Update: A representative from PEGI has now provided further clarification on the updated rules regarding gambling in games, explaining that older titles would only be upgraded to 18+ if they were re-released with changes, technically making it a new game. You can find the full explanation underneath our original story below:
Original Article (Wed 1st Sep, 2021 13:00 BST): PEGI, which serves as the video game content rating system across Europe, has updated its criteria regarding gambling in games. The change means that any games which "encourage or teach gambling" will now be instantly classified as PEGI 18.
You'll no doubt have spotted PEGI content descriptors on your favourite games – Bad Language, Discrimination, Drugs, Fear, Gambling, Sex, Violence, and more recently, In-Game Purchases can all be noted on a game's box or store page, along with an age rating between 3 and 18 to match the content included.
Over time, these descriptors are reviewed, and while a game containing gambling could previously get away with being a PEGI 12 or PEGI 16, it will now always automatically be a PEGI 18. The VSC Game Rating Board explains the change:
"In 2020, the PEGI criteria were changed so that, in future, any games featuring moving images that “teach and/or glamorise the use of games of chance that are played/carried out as a traditional means of gambling” will be rated PEGI 18.
This refers to types of betting or gambling for money that is normally played or carried out in casinos, gambling halls, or racetracks. It does not cover games where betting or gambling is simply part of the general storyline. The game must actually teach the player how to gamble or bet and/or glamorise gambling. For example, this will include games that teach the player how to play card games that are usually played for money or how to play the odds in horse racing."
As noted by AskAboutGames, one Switch title affected by the rule change is Overboard!, a murder mystery text adventure that includes 'Mild Violence, Suggestive Themes and Use of Alcohol' – content that would usually give the game a PEGI 12 rating. However, thanks to a scene where the player can enjoy a game of blackjack, the rating is upped to PEGI 18, with the lower-age indicators being removed in favour of the higher-level 'Simulated Gambling' warning.
Interestingly, the rule change means that were Nintendo – or any publisher, for that matter – to remake some of its older titles and release them again in today's climate, they'd almost certainly see a significant age rating bump.
Take Pokémon Red and Blue, as an example, which feature the Game Corner – a building packed with slot machines that allow the player to bet their in-game cash to earn more money and claim prizes. These were originally released as being suitable for everyone, but were updated to a PEGI 12 rating when they were re-released on the 3DS eShop in 2016 thanks to their gambling content. If Nintendo were to re-release the games again on Switch, they'd be classed as PEGI 18. [Update - see clarification below for more info].
Countless other games would also be impacted in a similar way, such as Super Mario 64 DS. Thanks to a gambling minigame, its original PEGI 3 rating rose to PEGI 12 when it was re-released on Wii U, and would now be given a PEGI 18 if remade for Switch.
Update: PEGI offers further clarification, explaining that a straight re-release wouldn't be affected, but an "upgraded, modernised" version would:
"If an older game that is PEGI 12 for simulated gambling would be re-released, it would retain its age rating, provided that it is not an upgraded, modernised, re-interpreted or reshuffled version of the older game. It must be identical in content, otherwise it must be treated as a new game, at which point the current criteria apply. Historical rating are maintained as long as the game is put on the market again in the same form.
When we implemented the criterion change in the first part of 2020, we made the conscious decision not to apply the change retroactively. We wanted to avoid that the exact same game could be found in a shop for two different consoles with two different age ratings."
[source askaboutgames.com]
Comments 126
Removed - unconstructive
Bold to assume they’d give away Pokémon games for free via the potential Game Boy emulator, regardless of any age rating drama.
Farewell Super Mario Bros 2 slot mini game.
Will FIFA get the 18 label as well?
So at 12 you can play games with realistic violence, at 16 you can play games with graphic violence and sexual content, but you're not ready for Toad giving you 1-up mushrooms until you're 18.
Seems reasonable, and not reactionary at all.
That's not even the gen when you start "breeding" them!
I guess I could understand this IF games which include actual gambling disguised as "surprise mechanics," or whatever, would also fall in that category. Even though Pokemon Blue and Red taught you how to gamble, it was not using real money, so ultimately you had the cha ce to learn whether you were addicted to it or not without risking anything whereas games like FIFA are applying gambling with real money through loot boxes and they are not being punished for it... Useless rating, in my opinion.
