How ESRB appeared?

In the 1990s, some companies that develop and publish video games were criticized by American parents and legislators on the basis that there is a correlation between the violent scenes found in some video games and the real violence perpetrated by some children in real life. This controversy sparked much debate about the constitutionality of imposing restrictions on the content of video games. This is how the US video game classification system, known as the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), was established as an attempt to avoid legislative restrictions through adopting a voluntary system where volunteers evaluate video games to guide parents regarding the content of the video game and the appropriate age classification to play it.

What is ESRB?

ESRB is a group of volunteers who evaluate and classify the content of video games that are played on multiple consoles, such as Xbox and PlayStation, or on PCs. This rating system does not evaluate the quality of video games. It objectively provides a brief description of the content of the game and shows if the game contains something that is considered undesirable by the rating system administrators. The system then issues a classification for the game and briefly explains its content, such as "These games contain violent scenes" or other descriptions.

ESRB Sections:

First: Providing a brief description of the content of the game

It provides a brief and objective description of the content of the video game and shows if the game contains something that is considered undesirable by parents or the rating system administrators.

Content descriptors used by ESRB:

What it indicates	Content Descriptor
Drug Reference	Reference to and/or images of illegal drugs
Use of Drugs	The consumption or use of illegal drugs
Alcohol Reference	Reference to and/or images of alcoholic beverages
Use of Alcohol	The consumption of alcoholic beverages
Tobacco Reference	Reference to and/or images of tobacco products
Use of Tobacco	The consumption of tobacco products
Simulated Gambling	Player can gamble without betting or wagering real cash or currency
Real Gambling	Player can gamble, including betting or wagering real cash or currency
Partial Nudity	Brief and/or mild depictions of nudity
Nudity	Graphic or prolonged depictions of nudity
Sexual Content	Non-explicit depictions of sexual behaviour, possibly including partial nudity
Sexual Themes	References to sex or sexuality.
Strong Sexual Content	Explicit and/or frequent depictions of sexual behaviour, possibly including nudity.
Sexual Violence	Depictions of rape or other violent sexual acts.
Violent References	References to violent acts
Violence	Scenes involving aggressive conflict. May contain bloodless dismemberment
Fantasy Violence	Violent actions of a fantasy nature, involving human or non-human characters in situations easily distinguishable from real life
Intense Violence	Graphic and realistic-looking depictions of physical conflict. May involve extreme and/or realistic blood, gore, weapons and depictions of human injury and death
Blood	Depictions of blood
Animated Blood	Discolored and/or unrealistic depictions of blood
Blood and Gore	Depictions of blood or the mutilation of body parts
Cartoon Violence	Violent actions involving cartoon-like situations and characters. May include violence where a character is unharmed after the action has been inflicted
Comic Mischief	Depictions or dialogue involving slapstick or suggestive humor
Crude Humor	Depictions or dialogue involving vulgar antics, including "bathroom" humor
Mature Humor	Depictions or dialogue involving "adult" humor, including sexual references
Lyrics	Mild references to profanity, sexuality, violence, alcohol or drug use in music
Strong Lyrics	Explicit and/or frequent references to profanity, sex, violence, alcohol or drug use in music
Mild Language	Mild to moderate use of profanity
Strong Language	Explicit and/or frequent use of profanity
Suggestive Themes	Mild provocative references or materials

Second: Classifying the game according to age groupsة

It shows the classification of a video game according to the appropriate age for playing it. It is shown by a number of symbols that indicate age appropriateness of players when they want to play that game.

