How Games Get Rated in South Africa
How Games Get Rated in South Africa
June 23, 2009
If you woke up this morning wondering who handles video game content rating chores in South Africa, Johannesburg newspaper The Times explains all.
American parents rely on the ESRB while mums and dads in the U.K. will be turning exclusively to PEGI by year's end. In South Africa, however, the Film and Publications Board is responsible for issuing age guidelines for game content. Ratings run from PG, 13, 16 and 18. The Times explains:
Games rated PG contain no references to drugs, no foul language and no nudity, but may contain “minimal violence in playful, comic or highly stylis ed settings”...
Further, games rated 13 are similarly restricted in terms of drug references, foul language and nudity, but may contain “sequences of mild violence”, provided there is “no mutilation or dismemberment of animal or human bodies”.
The 16+ classification makes allowances for drug reference — provided they do not glamorise their use — and some nudity, provided it is not tied to incentives within the game. But with regard to violence, the game may include sequences of intense violence in graphic detail. Mutilation and dismemberment may occur in animated contexts.
The FPB's mission statement mentions that it seeks to maintain "relevance to the values and norms of South African society through scientific research."
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Posted 11/22/09 at 09:45am
ZippyDSMlee: JD:I think doc phill is still sout about the break up with his wife he dose not fill holes as much as make them bigger these day
ZippyDSMlee: JD:I think doc phill is still sout about the break up with his wife he dose not fill holes as much as make them bigger these day
Posted 11/22/09 at 12:06am
JDKJ: You should get Phil McCraken to help you spackle those banisters.
JDKJ: You should get Phil McCraken to help you spackle those banisters.
Posted 11/21/09 at 11:57pm
ZippyDSMlee: Oh in the pirate hunter article I need my song ieda heckled DS,JD,Beemon sic im !!!
ZippyDSMlee: Oh in the pirate hunter article I need my song ieda heckled DS,JD,Beemon sic im !!!
Posted 11/21/09 at 11:56pm
ZippyDSMlee: JD:no I am tried from prepping the banisters for painting , worked on them from 12 to 4 and 6 to 8...after I got back from the store...got up early got ready...blah...been up all day..I need a nap...
ZippyDSMlee: JD:no I am tried from prepping the banisters for painting , worked on them from 12 to 4 and 6 to 8...after I got back from the store...got up early got ready...blah...been up all day..I need a nap...
Posted 11/21/09 at 11:42pm
JDKJ: No. You gonna stay up late tonight soldering?
JDKJ: No. You gonna stay up late tonight soldering?
Posted 11/21/09 at 11:41pm
ZippyDSMlee: JDKJ:Don't you mean Mctite?
ZippyDSMlee: JDKJ:Don't you mean Mctite?
Posted 11/21/09 at 11:33pm
JDKJ: @Zip: Neil, Bob, and Lik McTaint. The McTaint brothers. LOL!!!
JDKJ: @Zip: Neil, Bob, and Lik McTaint. The McTaint brothers. LOL!!!
Posted 11/21/09 at 09:44pm
Flamespeak: I still think military personell, killing other military personell, on a military complex should be handled by military courts.
Flamespeak: I still think military personell, killing other military personell, on a military complex should be handled by military courts.
Posted 11/21/09 at 09:43pm
Flamespeak: I could see this a mixture of the two charges rather than just one or the other.
Flamespeak: I could see this a mixture of the two charges rather than just one or the other.
Posted 11/21/09 at 09:43pm
Flamespeak: I think this was mainly a person who snapped, but evidence is showing he definitely had strong inlinations to islamic-extremism.
Flamespeak: I think this was mainly a person who snapped, but evidence is showing he definitely had strong inlinations to islamic-extremism.
Posted 11/21/09 at 09:41pm
Flamespeak: People are trying to claim that Hasan's actions were not terrorism. I don't jump on the 'terror train' like others, however
Flamespeak: People are trying to claim that Hasan's actions were not terrorism. I don't jump on the 'terror train' like others, however
Posted 11/21/09 at 09:38pm
mentor07825: Britain certainly does deserve it! And the French! God damn it, it was a hand ball!!!
mentor07825: Britain certainly does deserve it! And the French! God damn it, it was a hand ball!!!
Posted 11/21/09 at 09:34pm
ZippyDSMlee: mentor07825:Well Brittan dose deserve it....
ZippyDSMlee: mentor07825:Well Brittan dose deserve it....
Posted 11/21/09 at 09:33pm
ZippyDSMlee: Alyric:I don;t hasliburton having to pay back billoins... don;t you love it when the rich roll over the goverment without a care?
ZippyDSMlee: Alyric:I don;t hasliburton having to pay back billoins... don;t you love it when the rich roll over the goverment without a care?
Posted 11/21/09 at 09:32pm
mentor07825: I say we nuke the whales, for the benefit of both mankind and the environment.
mentor07825: I say we nuke the whales, for the benefit of both mankind and the environment.
Posted 11/21/09 at 09:28pm
Austin_Lewis: I say we try Al Gore too. I always said he was in on the racket.
Austin_Lewis: I say we try Al Gore too. I always said he was in on the racket.
Posted 11/21/09 at 09:16pm
Alyric: The leaked information proves these organizations knowingly defrauded governments (i.e., taxpayers) out of billions of dollars. Yet there will probably never be a trial.
