Byron backs film-style ratings for games Comments by Robert Purchese

Don't get this at all, as...

- Console makers demand publishers put a PEGI rating on their games.
- In the UK, if a game gets a PEGI 16 or 18 rating, it must also go through BBFC.
- Shops won't sell games without a PEGI rating or which the BBFC has banned.
- New consoles already come with parental control settings based on the PEGI rating.
- Parents should already be taking an interest in games they buy anyway and should be looking at the PEGI rating.

What the government has done appears to be...

- Move the age which games must be submitted to the BBFC from 16 to 12.
- Put big scary warnings on the package.
- Try and get console makers to make parental controls accept BBFC ratings.
- Mollycoddle parents.
- Invent some new fines to make a bit of cash out of it even though the law says that you can't games which the BBFC have rejected and the BBFC review all games with a PEGI rating over 16.

In short an attempt by the government to pull back control over banning games by giving the BBFC more importance because everyone was using PEGI and although it works it wasn't made here.