Video Games and PEGI Ratings
Parents and Carers: click here for the Think U Know article; "Gaming: What parents and carers need to know"
Gaming and loot boxes
It's an area that seems to be getting bigger, yet there are still a lot of people (particularly parents) who don't know what loot boxes are. Here's a link to a great article from the UK Safer Internet Centre that explains loot boxes in a nice, easy to understand way. Consider putting the link on your school website or send it out via your social media channels.
https://www.betterinternetforkids.eu/web/portal/practice/awareness/detail?articleId=5158001
Video games are becoming more prominent in young peoples lives. Children aged between 12-15 are estimated to sepnd around 12 hours per week playing video games. With much of the content of video games now being online it is important to be aware of what your child is playing.
Much like movies and other DVDs, video games come with an age rating system that will help determine whether they are appropriate for your child. It is a legal requirement for all video games to display this rating in a label clearly on the front of any game case. Additionally, on the back of the case there are labels that work as indicators of why a game has recieved it's rating. These labels are known as PEGI(Pan-European Game Information) Ratings.
Fortnite
Fortnite is a popular game among young people at the moment. It has around 45 million users per month and despite being rated at PEGI 12(see below on this page for more information) there is nothing in place to stop younger children from downloading and playing. While it is not dangerous in itself it does carry some risks that parents should be aware of. For more information, please see the links directly below
PEGI Ratings and Their Meanings
PEGI 3
The content of games given this rating is considered suitable for all age groups. Some violence in a comical context (typically Bugs Bunny or Tom & Jerry cartoon-like forms of violence) is acceptable. The child should not be able to associate the character on the screen with real life characters, they should be totally fantasy. The game should not contain any sounds or pictures that are likely to scare or frighten young children. No bad language should be heard.
PEGI 7
Any game that would normally be rated at 3 but contains some possibly frightening scenes or sounds may be considered suitable in this category.
PEGI 12
Videogames that show violence of a slightly more graphic nature towards fantasy character and/or non graphic violence towards human-looking characters or recognisable animals, as well as videogames that show nudity of a slightly more graphic nature would fall in this age category. Any bad language in this category must be mild and fall short of sexual expletives.
PEGI 16
This rating is applied once the depiction of violence (or sexual activity) reaches a stage that looks the same as would be expected in real life. More extreme bad language, the concept of the use of tobacco and drugs and the depiction of criminal activities can be content of games that are rated 16.
PEGI 18
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. Gross violence is the most difficult to define since it can be very subjective in many cases, but in general terms it can be classed as the depictions of violence that would make the viewer feel a sense of revulsion.
National Online Safety Gaming Guides
Please see below for guides on popular games and platforms and other gaming related topics for parents of young people, Provided by National Online Safety (https://nationalonlinesafety.com/)