ELSPA Urges UK's Labour Party To Adopt PEGI

Paul Jackson, director general of the trade group Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association, called on attendees at a Labour Party conference to support the adoption of the PEGI rating system for video games and abandon the currently-used BBFC system, which Jackson described as "not fit for purpose." Currently, the UK=specific BBFC ratings agency does not rate all games released in the UK, since some more family-oriented games use wider Europe's voluntary PEGI rating instead. "A linear ratings system like the one the BBFC uses is designed for films with a beginning, middle and end where the outcome is always the same," said Jackson. "It just can’t cope with the infinite variety and complexity of modern video games, and the interaction between players." Several publishers recently joined the ELSPA in its call for the UK government to support PEGI as the single games age rating system for the UK and Europe, including Nintendo UK, Ubisoft UK, EA (UK, Ireland, and Nordics), and Sega Europe. Jackson told the Labour Party that PEGI could best handle the rise of online gaming, as more and more children will begin to play computer games online against peers all over the world. The director general feels that the PEGI standard is more equipped to protect children who play online. Said Jackson, “As well as being quick and simple to follow as a ratings system, it is very easily scalable to cope with the rapid growth in online games and add-ons.”