Gamers in the UK and throughout Europe will soon see the appearance of new age ratings and symbols on computer and video games, whether bought at retail or accessed online. This will give parents, shoppers and online consumers added confidence that the content of the game, whether it is bought at a high street retail outlet, or accessed via the Internet, is suitable for a specific age group. The development is significant in that it is the first time that any form of entertainment medium has come up with an age rating system that meets the varying cultural standards of different European countries.

This new system, which has been announced by The Interactive Software Federation of Europe (ISFE) will introduce five age categories: namely, aged three and over; seven and over; 12 and over; 16 and over and 18 and over. The age ratings do not relate to the complexity of the game, as the intention of the new system is to ensure that children are not inadvertently exposed to content that is unsuitable, such scenes of a violent, sexual, frightening or discriminatory nature or those that contain images of drug use or strong language. In addition to the age categories, where an upper age rating applies, packs will also show up to two symbols, indicating the nature of the content.

This new European system will replace ELPSA in the UK, which was introduced in 1994.

This new system should be appearing on game boxes very soon