Kuboian Interactive Rating System

The Kuboian Interactive Rating System (KIRS) was established in Kuboia in 1997. It is responsible for rating video games in the country.

History
KIRS was founded in March 1997, in-line with the launch of the Nintendo 64 in Europe. All Sega Saturn and PlayStation games that were released beforehand were re-issued with new ratings. However, games released for the SNES were not required to be rated.

In November 2000, a new age rating system was established to coincide with the launch of the PlayStation 2. Unlike the previous ratings, the new ratings are legally enforced, and a person cannot purchase a game if they are younger than the age rating featured on it.

1997-2000

 * Green; suitable for all audiences.
 * Yellow; not recommended for those under 14.
 * Red; not recommended for those under 18.

2000-present
There are two other ratings used on certain occasions. A – rating is used if a video game is exempt from classification (used for "games" such as internet browsers and other miscellaneous software sold on game consoles). A ! symbol is used for games refused classifcation due to controversial content. However, neither of these are treated as official ratings.
 * LK; used to state that a game is suitable for very young children.
 * 4+
 * 11+
 * 15+
 * 18+

Ratings and content
In 2009, the KIRS said they would becoming stricter with violence and sexual content in games due to the improvement in video games making them appear more realistic.

According to their website, the KIRS may award a game with in-game purchases a higher rating if it encourages spending real money, depending on the frequency of encouragement and how easy it is to spend a lot of money.

Criticism
A few have criticised the KIRS, claiming that the gap between the 4+ and 11+ ratings is too large, and have tried to pressure the organisation to introduce another rating to counter this. However, in 2008, the KIRS revealed that there were no plans for a new age rating, as it was believed to be redundant.