PEGI becomes UK standard for ratings, other organization gains power to ban games
The UK government announced today that the PEGI system will become the sole classification standard for video games in the region. However, it's not that simple. The government also gave the power to ban games to the Video Standards Council, another independent system that has been around since 1989, who will apparently determine if games coming into the UK comply with PEGI ratings before giving it license to sell.
The whole situation sounds even more confusing than the BBFC vs. PEGI issues that we've been reporting on for years. Speaking of the BBFC, the organization will no longer be involved in the classification of games, which is sad -- the group did give us some uncomfortable laughs over the years.
We're still not exactly clear on how the UK's new rating system works, but according to Baroness Shepherd, president of the VSC, the group will exercise its "new power independently of the PEGI system, providing a 'fail-safe' for the UK - protecting children through PEGI and addressing UK-specific sensibilities by refusing classification of any game which falls foul of the Video Recordings Act. This decision is the right one for consumers in the UK."
We'll see.
Source -- PEGI becomes UK standard for game ratings
Source -- VSC given power to ban videogames
Source -- VSC given tough powers for non-compliance of PEGI system