Age appropriateness' categories and symbols by ESRB:

	EC – Early Childhood It means that the content of the game is aimed towards children aged three years and above. They do not contain content that parents would find objectionable to this audience.
	E – Everyone It means that the content of the video game is suitable for children aged 6 years or older. Content is generally suitable for all ages. May contain minimal cartoon, fantasy or mild violence and/or infrequent use of mild language.
	E10+ – Everyone 10 and older Content is generally suitable for ages 10 and up. May contain more cartoon, fantasy or mild violence, mild language and/or minimal suggestive themes.
	T – Teen Content is generally suitable for ages 13 and up. May contain violence, suggestive themes, crude humor, minimal blood, simulated gambling and/or infrequent use of strong language.
	M – Mature Content is generally suitable for ages 17 and up. May contain intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content and/or strong language..
	AO – Adults Only Content suitable only for adults ages 18 and up. May include prolonged scenes of intense violence, graphic sexual content and/or gambling with real currency.
	RP – Rating Pending Not yet assigned a final ESRB rating. Appears only in advertising, marketing and promotional materials related to a physical (e.g., boxed) video game that is expected to carry an ESRB rating, and should be replaced by a game's rating once it has been assigned.

What is PEGI?

For a long time, video games in the UK were classified by the British Board of Film Classification – BBFC, which was originally established to classify films exhibited at cinemas and video works released on physical media. This has left the UK lagging behind other European countries with regard to age classification systems for video games. Therefore, the British Government has called for a new classification system for video games to be overseen by a new body called the Video Standards Council - VSC.

The British VSC has decided to adopt a classification system called the Pan European Game Information System - PEGI. This system gives the video game an age classification, as well as other content descriptors, such as violence or bad language. Thus, the UK's video games rating system has become more aligned with the rating systems in the European Union..

PEGI Sections:

First: Providing a description of the content of the game

It provides a brief and objective description of the content of the video game and shows if the game contains something that is considered undesirable by parents or the rating system administrators.

PEGI Content Descriptors:

	Drugs The game refers to or depicts the use of illegal drugs, alcohol or tobacco.
	Fear The game contains pictures or sounds that may be frightening or scary to young children.
	discrimination The game contains depictions of ethnic, religious, nationalistic or other stereotypes likely to encourage hatred.
	BadLanguage The game contains dialogues or scenes with bad language.
	Gambling The game contains elements that encourage or teach gambling.
	Violence The game contains depictions of violence.
	Nudity The game contains scenes that involve nudity; including some sexual positions.
	sex The game contains scenes that involve sexual practices.
	online The game can be played online.

Second: Classifying the game according to age groups

It shows the classification of a video game according to the appropriate age for playing it. It is shown by a number of symbols that indicate age appropriateness of players when they want to play that game.

PEGI's classifications and symbols for age appropriateness are shown in the table below.

PEGI age labels

	This category means that the content of the video game is considered suitable for all age groups starting with children aged 3 years old. This classification means that the video game may contain some acts of violence but in a comical way (like in Tom and Jerry) that does not enable the child to make a link between the fictional animated characters on the screen and real humans. The game should not contain any sounds or pictures that are likely to frighten young children or any bad language. It should also be free of nude scenes or any references to sexual language or acts.
	This category means that the content of the video game is suitable for children aged 7 years and above. This category is similar and close to the 3+ years category, but the games in this category may contain some scary scenes, sounds, or images that are allowed for this age group. It may also contain partial nudity but not in a sexual context.
	the video game is suitable for children aged 12 years and above. Games of this category may contain scenes of violence done by fictional characters, animated characters, or animals but not by humans. Games may also contain nude scenes of animated or cartoon characters, as well as a bit of bad language or unacceptable profanities, but do not amount to sexual insults.
	This category means that the content of the video game is suitable for children aged 16 years and above. The content of the games in this category may include violence and sexual acts portrayed closely to what happens in real life. The game may also contain more extreme language or scenes encouraging tobacco, alcohol, and drug use, as well as many criminal activities.
	This category means that the content of the video game is suitable for children aged 18 years and above. It means that games of this category may contain scenes of extreme violence and unbelievable brutality, and may prompt the player to react to such violence with disgust. It also means that the game may contain lengthy, uncensored, and repetitive scenes of nudity or sexual acts, as well as drug use.