BBFC Oversight Harmful to British Gaming Industry, ELSPA Says

Top ELSPA figure Paul Jackson has warned that continued games rating oversight by the BBFC would harm the gaming industry.

Jackson, who serves as director general of the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association, said the British Board of Film Classification should not have the authority to review games prior to release.

"Of immediate concern is the issue of age ratings where it is crucial that following the public consultation on games age ratings, the UK adopts the Pan European PEGI system for games sold in store and online," Jackson said.

He asserted that BBFC regulation would increase costs and weaken Britain's position relative to other European countries in the gaming industry, and called proposed expansion of BBFC oversight a " significant and prohibitive logistical and financial burden."

The industry argued earlier this year that the BBFC lacks the resources to properly review games, although that argument hardly convinced the agency itself.

Source: Gamesindustry.biz