In a report commissioned by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, study author and clinical psychologist Tanya Byron has suggested a number of changes to increase the effectiveness of video game violence classifications in Britain, including a more film-like rating system.

"We need to improve on the systems already in place to help parents restrict children's access to games which are not suitable for their age," she wrote.

Chief among Byron's recommendations is that the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) introduce a new 12+ rating for games. Currently, games in the UK are only required to be rated if they contain gross violence. According to Byron, "the threshold for statutory classification [of video games] is quite high and is inconsistent with that for film and DVDs."

While the BBFC would only be required to rate games 12+ or higher, Byron suggested that the Pan European Game Information (PEGI), which voluntarily rates games, focus on titles that would earn a 3+ or 7+ rating, which she claimed is "where the evidence of potential harm is weakest."

To prevent consumer confusion between BBFC and PEGI ratings, Byron recommended that BBFC logos appear on the front of game packages, while PEGI logos... Read more

The Entertainment Software Rating Board's (ESRB) game ratings scale is now more effective than ever thanks to growing retailer participation and parental awareness, a new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) report indicates.

Through a mystery shopper program, the FTC found that 42% of unaccompanied children were able to purchase an M-rated game, a significant drop from 85% in 2000 and 69% in 2003 but unchanged from last year. Figures from this and last year bring game retailers in line with movie theaters, which in the FTC's tests allowed only 39% of minors to purchase tickets to R-rated films. Gaming retailers showed significantly better results than movie retailers, however, which allowed 71% of minors to purchase R-rated films on DVD.

Additionally, 87% of parents were aware of the ESRB rating system and over 70% claim to use it when their children want to play a game. Despite the high figures, many of those polled believe the system is not as effective at communicating violence levels as it could be.

To further increase the effectiveness of the ESRB ratings, the FTC suggests content descriptors be relocated from the back of a game box to the front. The report also questions the ESRB's limited enforcement of a policy that prevents M-rated games from advertising on a web site if 45% or more of its reader demographic is under 17.

Chris Remo contributed to this story.

It is commonly known that publishers put a high degree of importance on video game review scores, particularly since the advent of large-scale score aggregate sites such as Game Rankings and Metacritic. Average scores are frequently cited in press releases and statements, and in 2004, Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment went so far as to announce that it will be partially basing developer royalty rates for licensed video games on average review scores. However, according to a recently released study by the Susquehanna International Group, the situation may in fact be just as some of us have suspected: scores don't really matter when it comes to sales. The firm released a report entitled "Debunking the Game Rating Myth: Do Game Ratings Matter? – Part 2," following up on its first such report last year. This time around, SIG upped the sample size of reviews and games from 260 to 1200, and was still unable to find any meaningful correlation between scores and retail performance.

"After going through multiple scenarios, we believe a game rating, in most cases, is not a reliable tool for predicting game sales," reads the report. "There are isolated examples of strong correlation, but they are just that--isolated. We believe a naked game rating without context is largely useless." More significant factors in determining a game's success include factors such as past performance of the game's franchise as well when the game is released. Jason Kraft of SIG noted that last year's findings did not go over well with publishers, and he expects a similar situation with this year's. "The notion that game ratings might have very little to do with game sales touches a nerve," states the report. "And, no wonder--for whatever reason, many investors have learned to rely on them."

Whenever the issue of violence and sex in videogames arises, the majority of us say that it's the parents' responsibility to monitor what their children are playing and their job to check and understand the ratings system. But do they? Do parents care about ratings and is it influential to them when they buy games? A study was conducted across the pond, commissioned by the Entertainment & Leisure Software Publisher Association (ELSPA) to find out those answers.

"Parents perceive age ratings as a guide but not as a definite prohibition," he commented, going on to mention that while many parents weren't entirely happy with the content of the games being played by their children, few would take action to prevent it.
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"The research is on the money," he told GamesIndustry.biz this morning, "but anyone working in a games store has known this for a long time. The number of copies of Grand Theft Auto I've had to sell to parents accompanied by their ten year old kids, who I had refused to sell a copy to just a few minutes before, is absolutely sickening."

Now obviously the social mentality of many European nations is more liberal than that found here in the US, but it reinforces the notion that ratings don't matter to many parents. If something is to be done about youngsters acquiring mature titles, the stores now need to actively card the children and inform parents of the content of each game sold.