And still Fifa 22 will be rated 3+ Alongside all major sports releases. All of which are activily using gambling in their games.
So does this apply to microtransactions and lootboxes?
Honestly, given the damage its done to a lot of people, I reckon it should. It is literal gambling, and since it has ruined lives, it should be classified as such.
A nifty tombstone on whichever chance the original games had to reappear (in their non-remake form on Switch and future consoles) if I ever saw one.
There you have it guys, the mature pokemon game you've ever wanted
Kids can just get their parents to buy them, which is probably what they do anyway. PEGI are dumb and I hope Nintendo will ignore these rules.
Yes, I should point out that the iconic Game Corner as it was featured in Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee, had no such gambling machines at all.
It changed all of the machines to arcade machines instead.
Funny how something that was safe for kids would now be deemed only safe enough for 18yr olds and older
I remember when the DS Mario games (NSMB, SM64DS) came to Wii U VC they were rated 16+ because of Luigi's gambling minigames.
Oof. This is bad. Maybe tackle the industries pushing gambling instead of ficticious depictions? Same goes for smoking.
Meanwhile, real world guns are still there at lower ratings because you can't hurt big studios that much.
It's bonkers to me that they've decided to place a 18+ rating on simulated gambling...
but apparently gambling through lootboxes (i.e actual gambling) is still rated 3+ under these rules.
So even an offline single player game, with fake cartoony gambling would be rated 18+? That's pretty crazy. There's a lot of E rated Nintendo games that would be 18+ if rated today, then.
what should be classified as gambling in games, is loot boxes and random pulls and such.
not gambling mini games using in-game currency.
I can think of quite a few RPG's that have gambling games in them. Especially Japanese ones.
As a lot of other comments have said, if this doesn't include actual gambling mechanics that cost real money in games such as Fifa, this is merely performative to be seen as doing something.
51 Worldwide games got a PEGI 12 rating because of the blackjack and poker games, oh god. Can't wait for it to be re-released as 51 ULTRA HARDCORE MATURE games ABOUT GAMBLING.
Seriously, a game should, in my opinion, only get that rating if you gamble using real money against actual players, not fake money in a game world. Even if it's teaching gambling, so what? I didn't play Blackjack on worldwide games and google the location of my nearest casino!
Yeah like the age rating on a game has ever stopped young children playing any games for 18 years plus. It's a strange thing that many parents don't treat game ratings the same they do with movies or TV. Then are the same parents that will complain they had access to the games.
@syrupdash The Japanese Mario 2 is about to also become the European kids Mario 2
I dunno I kinda agree with this. Kids are duped into gambling mechanics in many games now and any way to combat that helps. This is an unfortunate side effect but realistically new games would just remove said gambling.
"In 2020, the PEGI criteria were changed"
Not exactly news then...
It's silly look pokemon has gambling it's potentially teaching kids how with fake money for in game prizes like a bowling alley arcade ticket set up. 18+
Lootboxes and likes actually tricking kids into gambling with real money for skins etc nah that's cool no problems here.
NINTENDO LISTENED GUYS!! THERE'S ADULT CONTENT BECAUSE OF LUIGI!!! If you play your cards right
That's the Dragon Quest series borked, then — they have literal casinos in pretty much every numbered game
Intresting.. so that means sevral Sonic games are now going to be 18+... (as there's the Casino stages like casino night zone ect)
You're joking right? The things we see on TV and in movies that get by with PG or PG13 on a regular basis, but the mere existence of a gambling mini game makes a game PEGI 18?
I can watch superhero movies full of sociopaths and world ending madmen with the kids, but Pokemon would be inappropriate because of a slot machine?
Next you'll be telling me that female nipples are more taboo than violence too...
Oh.
This is stupid.
Think about this, Pokemon is PEGI 18 not because you enslave animals for combat but because there's an entirely optional slot machine mini game.
Think about this, a movie is acceptable to show to kids if it's full of violence and death, Transformers, Avengers, Star Wars... but if you add a 3 second scene of a top less girl, suddenly it would be crossing a line, 17/18+.
Stupid.
So they're still not doing anything about loot boxes or gacha mechanics which are ACTUAL gambling? LOL okay, what a joke.
