Dr Aphra Kerr from the Department of Sociology at Maynooth University has been appointed (Sept. 2015) to the Experts Group which provides advice to the Pan-European Game Information (PEGI) age rating system for digital games and mobile applications. PEGI is an independent not-for-profit company with a social purpose established under Belgian law.
The Pan-European Game Information (PEGI) age rating system was established to help European parents and consumers to make informed decisions on buying computer games. The system ensures that most games sold in Europe are rated by age and a range of content systems give further information on the content in the game. The system was launched in spring 2003 and replaced a number of national age rating systems with a single system now used throughout most of Europe, in 30 countries (Austria Denmark, Hungary, Latvia, Norway, Slovenia, Belgium, Estonia, Iceland, Lithuania, Poland, Spain, Bulgaria, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal, Sweden, Cyprus, France, Israel, Malta, Romania, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Slovak Republic and the United Kingdom). In 2015 PEGI was also adopted by Google Play for games on the Android mobile store.
The system is supported by the major console manufacturers, including Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo, as well as by publishers and developers of interactive games throughout Europe. The age rating system was developed by the Interactive Software Federation of Europe (ISFE).
The Experts Group involves specialists and academics in the fields of media, psychology, classification, legal, technology and online games. There are currently 7 members and they advise PEGI on a range of technological and content issues put forward by the PEGI Council, the PEGI Management Board or through the complaints procedure.
