ABOUT RATINGS AND PARENTAL CONTROLS

The following is an explanation of the age ratings and parental controls available for the games and applications on the PlayStation®Store and for videos available on the PlayStation®Store or other Sony Entertainment Network Store. 

A GUIDE TO AGE RATINGS FOR VIDEO GAMES AND NON-GAME APPLICATIONS

All of the games available on the PlayStation®Store are labelled with symbols indicating the age for which they are suitable.  Age ratings are not a guide to gaming difficulty.  Parents should always check ratings before buying or allowing their children to buy or download games from the PlayStation®Store.

By checking age ratings, and using the parental controls (see below), parents and carers can help to ensure that children are not exposed to inappropriate content and behaviour online.  Parents and carers should also monitor their child's online activity.

An explanation of the specific age rating symbols used on the PlayStation®Store for games is set out below. 

CLASSIFICATION BOARD (AUSTRALIA) AND THE OFFICE OF FILM AND LITERATURE CLASSIFICATION (NEW ZEALAND) AGE RATING SYSTEMS

The age ratings in Australia and New Zealand are set out below:

Australia

oflc Goflc PG
oflc Moflc MA15+
oflc R18

New Zealand

oflc 13oflc 16oflc 18

So a "G" game is suitable for everyone, a "PG" game is suitable for children, but parental guidance is recommended, and an "M" game is recommended for mature audiences. These ratings are a guide only. Some games have higher legally restricted ratings, MA15+ and R18+ in Australia and the Restricted ratings in New Zealand. It is illegal for restricted games to be bought for, or played by, anyone below the age stated in the rating. These ratings have nothing to do with the difficulty or playability of the game.

Any game  rated "M" or under in Australia does not need to be classified in New Zealand. A game or video rated "M" or under can bear the Australian Classification Board rating symbol in New Zealand.  Where a game is restricted to 15 years and over in Australia, then it must be submitted for classification in New Zealand and must bear the New Zealand OFLC rating symbol.

In addition to the rating, the PlayStation®Store will also display descriptions of the type of content appearing in each game, such as "MILD COURSE LANGUAGE" or "MILD VIOLENCE". The rating of the game reflects the intensity of this content. Depending on the game, there may be a number of such descriptions.

Many games are suitable for all ages, but parents and carers should always check the rating first to see if it is suitable for the child concerned. To understand what to expect from a game, both the age rating and the content descriptions should be checked.

For further information, visit www.classification.gov.au/ (for Australia) or www.censorship.govt.nz (for New Zealand).

AGE RATINGS FOR PLAYSTATION MOBILE APPLICATIONS

All of the game and non-game applications available on the PlayStation® Store for PlayStation®Mobile are labelled with symbols indicating the age for which they are suitable.  These are provided by the publisher of the application and not by PlayStation®Mobile.  The ratings are purely advisory.  Parents should always check ratings before buying or allowing their children to buy or download applications for PlayStation®Mobile.

By checking age ratings, and using the parental controls (see below), parents and carers can help to ensure that children are not exposed to inappropriate content  online.  Parents and carers should also monitor their child's online activity.

The age ratings for the applications available on the PlayStation®Mobile are set out below:

3+7+12+16+18+

So an application with a 12+  rating  means the publisher believes the application  has content which is suitable only for those of 12 years and over, and an application  with an 18+ rating is considered suitable for adults only.  The rating reflects the existence of certain content, or the intensity of such content, such as nudity or graphic sexual images, which may not be suitable for a certain age group. 

In addition to the age rating, the PlayStation®Store will also display descriptors indicating the type of content appearing in each application which may concern parents or carers.  The age rating of the application reflects the intensity of this content.  The descriptors are as follows: 

PSM rt01 Violence / Crime

PSM rt02 Strong Language

PSM rt03 Fear

PSM rt04 Sex / Romance

PSM rt05 Drugs, Alcohol, Tobacco

PSM rt06 Gambling

PSM rt07 Online

Depending on the application, there may be a number of such descriptors.

Many applications are suitable for all ages, but parents and carers should always check the rating first to see if it is suitable for the child concerned.  To understand what to expect from an application, both the age rating and descriptors should be checked.

