CO 1301 Games Concepts Lecture 18 Censorship

CO 1301: Games Concepts Lecture 18 Censorship & the Rating System Dr Nick Mitchell (Room CM 226) email: npmitchell@uclan. ac. uk Material originally prepared by Gareth Bellaby

References â UKIE: â PEGI: â BBFC: http: //ukie. info/ http: //www. pegi. info/en/index http: //www. pegionline. eu/en/index www. bbfc. co. uk â BBFC Student Resources: http: //www. sbbfc. co. uk/

UK Law â 1959 Obscene Publication Act. "Obscene" material is illegal. "Obscene" – "deprave and corrupt". âSeller responsible for negligence - the game must be safe. â 1984 Video Recordings Act (plus later amendments). Imposed an additional layer of legislation. Applies to Games as well as film. âMust not cause "harm". "Harm" is not a scientific test, or proof of harm, but any harm in the eyes of a jury. âSome games are referred to the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) and may therefore receive a BBFC rating.

PEGI Ratings System âPan European Game Information (PEGI) âEuropean (clue in the title!). âVoluntary. âRegional variation âIntroduced in 2003. âBased on the film classification system. âUK is a participant in the PEGI system.

PEGI ratings â PEGI uses a system whereby an age rating is given: â PEGI 3+ â PEGI 7+ â PEGI 12+ â PEGI 16+ â PEGI 18+ â Criteria: â Type of violence. Graphic nature of the violence. Who the violence is directed at. â Bad language. â Nudity. Sexual content.

BBFC âBritish Board of Film Classification (BBFC) âRating plus consumer advice âVideo games are normally exempt from classification. âPublishers may voluntarily submit a game. âGames must be classified if they include sex, pictures of genitals or gross violence. âBBFC may refuse classification. This effectively bans the game from sale.

BBFC ratings âBBFC 15 âBBFC 18 â About 6 -7% of the total games sold are referred to the BBFC. â See http: //www. bbfc. co. uk/recent/videogames â There are PEGI rating for 16+ and 18+. However, games which would come under these ratings are generally rated under the BBFC system instead.

Overall Ratings âFigures from the Association for UK Interactive Entertainment - UKIE (Formerly ELSPA) (no year given) âhttp: //www. askaboutgames. com/ â 3+ â 7+ â 12+ â 16+ â 18+ 48% 5% 26% 13% 4%

Content Descriptors â PEGI also includes content descriptors: Language Game contains bad language Discrimination Game contains depictions of, or material which may encourage, discrimination Drugs Game refers to or depicts the use of drugs Fear Game may be frightening or scary for young children Gambling Games that encourage or teach gambling Sexual Game depicts nudity and/or sexual behaviour or references Violence Game contains depictions of violence Internet Online game

Examples of PEGI Ratings 18+ Assassin's Creed Bioshock 15+ Alien versus Predator 2 Arm. A: Armed Assault 12+ Eternal Sonata Shadow of the Colossus 7+ Beyond Good and Evil 3+ Crash Bandicoot : The Wrath of Cortex

The UK Legal Situation âIllegal to buy a game if underage. âNot illegal to play a game if underage. âNot illegal to buy a game for someone else who is underage. â"Under the Video Recordings Act of 1984, legal penalties apply to retailers who sell BBFC rated products to consumers under the age for which they are intended. If convicted, they can face a £ 5000 fine and up to six months in prison. " ELSPA

Byron review âGovernment intention is the BBFC to rate all games, with its rating on the front of the box. âWill leave UK out of step with rest of Europe. âOpposed by UK industry: âDuplication of PEGI. âSuspicion of BBFC. âCost (payment to BBFC, general cost of two processes).

Europe âPEGI is European initiative. âVoluntary but most countries subscribe. âThere are regional variations, e. g. BBFC in UK, some minor differences in age ratings for Finland. âGermany has a particular set of extra laws which developers need to be aware of. â Nazi symbols outside historical context are illegal in Germany. â Although allowed in historical context many developers just replace because of cost.

USA âDifferent kind of censorship to UK and the rest of Europe. âEntertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) âESRB Rating: â e. C Early Childhood (3+) âE Everyone (6+) â E 10+ Everyone (10+) âT Teen (13+) âM Mature (17+) â AO Adults Only (not minors) â Sometimes you will see RP before a game is released

USA âAO Examples from US: â Fahrenheit: Indigo Prophecy Director's Cut (titled Fahrenheit in UK) â GTA: San Andreas â Lula 3 D âManhunt 2 is rated M âVirtually all received the classification because of "Strong Sexual Content" âOne for gambling. âSome other content cited for some games. âSan Andreas was rated M, got re-rated AO

ESRB Content Descriptors â â â â Alcohol Reference Animated Blood and Gore Cartoon Violence Comic Mischief Crude Humor Drug Reference Fantasy Violence Intense Violence Language Lyrics Mature Humor Nudity Partial Nudity â â â â Real Gambling Sexual Content Sexual Themes Sexual Violence Simulated Gambling Strong Language Strong Lyrics Strong Sexual Content Suggestive Themes Tobacco Reference Use of Drugs Use of Alcohol Use of Tobacco Violence Violent References

USA - Sales âSales through non-specialist outlets. âAs a comparison think about selling through Tesco or Morrisons. âLarge retail outlets such as Wal-Mart will not stock games rated M. âReduced number of outlets will stock AO rated games. âSo when San Andreas was re-rated from M to AO it simply reduced the number of sales outlets.

Evidence about the effect of games âType of studies used, e. g. priming âAnecdotes are not evidence. âWhat studies exist are contradictory. âThere are strong indications of bias in the reporting of studies.

Any evidence? â "The real puzzle is that anyone looking for research evidence could draw any conclusions about the pattern let alone argue with such confidence and even passion that it demonstrates the harm of violence on TV, in film/video and in video games. While tests of statistical significance are a vital tool of the social sciences, they seem to have been more often used in this field as instruments of torture on the data until it confesses something that could justify a publication in a scientific journal. If one conclusion is possible, it is that the jury is still not out. It's never been in. Media violence has been subjected to a lynch mob mentality with almost any evidence used to prove guilt". â Guy Cumberbatch, 2001 â Cited on www. elspa. com (ELSPA).

Violence â Video Games , â http: //www. sbbfc. co. uk/documents/ â BBFCVideo. Games. Report. pdf â There is evidence that parents take less account of the ratings for games than they do for films.

Violence âMost violence is symbolic. It makes no pretence to be real. âThe player is vulnerable. The violence is not one-sided. The violence contributes to tension within a game. âGames are escapist. The violence sets the game apart from normal life. âGamers report that the violence is make belief: "gamers seem not to lose awareness that they are playing a game and do not mistake the game for real life", Video Games

Manhunt 2 and BBFC âGame submitted to BBFC. âBBFC refused licence. 3 person panel. Appeared to have only watched video footage. No experience of games. âAppeal by Rockstar. âVideo Appeals Committee. Played for one day, then listened to legal representation. Overturned ban. âBBFC submission made no appeals to evidence. Much play made of use of sound. Also appeal to lack of fantasy background.

Manhunt 2 and BBFC âBBFC then mounted a legal challenge to its own Committee. âThe Video Appeals Committee had made an error in legal judgement by using phrase "devastating harm", and not "harm" so challenge successful. âVideo Appeals Committee reconsidered and reiterated its overturning of the ban. âBBFC targeting of Manhunt seen as political.