New age rating system now in force

[Dark Drakan]

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As of today the BBFC games ratings system has gone and has been totally replaced by the new PEGI alternative which has now become legally enforceable in the UK, meaning that games published across Britain must be designated a 3, 7, 12, 16 or 18 age rating. Any games outlet that is found to have sold games with these age rating to people under them will be prosecuted. ​

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CVG has an interview with UKIE chief executive Jo Twist to examine the purpose and practicalities of the PEGI law.​

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CVG: Under the new PEGI guidelines, retailers that sell adult-rated games to customers under the age of twelve can be prosecuted. Do you feel this is right?​

TWIST: I think this brings games in line with film and other such sophisticated forms of media. So I think it is right that we have this 12, 16 and 18 rating system and that it is enforceable.​

But this is a collective responsibility between the industry, parents and retailers to ensure that children are enjoying the right games that are appropriate for their age.​

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Why has the law been pinned to selling games to anyone under the age of twelve?​

Twelve is the age in a person reaches a point in their development and are entering into teenagehood. Again, if you look at the film industry the ratings are 12 and 12A.​

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If an 18 rated game is sold to a seventeen year-old, that is still a criminal offence.​

Yes and it was before PEGI became the single ratings system came into effect.​

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So is it still an offence to sell a seventeen year-old an 18 rated game?​

The BBFC ratings were legally enforceable, and yes the PEGI ratings are too so it is illegal to sell a game to anyone underage.​

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Do you want tougher regulations on parents providing adult-rated games to children under age?​

It's very difficult to regulate parents. We're fans of self-regulation which means that parents need to engage more with their children about games and especially when buying games for them. We have relaunched the AskAboutGames website, which aims to give people lots of information about how parents can get more engaged. Playing games with your kids is the best way to engage with them.​

About a quarter of parents say they haven't played games with their children, which they should. As you know it's one of the most fulfilling forms of entertainment.​

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You say it's difficult to regulate parents but there are many laws which do so. So why wouldn't do you oppose stricter laws on parents who provide children with adult-rated games?​

Well it's more a case that parents need to understand. The majority of parents wouldn't give their children a pornographic film, so they understand the boundaries in that instance. The issue is if parents haven't taken the time to understand what type of content appears in some games.​

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Is there any data on what proportion of 18-rated games are played by children who are under-age? ​

I haven't seen that data, no.​

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Is this something UKIE wants to research?​

I think we'd rather focus on the whole landscape of games. 18-rated games are a small part of all games released in the year. Part of our current campaign is to help parents understand that there are lots of options for them. There are lots of games that families can enjoy together.​

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An Activision advert was recently banned because it featured what was deemed violent content before the 9pm watershed. Do you feel the industry itself needs to be better regulated when it comes to advertising 18-rated games?​

That's not a games industry issue, that's an advertising issue. The games industry has been leading the field and is taking its responsibility, doing things such as adding parental controls to games devices. We've been leading the field in this.​

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Do you think publishers advertise adult-rated games to underage children?​

It's difficult for me to comment on this. What I will say is that publishers that make adult-rated games obviously want their games to be consumed by the appropriate audience.​

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How does PEGI work for digital games and iOS?​

PEGI is looking to expand into all different platforms, and it is looking to do that now. iOS is an interesting area because it has it's own approval process. We're working towards PEGI being adopted by all platform holders eventually as a single ratings system.​

 

[Aions]

Meh i live in Canada...

 

[Tsuyu]

No matter how they try to sell it to us, it is effing retarded.

 

[Gikoku]

I don't really have a problem with this. Parents really need to do their part of taking the ratings under advisement and make the decision on whether their child can handle it or not. Rather than being ignorant of the system believing video games are toys and thus for children regardless. The cashiers/salesclerks should also do their part on informing the parent on what kind of game their getting instead of being taught by their "expert" child. Seriously, I've lost count of how many times I had to do that when I was working at Best Buy.

When I went into Target a few years back to buy a Sims game for my niece, I saw a father buying his kid (who had to be around 8 or 9 years old) Saint's Row 2 and the man clearly had no idea what the game was about. To make it even worse, the cashiers were teenagers and after selling the game one of them asked "Should we really have let him get that game?" with the other's response "It's just a game." Absolutely stupid.

And people actually wonder why so many mature-rated multiplayer games are infested with idiotic kids?

 

[Quistrix]

Heh, I remember walking up to the cashier in Woolworth's as a kid, holding a copy of Tomb Raider: Chronicles and being told I had to get someone else to buy it for me. So, I gave it to my mum, she bought it for me and I went home feeling like I'd totally cracked the system.

 

[ScareCrowReturn]

Maybe if I was under 18, I'd give a sh*t, but im not, so I dont.

Im glad that some snotty nose, take-everything-for-granted kid will be denied. That makes me happy

 

[TRA Rotid]

Maybe if I was under 18, I'd give a sh*t, but im not, so I dont.

Im glad that some snotty nose, take-everything-for-granted kid will be denied. That makes me happy

It's like. You can't buy alcohol before the age of 18, or go to the casino before 21; or when they talk about reforming the school system/the massive changes they make in my old school; or the new games rating system.
So what kind of impact would... **** it, I'm 22, I don't give a rats ass.

 

[Tsuyu]

You guys are all forgetting the real issue with any rating system; developers being forced to betray their artistic vision by their publisher in order to sell the game to as many customers as possible!

 

[Tsuyu]

Facepalm all you want, it is the truth. It is not uncommon for a developer to be "threatened with an R-rating" if they don't cut certain parts of their game. You don't think they will be "threatened with an 18-rating"?

If you want an example: Rockstar have had that thrown at them for quite a lot of their games.

Especially Manhunt I and II.

