PEGI cartoons explain game ratings

(2011 YouTube, LLC)

An animated publicity campaign aims to explain those little symbols on the back of European video game boxes, specifically the Sex, Violence, Language and Online categories.

Game ratings agency PEGI comissioned the series of clips starring a short, rotund, moustachioed man who does things Mario could only dream of.

"Violence" sees him go up against a chain gun-wielding knight, while in "Sex" he finds a super-friendly princess waiting outside a castle.

In "Language," serious frustration leads to an eruption of expletives, and "Online" warns us that not everybody plays nice with strangers.

The videos are designed to help customers choose between games according to their preferences, especially when purchasing on behalf of someone else - a friend, or a child.

Numbers on the front of game boxes indicate an age rating, as with film releases, and are adopted across European countries and, for some releases, in Canada. Germany has its own USK system while the UK currently uses both PEGI and BBFC.

Similar systems are in place in North America (ESRB) and Japan (CERO ratings).

Play Smart, Check the PEGI Rating - Lanuguage, Fear and Violence: http://youtu.be/1-zLrjDpH34
Play Smart, Check The PEGI Rating - Sex: http://youtu.be/DRTbaOQurS4
Play Smart, Check The PEGI Rating - Online: http://youtu.be/VIxQRJo5Eu8
The PEGI content rating system: http://youtu.be/K5EHRCv-UZI