Britain To Overhaul Video Game Ratings System
It looks as though video game ratings aren’t just a hot topic in the U.S., Britain is set to overhaul the whole system over there. What do you guys think of the proposed changes?
The moves follow a six-month review commissioned by Prime Minister Gordon Brown and conducted by psychologist Dr Tanya Byron. Her report, "Safer Children in a Digital World," is backed by both the Children, Schools and Families (CSF) and the Culture, Media and Sport (CMS) departments.
Comments
Publish Date: Thu, 27 Mar 2008 11:03:00 CDT Read more...
I'd heard that it was going to follow the film system, in that all games would get a rating, not just the worse ones, and that retailers would be subject to the same fines for selling to underage people as they would for films. Sounds reasonable to me, and having a better system in place will hopefully mean that it will now be the parents' responsibility to not let their 8-year olds play Manhunt or whatever. Adult games are fine, as long as adults (or in our case over-18s) play them.
The PM was talking about this on TV this morning, and it seems like the advisor they're using has a very rational view of it all - I heard her say that people shouldn't think games are for children just because they're called games, and that they should make sure they know what they're buying them. I think a rating system is a good thing, because the emphasis is taken away from the designers to create child-friendly games regardless of target audience, and therefore gives scaremongering politicians less ammo for cheap publicity at our expense.
- same sort of thing as films
- info for parents, particularly the nontechnical ones
- parents encouraged to not let kids have computers in bedrooms so they can see what they're doing
Seems to hit the right mark for me, rather than banning/demonising everything.
They still mentioned Manhunt about four times, though.
There's far moar danger out there to kids than games like manhunt*. That bimbo game for young women for example. Young women saving virtual money for diet pills and boob jobs?
That's worse than a game that has stabbing a guy in the neck with a bit of glass imo, it affects the mind in terms of image in a way that reinforces the pressure placed upon them by celebrities and fashion. Instead of a 'I'm a motherfucking badass' kinda way that action films/games portray that's a lot less real.
HereComesPete wrote:There's far moar danger out there to kids than games like manhunt*. That bimbo game for young women for example. Young women saving virtual money for diet pills and boob jobs?
I agree in principle, but I'm also aware of the way that the media have put spin on other games to make them look bad. I always take anything on the news with a pinch of salt, and they might not be giving it a fair view. I can't see how this game could be a good thing, but I'm also keeping in mind that I might not have been given the whole story.
Britain To Overhaul Video Game Ratings System
. I like the sound of this rational approach by this advisor, I'm glad she's not a daily mailer.
