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Government proposes hybrid computer game regulation


The Government wants to standardise the way that computer games are classified in a bid to protect children from unsuitable material. Against the wishes of games trade body ELSPA, the Government wants film censors to have a role in classification.

Two systems are currently in operation for indicating how appropriate a game is for different age groups. The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) uses the same system of U, PG, 12, 12A, 15 and 18 ratings as it does for films, and reserves the right to refuse a game a classification.

The industry has its own scheme, the Pan European Game Information (PEGI) scheme, which has the backing of the European Leisure Software Publishers' Association (ELSPA).

The Department of Culture, Media and Sport has said that it wants a unified system where PEGI ratings apply for young children and BBFC ratings apply to games which only appropriate to children from the age of 12 upwards.

"The BBFC would rate all games that are 12+ or higher, evaluating content and context. PEGI would continue to rate all 3+ and 7+ games. The BBFC logos would appear on the front of all boxes, with the PEGI logos on the back," said the consultation paper.

"This system will work best if BBFC and PEGI come to an agreement on their logos and age classifications so a more integrated approach can be adopted. New legislation would extend the BBFC’s remit to classify games from 12+, bringing the system into line with the classification system used for DVDs/videos which is widely understood," it said.

The Government has adopted the preferred approach of child psychologist Dr Tanya Byron, who produced a report for the Government on children, safety and technology earlier this year.

"Dr Byron expressed a clear preference for the proposed hybrid classification system, because she felt this was the best way of guaranteeing sufficiently rigorous classification at 12+ to safeguard children," said the consultation. "Therefore this option starts as the Government’s preferred choice. However, her remit was solely child safety and while this is the most important consideration she acknowledged that there were other options and considerations, and recommended that we consult widely before coming to a definite conclusion on games classification."

The move is unlikely to find support in the ELSPA., which has criticised the BBFC and said that it would not be able to deal adequately with the complexities of computer game classification.

"The film ratings board seems to work OK for films and linear media. But games are not linear – and will be even less so in the future," ELSPA's director general Paul Jackson told a games industry seminar last month. "In ELSPA’s view, moving to more ratings by the BBFC would be a step backwards. They are a film classifier in the UK. They simply do not have the expertise to classify games, online or offline."

"The BBFC system is incapable of rating the sheer number of games and games accessories in the on-line world we are now facing. Let me make this clear, we are not talking about an extra few hundred, we are talking about tens of thousands of games and games accessories; which will have to be reviewed each and every year," said Jackson. "PEGI represents the “gold standard” today, and will undoubtedly be the best system for tomorrow."

The consultation runs until 20 November.

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