Videogame ratings are at the heart of the upcoming Supreme Court decision, but much like Kirby Dick’s 2006 documentary This Film Is Not Yet Rated exposed some of the problems of the movie rating system, an MIT research is attempting to do the same. Konstantin Mitgutsch is actually a scientific board member of Europe’s rating board, PEGI, but is releasing three short videos to expose some of the problems with rating games:
First, many parents confuse the game’s rating with playability. The age suggested by the rating focuses on problematic content, not on the playability of a game. Second, Mitgutsch argues, the ratings are culturally and historically related: a game that was considered “shocking” in the 1990s might appear harmless today. And third, the game ratings focus strictly on the content and not the context of the game. This last problem is pivotal, as many problematic aspects in games make an appearance only when contaxtualized.