June 19, 2009 -
Dr. Tanya Byron has thrown her support behind the British Government's recent decision to award the U.K.'s game rating chores to PEGI over the BBFC.
MCVUK reports that Byron, who in 2008 completed a review of the role of video games and the Internet in the lives of British children, said:
Video games were the big issue in my review, specifically their classification system. I didn't have time to outline a new classification system entirely, but I did outline principles for how it should look.
My suggestions then went to consultation and the Government have this week made their decision, which is an enhanced PEGI system. My recommendations have been upheld and it's a really great decision which I thoroughly support.
Comments
Re: Tanya Byron Applauds PEGI Decision
Such games can be banned, as I believe that she even included that in her review as I read last year.
However I am thinking that she was thinking more on the lines of games containing Porn.
Yes, they should be banned from commercial stores, but at least allow the games containing Porn to be avaliable on the internet, because that is the only place they can go. And they are not really going to be making much money from it anyone.
I believe that any rating system needs to think about two things, the need to protect children and also the need to allow adults to buy what ever they want even though what they buy may not be suitable for children.
Also a rating system itself is not always able to protect kids from material that is not for them, but with parents being aware of the ratings and being parents, they should be the ones who protect their own kids until they grow to the age of 18.
Much information from the Byron Review pretty much told me that parents either don't know about the ratings, or that they just don't care. And no matter what you do, there is nothing more you can do other than help those who want to know more.
You can even put information on the internet, but that will be useless for those who can't even use the internet.
You can try to talk about those issues on the news to help people be aware of the ratings, except various news media companies only care about selling the news and while this information is helpful for parents, it does not really sell the news so it will be forgotten.
Lets face it, the real problem lies with the Daily Mail and the News on TV for not giving the parents the accurate information and on some politicians only wanting to score political votes.
There is nothing wrong with Videogames or the Industry itself, they are doing their best.
Re: Tanya Byron Applauds PEGI Decision
"Much information from the Byron Review pretty much told me that parents either don't know about the ratings, or that they just don't care."
Well, there is a third option - they know about them but find them unhelpful. Personally, I find these ratings systems completely unnecessary. I mean, the whole idea behind parenting is to take personal responsibility for one's kids. I think too many folks who rely on ratings are trying to avoid their parental responsibilities.
Besides, the ESRB is infamous for in effect banning nudity and sexual content while giving violent content a much easier time. The ratings system is half-arsed and topsy-turvy, and the ESRB is run by a bunch of prudish knee-jerk reactionaries. I doubt PEGI is much better. In my experience I'm better served when I take the time to actually sit down with my kid and play the games she plays so that I know first-hand what she's exposed to. More often than not, the games that the ESRB has rated above her age level are perfectly innocuous, while those the ESRB says are appropriate for her are way below her intelligence level.
Re: Tanya Byron Applauds PEGI Decision
Here we go about the argument that ratings should be done away with and that people should buy and play the games first before they decide to buy and play the games to see what the content is like. Illogical I know but that's the argument you make.
Re: Tanya Byron Applauds PEGI Decision
Yay the bans can be over turned. :D
Re: Tanya Byron Applauds PEGI Decision
How does she feel about video games still being able to be banned by the VSC??? Oh and if they are banned are the perminitly banned or can it be overturned???
Re: Tanya Byron Applauds PEGI Decision
IIRC, Tanya believed the ability to ban games should remain in law. Bans can still be overturned.
/b
Re: Tanya Byron Applauds PEGI Decision
The idea of the government banning artistic and commercial works would be the only reason I might decide not to move back to England from the USA (which I have always planned). The US Constitution's support for free expression is a quantum leap from the regressive British system in which works can be banned by governmental fiat. In most other respects the British system is the equivalent of the American one in terms of freedom and fair access to (and influence over) government, and in some areas it's better, but I think this single issue trumps everything and makes the US a freer nation overall.
In short, for a country to consider itself truly free, it can't allow its government to go around banning artistic and commercial works.
Re: Tanya Byron Applauds PEGI Decision
At least Britain's open about it, not like in America where all different excuses are given. It may be written into the constitution but it doesn't mean much, afterall seperation of state and church is in there but no one follows that one.
Re: Tanya Byron Applauds PEGI Decision
Now I get it. She's happy because they used her ideas apparantly. Not because the right people for the job won it, but because her ideas were involved.
Re: Tanya Byron Applauds PEGI Decision
...why wouldn't she have picked the people she thought were the right people for the job?
/b
Re: Tanya Byron Applauds PEGI Decision
I didn't think her findings were that specific in regards to who she wanted to rate the games.
Re: Tanya Byron Applauds PEGI Decision
I'll say this much in support of Dr. Byron: she ain't bad-looking.
Re: Tanya Byron Applauds PEGI Decision
Heh. She's got nothing on Patricia Vance, though.
"De minimus non curat lex"
Re: Tanya Byron Applauds PEGI Decision
Oh God! I'm gonna be sick.
Re: Tanya Byron Applauds PEGI Decision
I'm with you on that one.
But the whole outcome of this thing wasn't a win for videogame publishers. The fact that there's another governmental committee that can override the PEGI rating makes it pretty toothless.
Re: Tanya Byron Applauds PEGI Decision
Glad her report got soem good result for gaming.
http://www.magicinkgaming.com/
http://www.killatia.com/
Re: Tanya Byron Applauds PEGI Decision
It's scary to think one person can have this much influence over other people's ability to speak without prior government approval (or, in this case, that of a third party appointed by the government).
Re: Tanya Byron Applauds PEGI Decision
Has the government been paying that much attention to Byron or her report since it didn't get them the results they wanted?
Re: Tanya Byron Applauds PEGI Decision
Why do you say that? The government is happily going with PEGI it seems.
BBFC != The UK government.