From today onwards the PEGI (Pan European Game Information) ratings system for gaming, video, and music has replaced eth BBFC ratings system in the UK as the legally enforceable ratings system across Europe.
This basically means that games with the PEGI ratings on them can be refused and punishable by law if they are miss-sold to people under the displayed age rating. The BBFC has been responsible for this for the past 28 years after the Video Recordings Act of 1984 was put in place and the BBFC was put in place for the censorship legislation.
The censorship legislation requires that “all ‘video works’ (films, TV programmes, video games, etc) which are supplied on a disc, tape or any other device capable of storing data electronically to be classified by the BBFC, unless they fall within the definition of an exempted work.”
The resulting act of selling a game, video, or anything with an age rating on to anyone below the rightful age limit, was punishable by a fine up to £5000 or up to 6 months in prison.
However, today the BBFC is finally handing over the reins to a European-wide rating systems that has a similar scale but a few slight increases, such as the 15 rating is raised to 16 and the scales also attempt to convey some of the games content with some additional ratings advising on the games content (such as Drugs, Discrimination, Gambling and Sex).
The PEGI ratings system has been in place since 2009 and has been displayed on all video content alongside the BBFC ratings, but as of today the rating is now officially the legal rating for sale and holds the punishment for miss-sale.
Many consumers and retailers have praised the PEGI System for its transparency and offering parents and consumers a better view of the content of their video material.
The PEGI system is generally considered to be more transparent, and it’s hoped that the change in system (a movement which started back in 2009) will help parents make more informed decisions when purchasing games for their children.
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