PEGI implementation delayed again

By Fred Dutton Published 15 November, 2011

UKIE attacks government for dragging its feet.

The government has still not started implementing the PEGI rating system, despite it being signed into law 18 months ago, according to industry body UK Interactive Entertainment.

The UKIE claim that the Statutory Instrument needed to bring it into force has not been notified to Europe or put before the House of Commons - a process that can take at least six months.

"This further delay to PEGI's implementation is extremely frustrating not to mention disappointing," commented UKIE chairman Andy Payne.

"We have received repeated assurances from government that the process is in hand, yet PEGI is still no closer to implementation.

"It is also disappointing that a government constantly - and quite rightly - pressuring industry to put measures in place to protect children - can't seem to deliver on its side of the bargain."

UKIE says it has been in regular contact with the Department of Culture Media and Sport to ensure the Statutory Instrument is drafted correctly, but apparently the government still hasn't filed the necessary paperwork.

"The government has set its stock by making the UK one of the best places in Europe to do business yet despite industry consistently calling on the government to introduce the necessary measures to reduce the cost of doing business, we have been hit by delay after delay," complained Payne.

"It seems that the much talked about red tape has yet again got in the way of creating wealth for UKPLC."

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About Fred Dutton

Fred Dutton is Eurogamer's US news editor, based in Washington DC.

Read more articles from Fred by visiting the Fred Dutton archive page.

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Comments (19) Latest comment 6 months ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • FuzzyDuck #1 6 months ago

    Bigger fish to fry at the minute, i'd imagine.

  • Kaonazhie #2 6 months ago

    Sorry, what does that actually mean?

    Most of my games seem to have PEGI ratings on them now. Dark Souls, for example, is PEGI 16.

  • xYOSSARIANx #3 6 months ago

    Not surprising. I don't see the tories in any rush for "Britain surrenders more powers to Europe" headlines in our Euro hating right-wing press, especially as their policy is to 'grab back' powers. The Sun and Mail would have fits.
    Edited by xYOSSARIANx at 15/11/11 @ 21:30

  • xuiton #4 6 months ago

    @xYOSSARIANx the EU is a joke, the sooner we leave the EU the better. It has brought nothing but ruin to the UK and the rest of europe for that matter.

  • bemaniac #5 6 months ago

    wow the negs on the europe haters. WE need to leave europe i wholeheartedly agree

  • darkmorgado #6 6 months ago

    Tory politicians in not actually holding up their end of the bargain shocker.

  • darkmorgado #7 6 months ago

    @xuiton You have absolutely no bloody idea what you're talking about.

  • DozyKipper #8 6 months ago

    Norway does well enough not being in the EU. I don't see why we wouldn't, either.

  • darkmorgado #9 6 months ago

    Because we are reliant on trade with EU countries, and Norway is largely self-sufficient, unlike us.

  • v.profane #10 6 months ago

    The BBFC do a perfectly fine job and having the same system as movies is surely more helpful to parents than introducing a new one for them to figure out (since there seem to be so many fucking stupid and irresponsible ones). We have different cultural standards across Europe so why should we have a unified system of classification?

  • Ironic_War_Criminal #11 6 months ago

    The reason PEGI implementation was brought in, in the first place was the BBFC don't have the resources to cover every single game released. Submission is mostly voluntary, though as a matter of courtesy and not wanting to get undue negative press, most companies submit big name games or games that might be controversial to them. Problem is that it doesn't get every game and some companies can't afford it. With PEGI, every game gets a classification which theoretically should prevent games falling into the wrong hands which is why the government wanted to bring it in.

    It's not some sort of pro-europe ridiculousness. It's just that the BBFC can't handle the workload with the massive amount of games released, so why use them when there is a ratings system already available that just needs to be enforced legally?

  • jamyskis #12 6 months ago

    It was clear that the Europhobes would end up being unable to resist spouting off some Daily Fail or Sun propaganda.

    That being said, I do think the better system for the UK is the BBFC system, because the PEGI system places more focus on subjects that have traditionally been less of a concern in the UK (violence in games) and less focus on matters that the British tend to be offended about (harsh language, sexual content).

    Here in Germany we're still using the antiquated USK system and there's an explicit desire to get the PEGI system system implemented here too, but obviously the government is dragging its feet on this because the USK system allows them to easily ban plenty of games that they deem to be "inappropriate" in the name of "youth protection".

  • Ironic_War_Criminal #13 6 months ago

    @jamyskis That being said, I do think the better system for the UK is the BBFC system, because the PEGI system places more focus on subjects that have traditionally been less of a concern in the UK (violence in games) and less focus on matters that the British tend to be offended about (harsh language, sexual content).

    There was a feature in Edge a few years back which explored the role of the BBFC and even the BBFC admits they simply cannot rate everything because they don't have the staff and money. With some games, the publisher just sends in a DVD with most of the offending content on it for them to watch or sends in a PR rep with near final code to play through the game with them.

    It's a matter of practicality, really. PEGI is there and all games go through that while the BBFC doesn't have the resources and funds to devote time to videogames fully. Not a great system, but unless the industry is willing to pay for a funded legal body to certify videogames in Britain, there is no other option.
    Edited by Ironic_War_Criminal at 16/11/11 @ 08:39

  • Bigglesworth #14 6 months ago

    So now we have games going on sale without the BBFC rating, which was legally enforcable, leaving just the PEGI rating, which isn't.

    Good job breaking things, PEGI.

  • God_Octo #15 6 months ago

    I think it would have been better simply beefing up the BBFC. With PEGI, parents have to learn a new and totally different set of age limits and guidelines. Everyone knows what the symbols mean on films, so unity across the UK would have, in my mind, been more effective than a totally different system.

  • Bigglesworth #16 6 months ago

    @God_Octo
    To be fair both systems essentially put a large number on the front of the box which indicates the minimum appropriate age; its not rocket science to recognise what this means.

    To me its about enforcability. Which system stops a kid walking into the store by themselves and buying an age-inappropriate game? The BBFC badge did; the PEGI badge doesnt (yet).

  • Yeoung #17 6 months ago

    @xYOSSARIANx Kotaku's Yossarian?

  • kingpin3000 #18 6 months ago

    I quite like the PEGI system myself. Being able to see the reasons the game got it's rating is useful although on some games it just uses the symbols with no description which can be confusing.

    As far as I am aware, the BBFC and PEGI don't play the games but simply look at video. Asking them to play though the entirety of Skyrim would take forever. But I understand that the publishers put any difficult content onto the DVD for review. If a game is published and it is found that the DVD did not include any potentially offensive or inappropriate content then the company gets a massive fine.

  • lucky_jim #19 6 months ago

    Staggering how many people see the word Europe and go into a froth, inevitably borne from a heady brew of ignorance, misinformation and prejudice. This isn't the Daily Mail you know, I think some of you must have got lost whilst trying to find "news" (read: updates from z-listers twitter accounts) on the DM site. Quite how this can be blamed on "Europe" - which isn't a homogenous mass out to get you, despite what Littlejohn tells you- is beyond me. This is just the UK government being shit. Yet again. Maybe they haven't got enough civil servants left at the DCMS to do this after all the public sector redundancies. Perhaps re-hiring a few "faceless bereaucrats" might help?