- United States - Entertainment Software Rating Board