Loot boxes and the like are not considered in this…. It’s only the use of very literal gambling art work… so if the removed the slot machine and just had the same thing with random boxes it would be allowed. It’s a complete nonsense. It’s to Keep the middle England Karens happy that little Tarquin doesn’t see gambling…. Karen doesn’t mind little Tarquin using FUT though. Karen is a bit thick.
Will Clubhouse Games be affected by this since it includes poker and blackjack, or is it safe because it uses poker chips instead of "currency"?
@Quarth I was thinking this as I was reading it. Pretty much all EA games should 18 then
With this logic KIDS ARE 18+! Wait they are.
Ok all pokemon games are 18+ because of shiny as well.
If games that feature actual real-world monetary gambling ala FIFA and NBA 2K aren't impacted by this as well, then this rule change was entirely performative and isn't to be taken seriously whatsoever.
Its interesting cause wouldnt this mean with how chance time works in the upcoming mario party game, (like a slot machine) be 18+ in europe?
Prob a lot of mini games could be impacted aswell
Hey, if the ratings boards think friendships (and nothing else) between characters of the same gender aren't appropriate for kids, I shouldn't be surprised by this.
Meanwhile in Mexico, our government has started to "rate" games (though they still ask you to check the ESRB website for details), making games like Super Mario Odyssey, Mario & Sonic Tokyo 2020, Smash Bros. Ultimate and Kirby Star Allies inappropriate for anyone under 12.
EDIT: Take for example smoking, did anyone who grew up watching Looney Tunes or Tom & Jerry got encouraged to smoke because of those cartoons? I haven't known anyone that smokes because of cartoons.
Spelunky 1 is rated 18, presumably because it has the lucky wheel shop. But Spelunky 2 is rated 7. ...They replaced the lucky wheel with a dice shop in Spelunky 2, but wouldn't it still be considered something resembling gambling? I'm wondering where the distinction lies.
The result of the lucky wheel in Spelunky 1 is completely out of the player's hands, but the dice shop outcome CAN technically be manipulated by whipping the dice before they land. ....but did PEGI really understand this distinction enough for the game to not be 18? On the surface, the dice shop in 2 does feel just as random as the lucky wheel did.
I don't really understand why so many people in the comments are upset, the only comments I understand are the "but they consider lootboxes 3+" but there's always that flavour of whataboutism. Anyway, ludopathy is a big problem in a lot of european countries, that's why people don't want to introduce children to gambling, it's really just this.
And since Europe is the most peaceful and least violent part of the world that's the reason violence is usually 12 or 16 and gambling is 18, less risk of emulation.
@nessisonett It's kind of meaningless if they don't address the root cause though, and actual gambling that requires real money is a lot more harmful than depictions of gambling. This is such a hollow gesture that won't move the needle.
It's always the same... Denial, and denial of any responsibility, not action against the criminals. Whether it's gambling, animal cruelty, war,... Because 'they' and their rich friends ARE the criminals.
Hmm also you cant open lootboxes in casino’s, how these slimeballs get away with it
Rated 18. These games are gonna be BANNED from my gaming arena. Only kiddy games
I have Bomberman Land 3 PS2 Japan with Casino everywhere.
The game itself rated CERO A (Everyone).
It used coins in the game (from playing at casino / got after playing mini game / bump yourself to the wall) so I think it should be fine to play as long not using real money to gamble something.
PEGI should think again with their decision.
The disparity between what is and isn't gambling is pathetic at best.
But this is more to do with advertising money than anything else, the authorities need to structurally break down the ties between advertising and gambling companies. When they banned smoking companies from advertising they had to supplement that loss of money to the moaning advertisers. This opened the door for gambling companies to sponsor anything they like, only for the authorities to realise it was almost as bad as smoking. It will just take time for them to get anything to do with gambling set as over 18, they may even do something like they did with cigarettes in the UK, as in, having a law that lets you smoke at 16 but illegal to buy them until you are 18!
I guess this would include Stardew Valley and Super Mario Bros 3 too.
Sorry but does anyone HONESTLY actually follow these "Ratings"
They are a joke which mean nothing
Just ban lootboxes and in game items paid for with real money you use to get a random item (aka how some devs bypass anti loot boxes)
The real hypocrisy is that games that have Loot Boxes, which should be considered gambling, with real money, can get away with this, and NBA 2K, which features a real casino complete with slots and real money involved, got away with this, getting a PEGI 3, but Pokémon Red/Blue, with the casino that doesn't even use real money, gets a PEGI 12, and now going for a PEGI 18.
