Game-City

The second edition of « Game-City » organised by the Austrian Entertainment Software Association OVUS and the city of Vienna in the city town hall, was an overwhelming success. With more than 52.000 visitors, a 100% increase compared to last year, growth expectations were exceeded. The three day conference gathered video game publishers, as well as youth protection organisations and numerous experts in media literacy and child psychology offering children and parents an opportunity to learn about video games, minor protection and media literacy.

The Interactive Software Federation of Europe (ISFE) supported the event with an information campaign to spread the word about the Pan-European Game Information (PEGI) system and PEGI Online, its addendum for online gaming. PEGI provides European parents with detailed recommendations regarding the age suitability of game content by an independent administrator in the form of age labels and content descriptors on game packages. PEGI Online aims to address risks associated with real time player interaction and changing content of online games.

In addition, Game-city hosted the international conference Future and Reality of Gaming (FROG) featuring a large variety of international keynote speakers in the field of pedagogic and computer game research. Presentations covered topics such as theory of gaming, future perspectives of the industry, game design as well as various pedagogical gaming issues. ISFE’s education expert Catherine Geeroms who gave a presentation on the use of video games as a media literacy tool, was very impressed: “Game-City 08 provided a unique platform where a mixed audience of children, gaming enthusiasts as well as parents and experts could learn more about many different aspects of games and gaming.

More info: www.game-city.at

About ISFE

Established in 1998 and registered in 2002 under Belgian law as an international association with scientific and pedagogical purposes, ISFE (the Interactive Software Federation of Europe) represents the interests of the interactive software sector throughout the 27 EU Member States plus Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Today, ISFE membership comprises 13 major publishers of interactive software as well as 14 interactive software trade associations throughout Europe.

About PEGI

ISFE initiated the Pan European Game Information (PEGI) system (see www.pegi.info) in 2002. Since April 2003, PEGI has been administered independently by the Netherlands Institute for the Classification of Audiovisual Media (NICAM). PEGI provides an age rating recommendation system for videogames intended to inform European parents regarding content that is suitable for their children; As a classification system PEGI supports informed adult choice and does not censor content.

About PEGI Online

Created in 2007, PEGI Online complements the existing PEGI system by creating a trust seal identifying the online game providers committed to the PEGI Online Safety Code (see www.pegionline.eu). It provides parents with an easy educational tool that allows today’s young people to play safely on the internet and protects them against unsuitable gaming content.

For more information:

Juergen Baensch

Tel: + 32 2 503 50 28

e-mail: juergen.baensch@isfe.eu

Catherine Geeroms

Tel: + 32 2 505 41 53

e-mail: catherine.geeroms@isfe.eu