Ratings power struggles: BBFC and PEGI on the right to rate in the UK

As the findings of the Byron Report are due to be made known in the UK, it is now highly expected that Gordon Brown will introduce a cinema-style rating for all videogames. This would give sole responsibility of videogame rating to the British Board of Film Classification — Britain’s independent ratings body — and effectively snub Europe’s PEGI ratings system.

The BBFC appears to relish the idea of the (not yet confirmed) power to rate all videogames. “BBFC is a rating people  understand from film and DVD, so it might give parents a bit more peace of mind,” stated BBFC spokesperson Sue Clark. “It would mean a bigger workload – but that’s our problem, not the industry’s – and we know we could handle it.”

The BBFC even criticized PEGI ratings, saying that they confused parents. The BBFC already rates a good deal of games anyway, and was quick to point out that this move would merely “widen” the board’s responsibilities. PEGI, meanwhile, has claimed otherwise, arguing that rating games in the same manner as films would represent a “step back” for Britain and resents the idea.

“If we are to see a move to movie-like classification, I would see it as a mistake. But I cannot speak for the UK public – or the UK Government,” claimed Interactive Software Federation of Europe director general Patrice Chazerand. The ISFE is responsible for the current PEGI rating system and shares game ratings with the BBFC. 

Provided both systems would ensure my liberty as a grown adult to pick the games I want to play, then I would be fine with either one. However, all I know is that the BBFC, liberal as it may be, still won’t give me the choice to purchase Manhunt 2 legally. Any encroachment on that sort of simple freedom is a worrying mark in my book.