Video Games as Easy to Read as Packaging: the PEGI System
by Simon LaroccaApril 9, 2024
The world of video games has
changed drastically in recent decades, revolutionizing itself from its
foundations.
Prima dell’avvento della PlayStation, spartiacque tra il
“vecchio” e il moderno, sussisteva un unico dilemma quando ci si recava nel
negozio di fiducia per comprare l’ultima cartuccia uscita per il Sega Master
System, ossia avere i soldi della paghetta per poterlo acquistare!
Oggi the
things are very different: collecting
has taken off all over the world, the variety of games available is enormous and the
simulative experiences have reached such high levels as to come close to pure
realism and being able to properly read the
packaging of a video game allows users, and those who are
approaching the video game universe for the first time, to orient themselves with
full awareness among codes, symbols, and classification systems.
Il Pegi System is the first thing that jumps
out at the eye: it is the content classification system within
a title, and it is adopted in Europe informing the end user about what
they will find: the age ranges oscillate between 3 years and 18, progressing from green
to red.
The higher the age indicated in the Pegi corner of the package, the greater the restrictions will be: moreover, we may see a series of icons that show in detail what types of content will be present in the title we are considering, for example Sex and Nudity, Violence, Profanity and so on, all explained in text form. The Pegi is essential because it allows parents of minors to consciously assess whether the game is suitable for them.
In the table below, for convenience, you will find a comparison between PEGI and other classification systems from other countries, such as the ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board) in the United States, the RARS (Russian Age Rating System), the ACB (Australian Classification Board) and the German USK (Unterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle). We are presenting it because in an interconnected market like ours, it is easy to end up with video games in hand that have symbols different from PEGI.
![[Comparison between PEGI - ESRB - RARS - ACB and USK]](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.thegamesmarket.com%2Fapi%2Fv1%2Ffile%2Fproxy%3Fkey%3Dstaging%252Fmagazine%252Fcontent%252Fvideogiochi-come-leggere-le-confezioni.il-sistema-pegi-img-0.png&w=3840&q=75)
Lo stesso criterio vale per il CERO (Computer Entertainment Rating Organization) in the land of the rising sun, which you will find printed on Japanese video game packages from 2002 onwards.
![[Japanese CERO Rating System]](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.thegamesmarket.com%2Fapi%2Fv1%2Ffile%2Fproxy%3Fkey%3Dstaging%252Fmagazine%252Fcontent%252Fvideogiochi-come-leggere-le-confezioni.il-sistema-pegi-img-1.png&w=3840&q=75)
But the packaging contains many other codes and symbols, very important for a whole series of reasons that we will explain to you: let’s examine, for example, the flap of the packaging of the title that caught your curiosity. In this case too, there are codes to take into consideration because they can provide us with truly very useful information: perhaps the most famous are the activation codes, initially present in PC games at the dawn of the Nineties and which made it possible, being unique codes, to run the game, activating it and making it usable.
Much often, especially in titles
made up of serial episodes (such as Life
is Strange to name one), the activation code allows
the launch of the last episode, thus ensuring the completeness of the purchased
title. For collectors, paying very close attention to the codes on the
flap is an essential rule, also because this is where they will find the promotional codes to unlock the
exclusive contents of the Limited Edition purchased, which may be special skins
or the soundtrack, contents that will not be available in any other way and that
in their exclusivity will allow
that item to increase its market
value (and also its sentimental value).
Even in the video game manual,
included inside the physical box for the older titles, special codes are inserted whose function is essential for those who own them: beyond the bonus content, it is in fact possible to activate an authentication code as well, fundamental for being sure that the copy in our possession
is original and authentic, first and foremost, therefore the crucial importance of a
basic knowledge of the aforementioned codes can make the difference.
A depending on the entertainment system we use, moreover, we will find on the packaging of our beloved titles symbols and codes of another nature, but equally relevant: PlayStation video games, for example, display on the spine of the packaging an alphanumeric code that in a certain sense represents its identity card.
But not only that: the last letter even tells us whether the game in our hands is complete in all its parts or is just a demo! Useful, right? But let’s also talk about Nintendo for the sake of balance: you know the colored triangles on the back of their titles? In this case too, the color chosen for that particular video game is anything but random, because it gives us information about the language, or languages, present in the manual and in the title itself.
Conoscere il sistema di codici e simboli delle
confezioni allows collectors, but also “simple” users of the video game media
to make informed purchases. We will then go into the specifics of the various codings for NES, for example, in the next articles!
Simon Larocca
My name is Simon Larocca, and I am a gamer, collector, and lover of pop culture in all its forms. I go to the cinema whenever I can, I have been reading since I started wearing glasses, so, basically forever, and I have a passion for storytelling in all its forms, so powerful that it became my profession. But as Doc from Ritorno al Futuro would say, there would be no present if one did not look at the past with respect and admiration, and it is the Simon child of more than thirty years ago, give or take a year, who is to thank for that.
Simon Larocca
My name is Simon Larocca, and I am a gamer, collector, and lover of pop culture in all its forms. I go to the cinema whenever I can, I have been reading since I started wearing glasses, so, basically forever, and I have a passion for storytelling in all its forms, so powerful that it became my profession. But as Doc from Ritorno al Futuro would say, there would be no present if one did not look at the past with respect and admiration, and it is the Simon child of more than thirty years ago, give or take a year, who is to thank for that.