 

[Tsuyu]

Don't hurt your face now.

 

[Dark Drakan]

Facepalm all you want, it is the truth. It is not uncommon for a developer to be "threatened with an R-rating" if they don't cut certain parts of their game. You don't think they will be "threatened with an 18-rating"?

If you want an example: Rockstar have had that thrown at them for quite a lot of their games.

Especially Manhunt I and II.

I know what your saying but if a company is intent on creating such an adult oriented game they should expect to be marketing it towards adults only. The R Rating is only an issue where R Rated games were banned like Australia, I can only remember 1 game before Manhunt being banned here and that was Thrill Kill and it was an awful game. However everyone just imported it instead and most wouldnt have bothered with the game until it was banned (me included). Hopefully this system helps parents realise that games are simply just video games anymore but some play like movies. Would they let their 7 year olds sit there watching 18 rated horror movies? Most likely not so why is it fine to purchase them 18 rated games without any research?

 

[Tsuyu]

I know what your saying but if a company is intent on creating such an adult oriented game they should expect to be marketing it towards adults only.

Of course. That is not what I am saying. I'm talking about pressure to make their adults only game not so adult in order to be able to sell it under a lesser rating. Rockstar was under attack from every direction to tone down Manhunt, but much to their credit (and their huge balls) they didn't cave in and as such Manhunt was not censored just to be able to sell it under any other rating.

A financial success it was not, but they didn't betray their artistic vision.

 

[Dark Drakan]

Of course. That is not what I am saying. I'm talking about pressure to make their adults only game not so adult in order to be able to sell it under a lesser rating. Rockstar was under attack from every direction to tone down Manhunt, but much to their credit (and their huge balls) they didn't cave in and as such Manhunt was not censored just to be able to sell it under any other rating.

A financial success it was not, but they didn't betray their artistic vision.

So it appeals to a wider audience yeah, ive read the reports and its a shame as you say that their original intent has to be cut to do this. It didnt sell as many units as they hoped but it has the media attention they wanted and it was edited in some countries but was still banned in some areas (uncut version is still banned here).

On June 19, 2007, the game received an ESRB rating of Adults Only, effectively blocking the game from being sold in the US, with the UK ratings board BBFC preventing it from being sold. As a result, Rockstar was forced to censor the game in order to get a Mature rating. In August 2007, Rockstar submitted a censored version of the game to the ESRB and received a Mature rating allowing the game to be sold in the US. This modified version was again rejected by the BBFC; Rockstar won its appeal against this rejection on December 10, 2007, but the BBFC challenged that decision through the courts.​

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On January 25, 2008, the BBFC won their case in the High Court that the game had been approved for release on a misinterpretation of the law. The VAC, however, approved the game for release a second time on March 14 and the game was released on October 31, 2008 in the United Kingdom, a year after the game was released in the US. The original, unedited version remains banned in the UK.​

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By the time it did get another release people had pirated it and imported it so it didnt sell as well as it could have. Id imagine with the PEGI system it means the highest rating a game can get is 18 rather than the AO rating that some stores refuse to sell and some countries ban. So it might work in the developers favour that 18 rating games should be sold only to those 18 and over by law.​

 

[Tsuyu]

As for the my opinion on this thing in general: It makes me sad. Anything that limits someone's freedom makes me sad. That it would be illegal for a 17 year old to buy a friggin video game is utterly retarded.

 

[Gikoku]

Doesn't make me sad, why? Because 17 year olds will still be able to get said overage games via an adult. It's not that big of a deal.

You guys are all forgetting the real issue with any rating system; developers being forced to betray their artistic vision by their publisher in order to sell the game to as many customers as possible!

I don't see how that's the real issue here, even if they were allowed to sell it at their desired Adult Only rating they wouldn't be able to make a profit anyway because none of the stores would ever want to carry them (excluding Adult stores). Which made the specific rating completely pointless in the first place with it never being used properly.

And if all one is missing out on with an AO rating is extreme gore, violence and sexual content, then honestly, I couldn't care less. It is a minor inconvenience and not a crippling limitation for both sides, doesn't make the games that less enjoyable.

 

[TRA Rotid]

You guys are all forgetting the real issue with any rating system; developers being forced to betray their artistic vision by their publisher in order to sell the game to as many customers as possible!

I agree, but I think the real issue isn't limiting someone's freedom, but the society's view on adult oriented video games as a legitimate source of entertainment media. But then again, I agree with Gikoku that games don't suffer that much from lower age ratings, as AO games pretty much only have added sexual and violent content, things that don't really add that much to a game.

What really is limiting video games, in my opinion, is that they are still considered only games, while in reality, considering the technological advancements, that spectrum of entertainment could be developed way further. Also, games aren't exactly easy to do and indie developers struggle to stay alive.

The question we should ask ourselves here is - what makes a game adult? Is it gore, is it naked bodies? Or something like
http://tale-of-tales.com/ThePath/

 

[Skotekal]

...Wait, isn't the new Xbox rumoured to not even have a disc tray? Just download all the games from a store or something? If all the consoles go this route this wouldn't even be a problem... Even though its ridiculous. **** it, I'm in Canada.

 

[Angel]

Yay! A new rating system that will be utterly ignored by ignorant and/or harassed parents who need their kid to shut the hell up!

Oh wait...

EDIT: better make sure no one catches Jake playing Sonic then...he's not 3 yet. OH THE HORROR AND WHAT IT MUST BE DOING TO HIS FRAGILE MIND!

 

[Tsuyu]

The belief that hedgehogs are fast animals is very, veeeery dangerous to little children, Sharon.

Worst. Mother. Ever!

 

[Angel]

Nah, it's dangerous to the hedgehogs in Jake's case