Labour MP Wants Clearer Labels on Games

[Logan Westbrook]

Labour MP Wants Clearer Labels on Games

Labour MP Keith Vaz is talking about games again, but this time, he's not calling for bans.

British Politician Keith Vaz has tabled an "Early Day Motion [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_day_motion]," calling for better labelling for games that contain violent content and for the Government to urge PEGI to take "further steps" to highlight inappropriate content.

Vaz hopes that more parental awareness of videogame content will prevent games intended for adults ending up in the hands of minors: "That this House notes with grave concern that despite the 18 rating that the most violent video games carry, some children and teenagers are still able to acquire them," Vaz wrote as part of his motion.

"[The House urges] the Government to support the promotion of parental awareness of the violent content of video games which are 18-rated; and calls on the Government to urge Pan-European Game Information to take further steps to highlight the inappropriate content of these games for under 18s."

Vaz has a history of attacking [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/96010-U-K-Parliament-Debates-Modern-Warfare-2] violent videogames, but according to his contemporaries, he has recently had a change of heart [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/99592-UK-Anti-Gaming-Politician-Has-Change-of-Heart]. This new motion suggests a person who is concerned about violent games, and wants to take very reasonable steps to make sure that kids aren't playing them.

Source: MCV [http://www.mcvuk.com/news/39866/Vaz-back-on-the-anti-games-bandwagon]



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[Woodsey]

You know what?

This isn't reasonable.

Every 5 fucking seconds there's something like this. The labels are on there, it'd take a mega-moron NOT to see them or the rating, and I've had enough of this being attached to games yet never to films.

Fuck off Mr Vaz, fuck off.

 

[Darktau]

Clearer labels, clearer than, 3+, 5+, 8+, 15, 18 etc.? How much clearer do you need? They already have like fantasy violence or swearing written on the label >.< (Or last time I bought a disc copy they did )

 

[PedroSteckecilo]

Sounds like a perfectly acceptable assertion to me. Perhaps a large noticeable color coding system on the labels... something like Yellow for Kids, Green for All Ages, Blue for Teen and Red for Mature.

Still, it does reflect poorly on parents unable (or unwilling) to tell the difference between the different ratings.

 

[Enigmers]

Do they not have the ESRB (or some equivalent) under whatever rock Mr. Vaz lives under?

 

[Banana Phone Man]

Labour MP. Meh not much will get done then.

 

[Psychemaster]

The main issue is that it doesn't matter how many hundred of billions of labels you stick on the game - the fact remains that the kinds of parents who buy these games for their kids don't even bother to read the information provided for them.

 

[Crayzor]

It couldn't possibly be the fault of irresponsible parents buying their children violent games. No it must be the fault of the evil game industry, trying to corrupt our youth by tricking them into playing violent video games. Seriously, parents need to take some responsibility over what they buy their own children.

 

[Nimbus]

Sounds like a perfectly acceptable assertion to me. Perhaps a noticeable color coding system on the labels... something like Yellow for Kids, Green for All Ages, Blue for Teen and Red for Mature.

*Cough* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_European_Game_Information#Age_ratings]

 

[Irridium]

Well he can go-
Oh, wait. He's not calling for a ban or anything like that, my mistake.

*ahem*

Sounds reasonable actually. From what I've seen its just a number. While the ESRB gives it a letter (E for everyone, T for teens, M for mature) along with what corresponding age it means. Plus on the back you get a bullet list of all the stuff in the game, like blood, swears, sexual content, ect.

Not sure if its the same with PEGI.
EDIT: From a comment above it seems that it does.

And its good to see a politician call for something reasonable. Sure its just one, but still, its just nice to see.

But Mr. Vaz, you can't stop bad parenting, no matter how much you try. If a game not intended for kids gets into the hand of a kid, its the parent's fault. Plain and simple.