PARENTAL CONTROLS FOR GAMES AND PLAYSTATION MOBILE APPLICATIONS

PlayStation® consoles offer a set of parental controls to enable a parent to restrict access to products with a certain age rating ensuring that children do not see or play content that the parent considers inappropriate. As explained above, games available on the PlayStation®Store are classified according to the Classification Board (Australia) and the Office of Film & Literature Classification (New Zealand) rating systems and PlayStation Mobile applications available in the PlayStation® Store are classified according to the PlayStation Mobile rating system.   Each age rating corresponds to a parental control level on the PlayStation® console as follows:

Australia

PARENTAL CONTROL LEVEL 9 oflc R18

PARENTAL CONTROL LEVEL 8 oflc MA15+

PARENTAL CONTROL LEVEL 7 oflc M

PARENTAL CONTROL LEVEL 3 oflc PG

PARENTAL CONTROL LEVEL 1 oflc G


New Zealand

PARENTAL CONTROL LEVEL 9 oflc 16oflc 18

PARENTAL CONTROL LEVEL 7 oflc 13

PlayStation Mobile

PARENTAL CONTROL LEVEL 9 18+

PARENTAL CONTROL LEVEL 7 16+

PARENTAL CONTROL LEVEL 5 12+

PARENTAL CONTROL LEVEL 3 7+

PARENTAL CONTROL LEVEL 2 3+

So, if your child is 13, set the parental control on your console to level 3.  This means that your child will be able to play games age rated PG and below.  If that child wants to play non-game applications rated 12 or below, you can adjust the PCL on the console to PCL 5 temporarily.

In addition, when you set up a sub account for a child on the PlayStation®Network, you will be asked to confirm their date of birth.  Sub accounts will not be able to purchase content on the PlayStation®Store which is rated above their registered age.  However, once content has been downloaded from the PlayStation®Store to the PlayStation console, children may be able to access the content if the parental control level on the console is not set.  That is why it is important to set the console parental controls as explained above.

For more information on parental controls, visit eu.playstation.com/parents.

A GUIDE TO AGE RATINGS FOR VIDEOS

The majority of the videos available on the PlayStation®Store or other Sony Entertainment Network (SEN) Store are labelled with symbols indicating the age for which they are suitable.  Parents should always check ratings before buying or allowing their children to buy or view videos from the PlayStation®Store or other SEN Store.

By checking age ratings, and using the parental controls (see below), parents and carers can help to ensure that children are not exposed to inappropriate content and behaviour online.  Parents and carers should also monitor their child's online activity.

An explanation of the specific age rating symbols used on the PlayStation®Store or other SEN Store for videos is set out below. 

CLASSIFICATION BOARD (AUSTRALIA) AGE RATING SYSTEM

An Australian Classification Board age rating will appear next to rated videos supplied on the PlayStation®Store or other SEN Store to a user in Australia. The ratings are set out below, along with an explanation of their meaning:

oflc Goflc PG
oflc Moflc MA15+
oflc R18

For further information, visit www.classification.gov.au.

The rating of the video reflects the existence of certain content, or the intensity of such content, such as violence, nudity or graphic sexual images, which may not be suitable for a certain age group.

Many of the videos are suitable for all ages, but parents and carers should always check the rating first to see if it is suitable for the child concerned. 

In the event that a video is not rated, then it is only available to PlayStation®Network or other SEN Store account holders registered with a minimum age.  In most cases, the minimum age is 18 years.          

For further information, visit www. classification.gov.au.

PARENTAL CONTROLS FOR VIDEO

PlayStation consoles offer a set of parental controls to enable a parent to restrict access to products with a certain age rating ensuring that children do not see content that their parent considers inappropriate. As explained above, videos available on the PlayStation®Store or other SEN Store may be classified according to a video rating system. Each age rating corresponds to a parental control level on the PlayStation console as follows:

PARENTAL CONTROL LEVEL 10 oflc R18

PARENTAL CONTROL LEVEL 9 oflc MA15+

PARENTAL CONTROL LEVEL 7 oflc M

PARENTAL CONTROL LEVEL 3 oflc PG

PARENTAL CONTROL LEVEL 1 oflc G

In addition, when a parent sets up a sub account for a child on the PlayStation®Network, the parent will be asked to confirm their child's date of birth.  Sub accounts will not be able to purchase content on the PlayStation®Store or other SEN Store which is rated above their registered age.  However, once content has been downloaded from the PlayStation®Store to the PlayStation console, children may be able to access the content if the parental control level on the console is not set.  That is why it is important to set the console parental controls as explained above.

For more information on parental controls, visit eu.playstation.com/parents.

Where you use a service on other Sony devices besides a PlayStation console, there may also be parental controls available on those other devices which allow you to restrict access to videos with a certain age rating. For more information, please refer to the instruction manual of your Sony device.