14 DAY TRIAL // An article I wrote a while ago said that the PEGI rating system (which currently evaluates all games released in the UK and the rest of Europe), was to be expanded to include games playable online via consoles, PCs and mobiles. Today's news shows that Microsoft is the first to sign up to the new labeling system, allowing better protection for young Xbox 360 gamers online.
As the official report posts, PEGI Online improves the service offered by PEGI, by creating a trust seal identifying those online game providers that have committed to a specific Code (PEGI Online Safety Code) and by affording parents an easy education on how to ensure safe online play and protect young people against unsuitable gaming content. This helps users to make the right decisions about what content they and their children should view.
Microsoft's move underlines its long-standing commitment to providing a safer environment and age-appropriate content. Microsoft's Xbox 360 is well known for its easy-to-use parental controls known as Family Settings, which fully leverage and implement the PEGI ratings.
"We're really happy to be the first platform holder to sign up to PEGI online and to having been a major contributor to the PEGI Online Working Group," said Chris Lewis, Regional Vice President Entertainment and Devices Division. "It's a great step forward to help us extend the information, education and protection PEGI ratings give to gamers into the online space with Xbox LIVE and Games for Windows LIVE. We take responsible and safe video gaming very seriously and will continue to work with partners in empowering parents - and provide great digital entertainment for consumers."
Good to know that everything Microsoft throws online will be safe. Not for extreme gamers though, but for millions of parents out there who have no idea just how easy it is for their offspring to access inappropriate content over the Internet.