Voice actor Richard Wells has been causing quite a stir on TikTok. Under the handle @richardwells48, he posted a video to the platform on February 9, 2024 where he revealed himself to be the voice actor behind the iconic ‘PEGI 18’ age rating in English.
“I’ve made at least 10,000 recordings, spoken millions of words, but ironically I’m best known for just two,” Wells explains at the beginning of his first video. “You won’t know my face, but millions of you gamers really do know my voice because I’m the guy who says ‘PEGI 18’ on all of your video games.”
For those outside of Europe, the Pan-European Game Information (or PEGI) organization is an age rating system used throughout the region. It’s effectively the European equivalent to the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) and displays advisory warnings alongside a numeric age rating at the start of video game trailers and in a prominent position on most video game boxes.
The English version of the lines will be immediately recognizable if you live in UK and have spent any amount of time watching trailers for all the latest and greatest game releases. Wells concludes his post by asking the viewer to “like this video and [...] share it with your gamer friends” if they have heard his voice over the last fifteen years.
With how much each of these voice lines has been heard over the years, it’s perhaps not too surprising that plenty of people have taken an interest in this part of gaming history. Even so, Wells concludes this post by saying “Who knew back in 2009 that I would be talking about this 15 years later with thousands and thousands of people around the world, thank you very much for your interest.”
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