How utterly idiotic. They should clearly have grandfathered old titles. Nobody lives in the gutter because they got hooked on slots in Celadon City.
I’d rather let people make their own decisions than nanny and coddle them through life.
This is what people get goading politicians thinking they will ban lootcrates instead of giving them a slap on the wrist while doing something radically different and terrible instead.
I’m starting to think that these rating systems are quite useless and out of date today.
Anyone who is buying a video game now has access to all the information they need to make an educated decision.
I really wish Tipper Gore ceased to exist the moment the parental advisory came into her little head.
@AuroraBoreale I absolutely hate whataboutisms… my pet hate… but pointing out lootboxes are the real evil isn’t whataboutisms at all….
This is tokenismist… at its finest. Banning the iconography of “betting” whilst allowing actual betting to remain. It’s stupid. It’s like saying cigarettes and cigarette images are banned in schools unless they are lit and being smoked.
Uh-oh, Clubhouse Games™: 51 Worldwide Classics is doomed.
E --> 18+ in one single strike, ouch.
This is ridiculous. Making Gambling a 12+ rating was a stretch but 18 is insane.
I've never actually gambled at a real casino in my life, and I've been gambling in video games since I was a child.
RIP Countless games that had slot machine minigames.
This is crazy! Playing the gambling games in these games as a kid only did one thing. They taught me how bad gambling is and how easy it is to lose all your money!
If this law destroyed the loot box business, I could live with the gambling corner never coming back. Naturally, that's not the case because then companies like Activision-Blizzard and EA would actually require making decent games that didn't rely on people being addicted to gambling to turn a profit.
I still think stuff that uses only in-game currency should be given a pass.
@Heavyarms55 I think calling Pokemon "enslaving animals for combat" might be reading a bit too much into it, but maybe just because I was playing RPGs long before it to understand it was just a means of expressing the gameplay mechanics.
At least Pokemon wants to encourage players to like and befriend their animals.
I played just the original Megami Tensei and in that one, and I assume all the others, you have to think of your team as only disposable tools of destruction.
Sooo... Mario Party... 18+ in the future?
Lol. Not playing with real money so what’s the problem? It could even be a good life lesson that gambling can be bad if they lose all their in-game currency. The world is getting far too sheltered.
This is stupid. They're not worried about actual gambling in gatcha games but they're worried about fake gambling?
This is just [REDACTED] stupid. No reason for it, as long as the younger audiences don't follow a path of gambling and all that stuff, there ain't no reason why they would have to do this.
I expect that PEGI/ESRB/etc would be sensible, here.
If you dig down deeper, then "Insert coin to continue" would mean pretty much every arcade game, EVER, would now come under these rules.
I would hope that the people involved would do the right thing, on a case by case basis.
@Moistnado Some can, but many parents are smart enough to take the ratings seriously.
@MitchK Sure, the information is out there, but no parent is going to do in-depth research on every video game their kids want to play.
So if I'm reading this correctly, the King of Cards expansion of "Shovel Knight" gets a pass, since the card gambling games are part of the story, yet the claw machine in "Link's Awakening" does require an 18+ rating. How weird!
Noticed this late last year.
Did NL really not hear about this until now?
PEGI say the change was "In 2020" but I couldn't find any date for when the change would be applied. It's been announced since at least February 2020, but there were still new 'PEGI 12 including gambling' ratings even in December 2020.
There does seem to still be leniency for games being rereleased for different platforms under the same rating still - checking PEGI's site now, I see:
Dragon Quest 11 S: PEGI 12 including gambling on Stadia, 2021/03/16
Trails of Cold Steel 4: PEGI 12 including gambling on Switch/Stadia, 2021/04/01
I wonder what Nintendo would've done with 51 Worldwide Games in Europe if that had been forced to be PEGI 18.
The article being used as a source here points out another, more recently spotted issue - apparently other descriptors are getting lost when gambling is upgraded to PEGI 18.
So potentially a game could hit every rating warning at the PEGI 16 level, but because of having gambling it's forced to PEGI 18, and doesn't display any other tags.
Personally that's not a behaviour I would have expected.
