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UK games rating board, PEGI, has defended its position after it received complaints that 2K’s NBA 2K20 was awarded a PEGI 3 rating despite a new teaser trailer depicting slot machines and wheel spins.
The organisation said the game does not “encourage and/or teach the use of games of chance that are played/carried out as a traditional means of gambling” and though it had “seen the announcement trailer of NBA 2K20 and noticed the controversy it has caused”, it urged players to note that “the controversial imagery played a central role in the trailer, but it may not necessarily do so in the game, which has not yet been released”.
PEGI did acknowledge, however, that NBA 2K20 “may get too close for comfort for some people”, and admitted the trailer had sparked an internal discussion at the organisation (thanks, Eurogamer).
“We have seen the announcement trailer of NBA 2K20 and noticed the controversy it has caused,” PEGI said in a statement. “We feel it is important to carefully explain when certain content is triggering the gambling descriptor in the PEGI system, but also to show when it does not at this moment.
“A video game gets the gambling content descriptor if it contains moving images that encourage and/or teach the use of games of chance that are played/carried out as a traditional means of gambling. We use a help text to clarify this in more detail: This refers to types of betting or gambling for money that is normally played/carried out in casinos, gambling halls, racetracks. This 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 encourage the player to want to gamble or bet for money in real life.
“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.
“It is important to stress that the controversial imagery played a central role in the trailer, but it may not necessarily do so in the game, which has not yet been released.
“At this point in time, PEGI can only comment on the trailer that has been made publicly available.
“The trailer includes imagery that is generally known from casinos (wheel of fortune, slot machines). Using this sort of mechanic to select an item, or character, or action by chance is not the same as teaching how to gamble for money in a casino. These differences currently prevent us from applying the gambling descriptor.
“But we are very aware that it may get too close for comfort for some people, and that is part of an internal discussion that PEGI is having for the moment. The games industry is evolving constantly (and rapidly in recent years). As a rating organisation, we need to ensure that these developments are reflected in our classification criteria. We do not base our decisions on the content of a single trailer, but we will properly assess how the rating system (and the video games industry in general) should address these concerns.”
As Polygon reports, the America Entertainment Software Ratings Board ESRB also states it is not “simulated gambling and in its NBA 2K20 rating summary only flagged “mild language” in either the game’s content or song lyrics. It did not raise any comments at all under the categories “Real Gambling” or “Simulated Gambling”.
As Polygon also spotted, the trailer posted by 2K Games’ United Kingdom YouTube account has since been taken down following thousands of dislikes. However, it remains live on the main NBA 2K YouTube channel.
