UK's Byron Review recommends expanded game ratings system

Is this a screen shot from this years Doctor Who Christmas Special? If so I cant wait for this crossover! ;)

So they'll be nothing like the immigrants in my town then.

Lol, same with mine, these you can use.

*PS
I meant that for when I'm buying '18' rated games like Gears of War and Unreal Tournament 3.

Oh, and for Americans, the drinking age is 18 in the UK.

Harsh? Not quite the sentiment I'd use.

Aside form the Manhunt 2 debaucle, here in the UK we really have an advantage with our rating system. It's clear, concise, everybody understands it and it is legally binding so there is no middle ground.

We don't have stores refusing to stock titles (because if it's not recommended for kids they can't buy them)and the only thing confusing matters at the moment is PEGI. Whilst I understand it's reasoning, all these symbols, ratings and age recommendations only confuse parents overwhelmed in an industry that is still totally foreign to many.

If they manage to make PEGI simpler and more uniform golbally it will be a brilliant standard but it's just to bloated at present.

Agh, me too! I'm also 19 and have probably been asked for i.d. more by a game worker than in any pub. Thing is, i haven't gotten my provisional liscence yet. I'll bet you can bet how much more of a fuss i'll kick up in a game shop than in a pub :-)

Wow, you take a quote, misread it, and rant on a researcher which has, by far, been the biggest governmental asset to the games industry.

""-Making it illegal for retailers to sell any video game to a child younger than the age rating on the game box. At present, only the most violent and sexually explicit games are regulated.""

No, it's not already illegal. It's currently only limiting the highest rating. The lower ratings are NOT enforced. You phail.

Um, what? BBFC ratings are legally binding. All of them. If a retailer sells a game rated 12 to an 11-year-old, they can be legally prosecuted.

Now, she probably meant PEGI ratings should be made legally binding, which I accept, but the quote is misleading.

I think the legality of the bbfc is something indisputable, as parliament has already declared going against its ratings illegal. If more games were rated under it, that would present much more possibilities of infringement in a gaming context. That's probably what she meant.

I think the point is that not all games actually GET a BBFC rating. Most just get the voluntary PEGI guideline rating, which isn't legally binding.

bbfc doesn't currently rate 12 games. Only 15/18 ones.

But i think you are right that they are legally binding. Maybe. Its all very confused.
That said, i still think the BBFC does a pretty good job.

Ever heard the phrase 'never judge a book by its cover'? I'm sure an age rating is far more effective at revealing how appropriate a game is for children than it's cover.

In the case of books yes, for games no. You can look at its cover and know right away if it's OK for Little Johny. Now that doesn't tell you if it is actually a good game but it's pretty clear if it's OK for an 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, etc year old.

Not really. Just looking at my game collection, Orange Box has a geeky looking dude, a roadsign-alike with a stickman falling into a hole, and a big beefy guy with a cheesy grin. Nothing to suggest shooting and killing, but there's plenty of that in HL2 and TF2. Prey has an Eagle logo. Resi Evil 4 has a silhouette. None of whicj indicate violence.
I do agree with the fact that parents should take more responsibility with the games they buy. That will come with time, as more gamers become parents (like myself). For the time being, though, there should definitely be some kind of assistance in place from a government-run agency. This isn't a bad thing, it's allowing parents more involvement in the effective decisions they make about whether or not little Johnny is allowed to play Bioshock.
And I'm not kidding there. On GMTV the other day there were some 'concerned parents' that were worried about the violent video games that their 11 and 12 year olds play. And they were showing Resi Evil 4 and Bioshock. Those are the kind of parents that this really needs to be enforced for. They need ejumacashun.

RoboLink a book has two sides to it's cover and just looking at one side doesn't tell one jack, if I'm going to consider reading a I look at the front and the back, just as parents should with games.

But don't you think uninformed and apparantly uninterested psarents should have the information there? Something that they understand that clearly and concisely labels what kind of content is in the game, and what age group it's recommended for?

But you don't have to submit all games to the BBFC at the moment, it's just that Take 2 interactive submit all their games to the BBFC regardless of content (Pirates! for example is a PG).

Plenty of 12-equivalent games are rated on PEGI and therefore not under any legal age limitation.