It means Pokémon/Stardew/Mario 64 DS and a hypothetical 'PEGI 16 for violence and swearing and sex and drugs and horror' game would be given the exact same rating: PEGI 18 for gambling.
@HeadPirate I agree
That seems to be a bit of a severe rating increase, doesn't it?
I was thinking about Super Mario 64 DS when reading your article.
While enjoying the main game i did enjoy the mini games too. The Luigi ones were my favourite. It didn't turn me into a gambler. I haven't played the main game or the mini games in quite a while might need to replay SM64DS again at some point.
I wonder if Zelda will be affected. Some of the mini games in those games could be classed as gambling.
Beyond a joke, by being harsh on simulated gambling with no real money. they're actually endangering more people by making Real Money Lootbox Gambling seen more child safe, when in reality it has the most dangerous real life consequences.
Nobody can spend thousands of Pounds or dollars in Pokemon Red/Blue. They can in FIFA ultimate Team.
Of course, the real issue gets brushed under the carpet.
I wonder how much of EA/Take Twos loot box money magically find it's way to the ratings board executives?
TIL dragon quest games are now 18+ affairs
Honestly the whole intense gambling restriction for the game corner seems that much weirder to me the second I stop and think how the winner of a Pokémon battle wins money from the loser in the main game. Isn’t that basically gambling already?
I think that the current age they have before for simulated gambling was fine for 12+ but that should be the highest the rating should go provided that nothing else in the game would warrent a higher rating. Also if there are lootboxes in the game but can only be use with ingame currency and there is no way for you to buy said ingame money or a workaround to get said money (ie buy this item that can be sold for x amount of money) then that should also have a 12+ rating.
This needs to be taken into account with any game that includes lootboxes that can be gain by buying the lootbox or with ingame currency which can be bought with real money. If they don't do this at all then what is the point of the age increase.
I'm fine with this. Values change. There are characters in old games who glamourise smoking too, and you can bet they'll be next on the block.
It is a shame that they're not taking this opportunity to update the law to cover real in-game gambling mechanics with real money, which is clearly harmful too.
@Quarth HA! Great joke.
@KingMike Don't get me wrong. I am a massive Pokemon fan. I have been since I got Blue version in 1st grade and even before that seeing my friends play it.
But game mechanics or not, that is what Pokemon is. That is what trainers do. No matter how much friendship talk they shove in. Lol. It's dog fighting with super powered animals.
But that's just it. It's okay because it's obviously fiction. It's not real.
And that's the point people are making about this nonsense and lootbox surprise mechanics and microtransactions. Those are real!
Just wait until FIFA 22 gets rated. Something tells me that EA is going to "fund" PEGI and somehow get a 3+ rating....
@Heavyarms55
It's sad.
So sad.
It's a sad sad situation.
We're live together with sad peoples who ruined everything.
Sonic DX and Sonic Pinball Party are the most mature Sonic games. Take that '06 haters!
@MH4 The article says this change has been around since 2020. Plus it says it impacts "future releases", so it will likely stay pegi 12. I haven't notice it change to an 18, at least.
I dont see that happening. That would be a stupid miss step on PEGIs part.
Gambling with real money being 18+, like loot boxes makes total sense.
But in game currency would makes hundreds of games 18+ and they risk doing massive damage to the entire industry.
The nanny state
In the States, ESRB lords over titles. Even then, each state has seen so much violence and stuff, It's best to slap a giant sticker that says 18+ on the USofA
boy this is an extreme take. Should really be up to parents to prevent gambling problems not your government.
@BulbasaurusRex It's not smart for parents to take dumb ratings seriously. Pokemon is clearly a kids game, if you had not noticed.
@NatiaAdamo No kidding. I suspect the Lootbox games will "find" a way to not be rated as gambling. Probably via the ridiculous "Surprise Mechanic" category EA call it.
While PEGI go after the games that aren't the problem that have fake gambling to "look" like they're taking action against underage gambling.
When really they're letting the biggest problem games, the ones with real money transactions get off Scott free. (And simultaneously making a lot of classic games unsuitable for kids)
Edit: Actually it's true, if you check the game cases online they've already rated FIFA 22 a 3+. What an absolute joke of a ratings board PEGI are, who are they even protecting?
I don’t see the harm in gambling in video games as long as there is NO possible ways to pay real money
@Heavyarms55 They Can add all the sex they want in a 13 Movie, But can't have Fake Gambling By a Bunch of Pixels on screen? Don't know what to say.
