Michael Rawlinson (left), who heads British game publishers group ELSPA, details his organization's new - and apparently successful - approach to dealing with the U.K.'s government bureaucracy in a guest column for MCVUK.
Despite some difficult recent years in which most of the political dialogue on video games in the U.K. involved criticism of game violence, the British game biz has scored some big wins of late. Most notable among these was the government's recent adoption of the PEGI content rating system favored by the industry.
At its core, ELSPA's strategy seems to involve working both harder and smarter. Rawlinson writes:
PEGI’s ascent to becoming the sole ratings system for games was a momentous achievement for the industry – and just goes to show how we can really get the Government’s attention when we get our approach right.
We’ve deliberately become more professional in terms of our dealings with Government. We’re strategically planning what we do – we don’t just bowl up to meetings, answer questions then leave.
We not only had to convince Government... we also took our arguments much wider, taking in the whole of Westminster, as well as the devolved parliament in Scotland and the regional assembly in Wales as well as the European parliament. Retailers, children’s charities and more were also covered. All of these groups had different needs we had to meet...
Comments
Re: ELSPA Head Details New Strategy For Lobbying UK ...
Uh huh? Now watch PEGIs supporters eat their words when Mass Effect 2 is given an 18 rating over here in the UK. We don't want European standards in the UK thank you very much, not when the system we HAD worked fine as it was.
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Re: ELSPA Head Details New Strategy For Lobbying UK ...
It worked fine for 80% of games, those with any level of violence sometimes got heavy handed , more so than games that had sexual content.
Most of the modern world is trying to standardize content ratings, its not such a bad thing.
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Re: ELSPA Head Details New Strategy For Lobbying UK ...
Most of the modern world is trying to standardize content ratings, its not such a bad thing.
Yes it is. Each country has a different culture and their take on content is different. If the European and American systems merged any games containing a simple kiss would be banned due to pornographic content (both PEGI and ESRB are very prudelike when it comes to sex).
I don't particularly like the idea of a German (the country that is very strict with games) deciding what games I can and cannot play when they live in a different culture to me and are not aware of my country's culture.
Re: ELSPA Head Details New Strategy For Lobbying UK ...
Meh over time cultures expand mature and become more alike than unalike, the only reason sexuality or violence is an issue is due to politics and what the few can pull over the many, in time ti works itself out so again...meh... and I doubt you'll have 2 separate contents US/Europe join any kind of media standardization group this decade much less in 20 years.
Though at the most the main difference from them is one has laws tied with rantings and the other has more issues with sexuality than violence, and japan seems to be all over the place of late..... moral purist fascism seems all the rage in some sectors of government.....unless the regulatory boards for porn are not gov funded/ran....
Just remember it comes down to the government thinking it needs a regulatory board for content in the first place, government in the modern age thinks it needs to regulate everything..I mean how else is it going to get its hands in all the good cookie jars....plus without the issues to drive wedges in society they would not get elected nearly as easily...
I am a criminal because I purchase media,I am a criminal because I use media, I am a criminal because I chose to own media..We shall remain criminals until Corporate stay's outside our bedrooms..
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Re: ELSPA Head Details New Strategy For Lobbying UK ...
Zippy - I'm just glad you spend more time on your PC than in the real world.
How do you come up with bullshit like this?
"Meh over time cultures expand mature and become more alike than unalike, the only reason sexuality or violence is an issue is due to politics and what the few can pull over the many, in time ti works itself out so again...meh... and I doubt you'll have 2 separate contents US/Europe join any kind of media standardization group this decade much less in 20 years."
Societies become more alike over time? Says who - you? Can you even back up that statement? Let's take a look at Iran - a fledgling democracy in the '50s, now a totalitarian theocracy. What the fuck do you mean by "mature" anyway - by whose criteria are you judging it? Any way you slice it, you're making vast assumptions and oversimplifications from a completely biaised viewpoint.
Views on sexuality and violence differ from region to region because of societal cutoms, not governments. Yes, it could be argued that this is all just social programming, but if you think that's because of Big Government, then you haven't the first fucking clue about real social dynamics. Your infantile "few over the many - waaaaah, the sheeple" crap grew inane a long time ago.
And, if I'm correct in gleaning what I can from your crude bastardisation of English, you seem to be suggesting that the US and Europe will have a commion ratings system in 20 years. O fucking RLY? Not really worked out that way for movies, has it?
Oh, bollocks to this.
Re: ELSPA Head Details New Strategy For Lobbying UK ...
As a matter of fact Zippy, it worked fine for 99.999% of games. 2 games does not equal 20%.
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Re: ELSPA Head Details New Strategy For Lobbying UK ...
DarkSaber
Those were baned not mis rated silly dilly. =^^=
I am a criminal because I purchase media,I am a criminal because I use media, I am a criminal because I chose to own media..We shall remain criminals until Corporate stay's outside our bedrooms..
http://zippydsmlee.wordpress.com
Copyright infringement is nothing more than civil disobedience to a bad set of laws. Let's renegotiate them.
---
http://zippydsm.deviantart.com/
Re: ELSPA Head Details New Strategy For Lobbying UK ...
Ya ya ya we've yet had a good stress test for this new system lets get a nice and gorey title out and see if they over rate it or not.
I am a criminal because I purchase media,I am a criminal because I use media, I am a criminal because I chose to own media..We shall remain criminals until Corporate stay's outside our bedrooms..
http://zippydsmlee.wordpress.com
Copyright infringement is nothing more than civil disobedience to a bad set of laws. Let's renegotiate them.
---
http://zippydsm.deviantart.com/
Re: ELSPA Head Details New Strategy For Lobbying UK ...
Hopefully if such a situation did arise, they would rate in accordance with local socio-cultural factors - including that of a lower tolereance for uncontextual gore than our non-European cousins.