Esports Club
ESPORTS AGE GUIDE
This guide is designed to inform parents, children and teachers which competitively-played video games are suitable for various age groups, from 3+ up to 18+. We’ve included official PEGI age ratings where possible, however some PC download-only games do not have age ratings, so we’ve also offered our own recommendations at points. For more information including typical game length and price, visit www.britishesports.org
Does the rating system work?
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According to science, it does. In January 2017, research was released (Laczniak et al, 2017) claiming that “(r)esults demonstrate that children of parents who employ restrictive mediation efforts tend to play less violent video games, and the effect of these efforts is enhanced when parents use the ESRB system. This moderated effect also extends to reduce children’s engagement in negative behaviors in school.” And it is just one paper I’m quoting. “Cautious optimism” is the best way to describe science’s attitude here.
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The problem with ratings is that all systems seem to be sheltering the kids and are more restrictive than parents, especially if you take into consideration how easily the web is accessed and what is freely shown on YouTube or even on primetime TV. Is it a safety measure or a “better safe than sorry” option? Or maybe the boards are too far behind reality? I don’t know. What I do know, though, is that in this age of the internet, if you’re 15 and you haven’t seen boobs yet, you’re a rare thing.
If we treat the ratings as set in stone, they become a nuisance and a waste of time and resources. Not all kids are the same, and the same game can be received in different ways, even by adults. If a game is rated as 12+, does it mean you are not mature enough to play it a day before your 12th birthday, but then a mere 24 hours later, magic happens and you suddenly grow up? No. And again – you as a parent know your kid better than anyone else. But if we treat the ratings as a tool, a reference, they suddenly become very useful. We just have to use them properly. And this is a challenge.
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According to another study, “(a)n important point to the participants is that they made the final decisions on what games their children would be allowed to play. Many of the participants believed that it was ultimately the parent’s responsibility to oversee what games their children would have. One participant captured this sentiment by saying that the information about the ratings is “up to me…I can take it or leave it.””
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Many politicians try to create laws that will enforce the ratings as a legal standard. Violent games lead to violence in real life; blame games for everything, bla bla bla. But it’s a matter of human nature that people work more willingly with systems that they choose themselves. If you force people to do something, they will dislike and disobey it. At this point, even though we see various ratings for the same game across the systems or we see games mis-rated, the system as a whole works in general. Parents become more aware of the issue and they trust the ratings.
This is a self-regulating system and governments should do more to ensure people are kept informed, and the ratings are made as clear and visible as possible, not on forcing people to do something. The main goal of the rating systems is to protect minors and make sure the games reach their intended audience. There is still room for improvement, yes, and the system may never be perfect, but overall, in my opinion, game ratings are necessary and helpful. As long as we take them with a pinch of salt and apply common sense.