The Pokémon games were rated G in Australia up until Crystal, which was rated G8+ (now replaced with PG) for “Gambling references” (despite containing the same content as earlier games) and all subsequent main series games received such ratings up to Platinum, which was the last game to feature such mechanics (Europe got a censored version while U.S./Australia was uncut in that respect). HeartGold/SoulSilver contained gambling elements in the Japanese release, but this was substituted with Voltorb Flip in international versions, and the Game Corner has been more or less done away with since. Perhaps ironically, these were the first main series games to have been classified G since Gold/Silver.
The Gen V games were rated G, but with fancy new 3D graphics in the 3DS instalments, all subsequent main series games were rated PG again, albeit for violence (and occasionally “themes”), despite the fact that previous 3D instalments on consoles (including the Stadium games, Colosseum, Gale of Darkness, and Battle Revolution) were all rated G.
Legally, previously classified Pokémon games can retain their G/PG ratings despite the presence of the Game Corner, but if reclassified today, could be rated as high as M (equivalent of ESRB T or PEGI 12) as the censors are classifying such content more strictly than they ever have before, while allowing actual gambling in the form of loot box/gacha mechanics slide with a mere G rating (when such games OUGHT to be rated R18+ to reflect the legal status of other forms of gambling).
In 90s, only games that focused heavily on gambling/casino activities would have been rated G8+ for “Adult themes”, until the more specific consumer advice of “Gambling references” became the default in the late 90s/early 2000s.
Then it was extended to games that only vaguely contain gambling elements. For example, Wii Party U is classified PG for “Mild gambling references”, but hell if I know what “gambling” that they were referring to there. Miitopia and Kirby: Planet Robobot also contained “gambling references” as part of their PG ratings. Miitopia would have received the PG due to the game ticket mini-game where you could risk your winnings to win even more coins, and the only “gambling” element that I had noticed in Kirby was a level or two that were casino themed, but didn’t actually contain any gambling elements otherwise, from memory (and having a casino as a setting without any gambling gameplay is not really sufficient grounds to slap a PG on a game). Many of the Mario Party games (especially on DS and GameCube) were rated PG for “Mild gambling references” as well.
PEGI: no gambling.
GameFreak: lets just sneak this little gambling machine into the dlc...
So does that mean that 51 worldwide games gets a 18+ ratings but games like fifa and nba 2k still gets a 3+ ? Pegi really didn't understand the problem with gambling in games 🤦🏻
@shazbot PEGI is not a government body. So if anything it's demonstrating that the gaming industry can't be trusted to regulate itself properly.
The gaming industry is using rating simulated gambling 18+ as a sacrificial lamb to avoid age restricting actual real money gambling in games.
They're screwing over a lot of classic and potentially in development games to protect one of the most shameless tactics in the gaming industry. It'd be like trying to "stop" minors smoking by banning candy cigarettes but still leaving it legal for children to buy real ones.
@Moistnado I don’t think they are legally allowed to
World gone mad.
What's next? Kids lucky dips at fairs?
So its not going to be M rated. Ok.
@Xiovanni EXACTLY! That's the thing I don't get. For just a small segment of the game, with virtual money, the game would be instantly classed as an 18, no hesitation. However, REAL gambling (ie. Lootboxes) can be kept at a 3.
Lol. Just realised how worked up everyone is getting over a theoretical change.
Of course it would be stupid for a shop to have two identical versions of a game with two different ages on the box. Hell nearly as stupid as banning fake gambling but allowing it if it's real money.
This moves makes sense to me. It is just treating depictions of gambling as more serious. Should other things like lootboxes also be treated as more serious? Yes. Does this labelling change really prevent anyone from playing a particular game? No. So. shrug.
Oh no I played some of those games as a kid. I can already feel myself turning into someone with a gambling addiction.
@Aliteralturnip Actually you say that but I got in the top rankings playing poker on the DS version of 42 all time classics and I did seriously consider trying it with real money.
I can understand upping the rating for games with in-game purchases for real money which relate to loot boxes or other in-game gambling, but completely fake in-game gambling seems a little extreme. What 12 year old hasn't played simulated gambling by playing poker or some other card game....
Do fishing mini-games which cost rupees count as gambling?
This is dumb crap, if I ever heard it.
