In the wake of the BBFC being overruled in its attempts to keep Rockstar's Manhunt 2 banned, pundits are now predicting that the ratings board could face losing the ability to rate videogames. PEGI, Europe's dedicated games rating system, would likely have sole control over videogame releases in the UK if the BBFC gets kicked aside.
"The grudging nature of the BBFC’s statement, that it now has "no alternative" but to grant the title a certificate, coupled with the fact the body went to the High Court, twice rejected the game itself and tried to overturn the original judgment of the VAC leaves the organization with its credibility bruised," claimed BBC News technology index editor Darren Waters.
The BBFC went to extraordinary lengths to keep Manhunt 2 from store shelves, and seemed to win itself no fans in the process. Tanya Byron, who is expected to publish her report on videogame violence for the British government very soon, is also said to favor PEGI over the BBFC. It seems that the board's jurisdiction over videogames could soon be heading into numbered days.
Given the BBFC's aptitude for smugness, it would be quite funny to see the board slapped down, especially after declaring its wishes to rate every game in Britain. The BBFC announced it was up to the challenge of rating my home country's videogame content, but it would appear that not many outside of the BBFC itself share that sentiment. I wouldn't miss the BBFC, at any rate.
Jim Sterling serves as reviews editor for Destructoid.com, head of the Podtoid podcast, and produces a number of news stories, original features, one-of-a-kind videos. With his passionate argumentative style, controversial opinions, harsh delivery, and dedication to brutal honesty Sterling is a name that you can't help but recognize.
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Contest:
10:51 AM on 03.20.2008
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Wait, what's PEGI's stance on bullshittery and inane chillun protection?
Wait. I was incorrect in my previous statement.
So I think a lot of games have been screwed over by this because they had too much of the above, or none at all. Thus their market were torn in half.
PEGI seem ok; whilst their ratings aren't (as far as I'm aware) legally unenforceable in the UK, they do seem to have a better grasp of which games will be suitable from which age.
I believe they also provide a brief description of the themese present in a game, something the BBCF doesn't do and thus giving off the "Mother knows best" airs.
As Jim has said before id like the oppotunity to look at a game and go- " i dont wanna buy that, but im glad i could"
I hope they classify the original version too...
Either way this is sweet! Let's just hope PEGI doesn't get drunk with power and make us want the BBFC back.
PEGI for life!
After Manhunt 1 was implicated in a murder case, many shops simply refused to sell it, as a result of that it was nigh on impossible to find.
When any rating is granted it is no way a guarantee of actually getting the choice to buy the game. The government can still block release, as can local authorities, for example if Cambridgeshire County Council decide a game is unsuitable, they can affectively 'ban' it from sale in the area.
While I personally favour a single ratings board for games, I can't blame the BBFC for doing a fantastic job 99.9% of the time. Two games banned in twenty years is hardly the sign of an outdated, single-minded organisation.
Instead of crying victory for Destructoid, or by extension Jim, we should instead remember that most of the decision will fall upon Tanya Byron's report, not the continued rantings of a blogger on a gaming site.
Nothing personal Jim, I leave that kind of hate to Bouncybhall, but you have to admit that you had no part in this decision, and letting people state "Mission Accomplished Mr. Sterling" is only ego boosting, and purely speculative.
I wrote a statement to Byron, I have been contacting the BBFC for over a decade on a number of matters, and I have spoken to my local MP about getting a better system of ratings in local stores where general ignorance on the part of indie shop owners and parents alike often resulted in underage gamers getting mature titles. At no point do I claim any victory, because we all contribute to the results, one way or another.
Bollocks to that, one unified system for the whole of Europe would be worse than the BBFC.
It's all fine and well inpractice, but there have to be regional differences, and I think the UK should most definitely come under seperate scrutiny by the one group.
If PEGI had to make rating decisions based on an entire continents ideology and view on censorship/gaming/the word cunt, well it would be farcical.
As things stand, the PEGI rating in the UK is suggestion, not law, and this should continue. However, the retailers should be made responsible for materials, under new laws that encapsulate the PEGI ratings. No amount of ratings and critics can stop a dodgy retailer selling a copy of GTA IV to a kid.