Alyric: The leaked information proves these organizations knowingly defrauded governments (i.e., taxpayers) out of billions of dollars. Yet there will probably never be a trial.
Posted 11/21/09 at 09:15pm
Flamespeak: working on other things makes me angry. I might have had a jet pack by now. :p
Flamespeak: working on other things makes me angry. I might have had a jet pack by now. :p
Posted 11/21/09 at 09:14pm
Flamespeak: Just thinking of all the time and manpower wasted to try and make things emit less CO2 emmision that could have been spent
Flamespeak: Just thinking of all the time and manpower wasted to try and make things emit less CO2 emmision that could have been spent
Posted 11/21/09 at 09:07pm
Alyric: @Zip: FYI, the construction of solar panels puts out more pollution than any form of energy production. To say nothing of the toxic components of the panels that cannot be recycled.
Alyric: @Zip: FYI, the construction of solar panels puts out more pollution than any form of energy production. To say nothing of the toxic components of the panels that cannot be recycled.
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Comments
I imagine Resident Evil 5 was insta-banned, unless... wait, is South Africa the white part of Africa?
---You are likely to be eaten by a Grue.
Looking at the FPB site, it doesn't appear to ban anything other than child pornography. Can't find a rating for Resident Evil 5 but then again, I couldn't find a rating for any video game.
Andrew Eisen
You're right Andrew, we haven't had anything banned over here.
As for Resident Evil 5's age restriction, I couldn't find it anywhere on the disk cover and I'm not really sure if the game came in a box... If it did, maybe the rating was on there.
By the way, I was searching through some other games and noticed that the FPB's age restriction features very little, if at all. Instead, I found a ton of ratings belonging to PEGI and ESRB; mostly PEGI. So I'm not sure where The Times is getting its information from... Perhaps the FPB just checks the game.
Perhaps it was originally written in Afrikaans and got lost in the translation, but I wonder what sort of "scientific research" the South African Films and Publication Board does. And why an agency seemingly dedicated to rating media content would ever have a need to conduct scientific research.
The Times is an english paper, so I doubt anything was lost in the translation. :P
Actually, I was referring to the FPB's website content.
English as well as far as I know. You'll be hard-pressed to find anything involving government using Afrikaans.
Why does it not say about the 18 rated games?? It stops at 16+.
By "rely on", do you actually mean "ignore totally"?
/b
Didn't you know that video game ratings are really magical runes that prevent anyone under the agte posted on the game from even touching it.
E. Zachary Knight
Oklahoma City Chapter of the ECA
http://www.theeca.com/chapters_oklahoma
Weird. So is South Africa doing anything to curb the Black Sub Saharan African tribes view in South Africa that raping toddlers cures aids which has caused South Africa to be the rape capitol of the world?
Or what they don’t want to seem racist? It sounds like to me, they have better things to do then worry what type of video games are played by kids when you got little kids being raped in massive numbers in South Africa because Black Shamans and tribes men are preaching raping toddlers will cure Aids. Even Oprah did a special on that, surprisingly.
I’m not quite sure what your point is…
The FPB simply classify games but they leave the right to choose up to the buyer. They don’t enforce their classifications. So I doubt any of those involved in combating rape (or any crime for that matter) are being pestered by them; like lawyers, law enforcement, etc.
Like the previous commenter, I have no idea what your point is.
But, regarding your comment, the "sex with a virgin cures AIDS" myth is only a part of the reason that South Africa has so many problems with rape. (Though it's the primary reason that child and even infant rape is so rampant). They also rape lesbians to "cure" them of the tokolos (demon) inside them, and there are quite literally wandering gangs of young men that consider gang rape a sport.
An international organization did a survey a few years back, and one in three women they talked to had been raped in the previous three months.
The ignorance in the country (and, indeed, many parts of the world) is staggering, and it's in spite of attempts by the outside world to educate them - just look at their presidents. Their last president, Mbeki, was very vocal in saying that AIDS and HIV were not related. Their current president, Zuma - during an investigation into his rape of an HIV positive woman (he claimed it was consensual) said that it was "ok because he took a bath afterwards to wash the disease off". That's their president.
Weird, you didn't mention Obama once.
Are you feeling ok? I'm a little worried!
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I LIKE the fence. I get 2 groups to laugh at then.
Too busy prattling on about how the shamen are whipping the tribesmen into toddler-raping, AIDS-curing frenzies down in British-owned South Africa.
For gods sake GP, how many more times do you need to be told that the UK is NOT going to PEGI, they are using PEGI as a basis for a newly designed ratings system. That's in their own words.
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I LIKE the fence. I get 2 groups to laugh at then.
Technically the United Kingdom still owns South Africa and various other nations like Jamaica.
Could you elaborate on how the UK apparently still owns South Africa, because I find that extremely difficult to believe.
Actually, I think that's just nonsense in general.
Just so you know and don't end up proceeding on the basis of any unreasonable expectations, Ol' Doc Kefka is as crazy, batshit-shit insane as they come.
Rofl, thanks for the warning. xD
Seriously, you should go check out some of his previous posts. Good reading material.
Um...The PEGI will be the body rating the games with override ability and enforcement assigned to the VSC. I don't see how GP's comment is in any way misleading or incorrect.
E. Zachary Knight
Oklahoma City Chapter of the ECA
http://www.theeca.com/chapters_oklahoma
The exact wording is "PEGI will form the basis for a new ratings body".
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I LIKE the fence. I get 2 groups to laugh at then.