I think there's only a very small percentage of people that are gonna get triggered by these ingame casino's. People that are strugling with a (previous) gambling addiction. Most of wich are 18+ anyway.
I really wonder if there are any legitimate studies out there that measure the effects of these fake casino's on children, and what the results are.
Imo it's good to have a warning on the box that there's gambling in the game but I really don't think a 18+ rating is neccesary at all.
Now time to focus on the real issue and ban lootboxes.
see mom? pokemon isnt for kids im a big boi B)
@arenred Common sense is clearly anathema to politicians the world over.
I'm sure someone's said it in the 120 comments, already, but I would TOTALLY be on board with banning gacha-type game elements, period.
It really can't be that difficult to create a fun game that doesn't involve Pay-to-Maybe-Win/Pay-to-Win elements.
If it hasn't happened and you don't know why even waste time on an article of assumption? Darn id love a job where i got paid to sit around and type my daydreams and thoughts into a computer to get paid...but i do prefer skill based jobs.
I'm sure it would be simple enough for a company like Nintendo to modify the game so that the Game Corner has a 'permanently closed' sign on it, or all the machines are out of order so you can't play them. Can't wait to see what European versions of games come out in the near future with all the gambling elements removed...
If video games violence don't make people violent, then simulated gambling (not loot boxes) don't make people gamble
I thought people ignored the ratings anyway. If they did not before, they will start now.
@Dr_Lugae I didn't know that. Comment deleted.
Also, agree with your point regarding sham self-regulation.
Don't forget Super Mario 64 DS with Luigi's Casino minigames. Badass..
This provides a decent explanation why the remakes of Pokémon games remove the Game Corners, while the re-releases of those games to VC do not.
I feel like there should be more differentiation between gambling in games with in-game money vs. gambling with real-world money. Games like Pokemon and Stardew Valley that have in-game casinos, that do not require real-world money and have no system in place to do so, shouldn't be subject to the same level of scrutiny as games that require/encourage you to spend real-world money to gamble in-game.
@Moistnado It's a lot smarter than ignoring them completely. In any case, any such re-releases (with new content) would obviously be subject to minor censorship to hit the same age ratings they originally had.
@BulbasaurusRex what I mean about ignoring it, is with old Gameboy games, just stick them on NSO, with a parent control lock and then forget about it. Parents can decide for themselves whether a tiny moment in a cartoon casino should prevent a child from playing the game. I suspect there is a bigger market of adults reliving old black and white games than kids wanting to play them anyway. I doubt Nintendo will bother to edit old game content. They couldn't even make the old games 3d like Sega did on 3ds. It is more likely they simply won't release the games with casinos in them. In my opinion, games preservation and standing up to unreasonable censorship is more important than the very unlikely impact it would have on children in seeing a casino in a really old game. I know unsavory games developers try to make kids addicted to gambling with loot boxes, but a casino in a gameboy game is not the same thing. PEGI need to go after all the scams with games that are broken at launch, require dlc because the base game is tiny, loot boxes, games that require online subscriptions but didn't put a warning on the box, kids games with voice chat because they are a haven for perverts and bullies, graphic violence and nudity aimed at kids and extreme grind mechanics that cause kids health problems. Gameboy games are not a problem.
There are much bigger issues in video games than emulated gambling.
So then if Pokemon now going to be pegi 18 then Nintendo company need to grow up give us adults more content on the switch and cater for wider adult audience of all sexuality like SIMS and other games which allow u to create fantasy in game weather your straight Or LGBT 🏳️🌈 actually cater for the adults not just for children because if they are suddenly understanding some games are too violent and need to up the age for Pokemon and other future games plus Nintendo isn’t just for kids u know take in consideration the wider Nintendo switch audience actually do something not make a excuses for certain games
@RupeeClock As a Dutch person, the Game Corner change is hilarious to me, considering how back in the 90's over here, videogame arcade machines were regarded under the same "gambling" law as slot machines, meaning that arcades were prohibited for people under 18.
Super fascinating stuff here. I actually ended up referencing this article as a trivia question on a discussion I did for the game Overboard! Here it is:
https://youtu.be/JYdp_tUjJqI
Imagine Mario 64 DS and NSMB getting remakes with Luigi's casino minigames left in Europe, only to make the game family-unfriendly in that region.
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