UK ratings debate heats up

UK gamers would face even greater delays to releases and the nation's children would be put at unnecessary risk if the government follows the recent Byron Report's recommendations on game classification, according to Paul Jackson, director-general of UK games industry body ELSPA, speaking at the Westminster Media Forum in London this morning.

The Byron Report recommended that the ratings system be revamped, with PEGI ratings only for games suitable for the under-12s, and those warranting a statutory age restriction classified in the UK by the British Board of Film Classification. Many in the industry railed against this suggestion, including senior figures in both Sony and EA.

According to Jackson, moving the responsibility for a significant portion of UK games rating over to the BBFC would represent "a step backwards" for the UK industry. He described the current system as the gold standard. "For the games industry, when we talk about child protection, we talk about PEGI. PEGI is the solution for today, and the solution for tomorrow," Jackson explained. His feelings not only echoed previous statements on the matter, but were supported by Nintendo, Ubisoft UK, and Sega Europe in a statement released after the Forum's conclusion.

As an example of the child protection issue, Jackson raised the case of over 30 titles which received an 18+ rating from PEGI last year but went on to receive 15 ratings from the BBFC, and one that went down to a 12 in the UK. These included Beowulf, Jackass, and Dead Head Fred. This showed, according to Jackson, that the BBFC's methodology was fundamentally flawed, as it both leaves children at risk from unsuitable content, and thrusts them into adult-oriented online environments where they might be exposed to inappropriate behaviour.

Jackson then went on to suggest that the BBFC would not be able to cope with the increase in rating activity suggested by the Byron Report, and that this would inevitably lead to delays for UK gamers.

Peter Johnson, head of policy and development at the BBFC, mounted a robust defence of his organisation and its ability to help both the public and the games industry. He started off countering Jackson's point about child protection by reiterating the fact that there is no conclusive evidence of harm from games and gaming in general, and insisting that the BBFC was better placed to present ratings that would allow parents to make the correct decisions about what to do for their own children.

Johnson's two arguments were that an outside body was better placed to rate games than an internal one, and the simple fact that BBFC ratings are already understood and instantly recognised by the vast majority of parents, and so should take precedence when games not intended for children are being put on sale. PEGI is funded and controlled by the European games industry, and simply requires that publishers provide information on the content of games before it rates them; only those likely to get a 16+ or 18+ rating based on the information supplied are actually examined under the PEGI system. Johnson also ridiculed claims that the BBFC taking over rating games would delay games UK release further, claiming that the BBFC's average turnaround time for games is eight days, compared 14 for PEGI.

David Braben, founder of Frontier Developments and cowriter of classic game Elite, made the point that while the BBFC may claim to turn around games faster and present a more balanced picture than the check-box based self-regulatory system provided by PEGI, the nature of games means that the BBFC cannot get a full picture of the game they are rating without serious time investment and similar levels of disclosure from developers to the PEGI system.

Chris Deering, non-executive chairman of Codemasters, took a bleaker view of regulation in the changing gaming landscape, saying that no current rating system could cope with the changing gaming market, in particular due to the challenges presented by episodic games, downloadable content, and MMOs. "A thoughtful approach has to recognise the limits of regulation," he said.

Margaret Hodge, MP, spoke later in the day to give the government perspective on the industry. As the minister for culture, creative industries, and tourism, she is the highest governmental figure with a responsibility for the UK games industry, and she said that voters have been "demanding" action on the issue of ratings and regulation for quite some time. While refusing to come down on one side of the debate or another, Hodge did say that she felt that "adults should have the choice to play adult games," and acknowledged that while child protection was paramount, it should not be forgotten that the average age of a gamer in the UK is around 30.