14 DAY TRIAL // The Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA) supports the Pan European Games Ratings Information (PEGI) rating systems and not the homebrew British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), as some might think should be the case. Thus, since two companies with different opinions on how things should be done and lots of money involved, the BBFC and ELSPA keep fighting against one another.
Using doctor Tanya Byron's review as a cover, the ELSPA keeps asking the UK government to adopt the PEGI rating system since only they "fully assess all games content," being specifically designed for interactive content (as its name suggests, the BBFC's main domain are movies). Also, the association believes that having a unique rating system across all Europe would be the best thing to do, since it would make things clear for everybody.
"People are not stupid and shouldn't be treated as such. When they see an 18 roundel on a box, they know what it means, regardless of the current classifier. Nevertheless, it is essential that the public has confidence in any ratings administrator," said Paul Jackson, Director General, ELSPA.
The idea of using the PEGI rating system is supported by most of the big game developers and publishers, such as Nintendo, Ubisoft, Sega or Electronic Arts. And this is just one of the reasons the BBFC wants to grab a piece of the pie, too.
"The trouble is that it is not clear who PEGI is," BBFC boss David Cooke told The Times. "Administration is handled by the Dutch film regulator, who subcontracts to a couple of blokes [the Video Standards Council] in Borehamwood."
He continues to say that the board is ready to review 300 to 500 games per year with its 12 specialized testers and that there will be no delays (it usually takes eight days for a game to be reviewed by the board). David Cooke added that reports regarding a possible increase in the rating costs are rubbish - now, you have to pay ?1600 ($3200) to rate a game but the price can only go down as the testers gain more experience and start working faster.
So... it's a game ratings war out there. Any idea who's going to win?