That’s the headline of an article published on the Guardian website yesterday. At first I was confused. Aren’t all games already rated? I’m pretty sure my shiny new PS3 game boxes have ratings on the front and back. Clearly this needed some research as I wasn’t up to speed with the gaming rules.

As always Google comes to the rescue. Under the Video Recordings Act of 1984 all films released for sale must be classified by the British Board of Film Classification. Video games are exempt from classification unless they depict some extreme activities, such as criminal behaviour likely to encourage real life crime, and extreme sex and violence. In such cases a game will be rated 15 or 18 just like a film would be, and by law retailers cannot sell the product to underage children, just like with films. Publishers may volunteer their games for classification. Guitar Hero 3 has a BBFC rating of 12. Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops + has a BBFC rating of 12. Zoo Hospital has a BBFC rating of U.

So just to reiterate so that we’re all on the same page – Games have been subject to legally enforceable classification by the BBFC since 1985.

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