New U.K. Game Rating System?
March 27, 2008 | by Christopher Nickson
A new UK review suggests changing the rating system for video games to make it easier to understand.
How to rate video games has been a thorny question for several years now. The UK is about to add its own two cents to the debate with the results of a new review headed by psychologist Dr. Tanya Byron.
Under the current system games are only given a review by classifiers if they contain “gross violence” (as has been the controversial case with Manhunt 2) or “human sexual activity,” and only around 100 games each year are submitted for review by the British Board of Film Classificiation (BBFC).
The Byron Review calls for a new rating system for games aimed at kids 12 and over, the BBC reports, which will mean far more reviews and work for the BBFC.
Confusingly, the games industry also uses the European Pegi voluntary ratings system, which can leave some games with two different ratings. The Byron Review wants just one set of ratings for clarification.
The Review has also recommended a separate body to look out for the Internet safety of children, where they are currently very vulnerable, concluding that "digital world risks are similar to real world risks but can be enhanced by the anonymity and ubiquity that the online space brings."
The Review’s main recommendations are for consistent advice to the games industry on how games should be advertised, improved parental controls and education for parents about age ratings for games, an awareness campaign on child Internet safety, and the establishment of a website for parents with more information about online safety for kids.
When Dr. Byron began the review she told the BBC,
"The study will be about what industry is doing already to protect children and what more could be done to ensure they have a positive experience on the internet and with games."
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