14 DAY TRIAL // The gaming industry has been, for quite some time, the victim of prejudice from people who simply don't understand that video games are nothing more than just another form of entertainment, one that places you in the middle of the action, instead of being a by-stander when you watch a movie.
Sadly, it seems that things aren't changing, as a recent study made by the YouGov organization for the British Board of Film Classification, entity that supervises and rates all the video games that are sold across the United Kingdom, shows that almost three quarters of British parents are concerned about the video games that their children play and strongly believe that those titles can influence their offspring's behavior.
The study, which was made in order to show that people want a rating system similar to the one implemented for DVDs and movies, also shows that an overwhelming majority of parents, 82 percent, would find such a system very useful when they are buying video games for their children. Currently the gaming industry in the UK militates for the adoption of the PEGI standards as opposed to the stricter BBFC, with the Government scheduled to make a decision in the following weeks.
David Cooke, Director of the BBFC, said: “This poll clearly shows parents support a regulatory system for games that is independent of the industry and UK based, reflecting UK sensibilities and sensitivities. The BBFC has been classifying games for over 20 years and our decisions reflect the views of the public. Our classification systems and symbols are known and trusted by the public and in a converging media world they want to know what their children are playing as well as watching.”
Parents should really take more concern when buying video games, but must also agree that they should be more interested and see that video games aren't always a bad thing for a child, and can stimulate him to think more strategically or improve his reflexes.