Government wades into games ratings row

UK culture minister Margaret Hodge wants to offer clear guidelines to parents and retailers

UK culture minister Margaret Hodge has outlined government proposals to tighten ratings on computer games, including combining the features of European ratings with UK classifications for films.

The measures would see games rated for players over the age of 12, and the creation of a self-regulating body to agree standards.

Hodge claimed that the new legally enforceable system of age classification would help to ensure that video games are played by the appropriate age group, offering clear guidelines to parents, retailers and consumers.

"The games market has simply outgrown the classification system, so today we are consulting on options that will make games classification useful and relevant again," said Hodge in a statement issued by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.

"We have also seen a big growth in games aimed at a grown-up market, which invariably include scenes unsuitable for young people."

The proposals are unlikely to be well received by leading representatives of the games industry who favour the non-enforceable Pan European Game Information (PEGI) system.

PEGI was set up voluntarily by the video games industry and is administered in the UK by the Video Standards Council.

Earlier this month Paul Jackson, director of the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association, called for PEGI to be adopted as the de facto standard rating system across Europe.

"When we talk about child protection for the games industry we talk about PEGI. PEGI is the solution for today, and the solution for tomorrow," he said.

"Only PEGI fully assesses all games content. It is designed specifically for interactive software. It understands games and their potential for infinite variations. That is why it is backed by the vast majority of the computer games industry."