 

[Tiswas]

*looks at Fallout and Dead Space. Both with HUGE 18 certificates stuck on the front*

*reads the back and notices both havin another certificate saying 'Contains very strong bloody violence and gore.*

YEAH.

 

[Stabby Joe]

Do some parents really not understand it? If they understand film ratings, games are basically the same. Many UK chains even have a giant notice next to the counter outlining each.

 

[nolongerhere]

What is unclear about numbers? Thay haven't confused me for years, so i wonder who is having problems with them. Are there people out there that see 18+, and think that it's the recommended number of players? The number of inches across your T.V should be? The amount of goats you must sacrifice before being able to play? Honestly, I think at this point, simplification is impossible.

 

[Lizardon]

His hearts in the right place but I don't think "clearer labels" is the solution. The more you advertise the violence or sexual content in a game the more the kids will want it.

 

[Fallen-Angel Risen-Demon]

Keith Vaz...
Nobody listens to Keith Vaz.
Also Age is not = how mature muture you are.
He would understannd that if he met me.

 

[UnravThreads]

*looks at Fallout and Dead Space. Both with HUGE 18 certificates stuck on the front*

*reads the back and notices both havin another certificate saying 'Contains very strong bloody violence and gore.*

YEAH.

That's BBFC. It's now PEGI who "rule the roost" in terms of ratings, and their system is just as clear, although it's slightly different (16 rating instead of 15).

The major difference is PEGI uses icons instead of descriptions, so a Syringe means Drug Use - It doesn't "explain" the level of that content.

 

[RoyalWelsh]

It's up to the parents to make sure what kind of games their kids play. Games have clear ratings labels on the packaging. If the parents are stupid enough to buy 18 rated games for their kids then it's not the fault of the games industry. [small]Fuck sake like!![/small]

 

[Therumancer]

To be honest I don't think the issue is that parents are genuinely ignorant about games or their content, it's just that increasingly they don't care.

I think part of the issue is simply that the goverment is using the alleged effects of video violence on kids as a scapegoat for other problems, and has less people convinced than it would like to think at the moment. I'm looking towards some recent events like in Australia where Atkinson went down, in part because I think he assumed he had a lot more support on the subject than he did.

Now, I do agree that there are games out there that shouldn't be in the hands of kids, but at the same token it can be debated which games those are. More strict regulation for content that has a lot of games that should be teen-rated (or the equivilent) carrying "M" labels, in part due to rampant paranoia and it being easier to stamp an "M" than fight for proper ratings definitions. This I believe leads to a lot of parents not respecting the "M" rating because it's overstated and overused.

Also, I've seen more arguements similar to my long standing ones about how the goverment has tried to regulate TV, Movies, Comics, and just about everything else, in each and every time making the arguement that this media affected the youth and was responsible for a lot of society's problems. Each and every time there were cases made for "why this is especially bad" the same way that they currently claim gaming is "differant" because of the interactive components.

Simply put attacking games is easier than dealing with social issues with no easy answer that are actually responsible for the problems.

"Change of heart" or not, I am hoping this guy changes his tune entirely, because this seems like posturing of the worst kind based on what is arguably a ridiculous issue.

In short, I think games need to be more appropriatly labeled, not more "strictled regulated for content" where he seems to be saying that a lot of the "T" rated violent games should be "M" or the equivilent. Rather I think a lot of the "M" rated stuff needs to be dropped down to "T" and I think that will cause a lot of parents to take the ratings more seriously.

 

[SnootyEnglishman]

While it's nice a politician not attacking video games for once I'm still shenanigans on this one because he's going the wrong way.

You can put a label the size of Russsia (or some other large land mass or object) on a game cover it still won't stop idiot parents from buying it for their kids who kept demanding it for months and months.

 

[Nimbus]

The rating system is already very simple. The average person can understand it. The average child can understand it. The particularly slow children can understand it. With the colour coding, a monkey could probably understand it. I guess it was just too much for us to expect a labour MP to understand it. Hell, PEGI aren't miracle workers.