Being a student of politics I take an interest in any game that claims to be a ‘Geo-political Simulator’. What do you know, Command in Chief is a game which does just that! Commander in Chief tasks you with taking control of a nation, you can take charge of around 170 real-world nations. You will have to manage your nation and its relationship with other nations around the world while dealing with natural disasters and various international organisations. Spiffing!

This is great, after last weeks analysis of why British papers hate video games we get another piece of shite ‘journalism’ from The Times regarding the banning of Kane and Lynch ads here in the UK.

Advertisements for Kane & Lynch were accompanied by the claim that the game is “grittier and nastier . . . than anything you’ve seen before, the violence . . . visceral, brutal and very, very real”. The ruling yesterday by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) comes after the report last month by Tanya Byron, the psychologist and television parenting guru, who proposed cigarette-style health warnings on video games to protect children from unsuitable material.

(my highlighting)

I really find this hilarious that The Times in continuing with their theory that the Byron Review was planning to impose cigarette-style health warnings even though anyone who reads the Byron Review knows this is an absolute lie.

Goodness, well fair enough that the ads got banned, they were for Kane and Lynch so I have no issues with it. Though the fact that it took…well quite a few months for this to take place is just a sign that the UK really is going down the shitter.

One last thing from The Times article. Julian Brazier the Conservative MP for Canterbury had this to say;

“This is one more example of the ASA showing leadership and cracking down on the glamorising of violence when the BBFC is dragging its feet and the Video Appeals Committee has failed completely.”

News to me that the BBFC and VAC are involved in managing and controlling what kind of adverts are allowed to be shown on TV and in magazines. I always thought that was the job that the ASA was meant to be doing anyway…

Most people now have had time to sit back, relax with a cup of tea or a pint of beer and read through it all. So just a few follow ups regarding the Byron Report.

First off I would like to direct everyone to John Walker’s very good piece regarding the Byron Report on Rock, Paper, Shotgun. With a rating of 8/10 John thinks that the report is pretty darn good!

I have to agree with John, the report does make a lot of sense and presents a good balanced take on the issue of video gaming and the internet in todays society. That is unlike The Times which lost credibility in my eyes for being pretty crap in their coverage of the report.

Secondly we have Seniath who takes a look at the increasing confusion that will occur with the dual-rating system that Dr Byron recommended in her report.

And I agree with young (or slightly older) Seniath, the plans that Dr Byron has set out for using both the BBFC rating and PEGI rating systems are just going to further confuse parents. This is where the report falls down in my mind as Dr Byron sets out in the report to help stop the confusion for many parents, but yet makes a recommendation which will just further the confusion.

But still, the report was generally very good, but as we all know it is up to Gordon Brown et al to pick and chose what they want from the report and use it to their own ends. Hopefully they don’t ruin it all.

The long awaited Byron Review has been published. This report has been carried out by Dr Tanya Byron and was commissioned by the UK Government.

The report is entitled ‘Safer Children in a Digital World’ and takes a look at the internet and video games and their impact on society and children today.

Dr Byron has presented a string of recommendations to the government on both the internet and video games.

Read the rest of this entry

According to Games Politics the all important (to the UK at least) Byron Report is due to land on March the 27th.

I must say I am highly anticipating the report being published to see how Dr Tanya Byron has navigated her way through what is bound to be a mass of conflicting arguments, and also to manage the current anti-gaming sentiments in the Houses of Parliament.

This report could be make or break for the UK gaming industry and its significance cannot be underestimated. It the report is straight down the middle as it should be, then we should expect to see recommendations for legally enforceable age ratings on games and a recommendation to adopt the PEGI rating system over the BBFC.

I can’t wait to see what the report says, it will be of great benefit to me in my university dissertation. Soon we will find out what will happen here in the UK.

It has emerged (according to GameSpot) that the release of Manhunt 2 in the UK has been put on hold again following a High Court Ruling. Judge Mitting overruled the Video Appeals Committee decision to allow Manhunt 2 to be released.

Following the VAC’s decision to allow the game to be released the BBFC took the case to the High Court and this led to the ruling from Judge Mitting. He said that the VAC had to judge whether Manhunt 2 could cause ‘potential harm and risk of harm’ to children rather than basing their judgment on actual harm.

Mitting then went on to say that the VAC must reclassify the game based on the new factors that he has brought to their attention.

It seems that this protracted case is drawing to an end and will most likely result in Manhunt 2 not being released in the UK. While the game may not have received great critical response it will be a shame for the game not to appear on UK shelves.

Finally the thought must be raised that this ruling is going to have an effect on many future releases. If the VAC and BBFC have to classify games based on potential harm to children I expect to see many future games be banned from release in the UK. Time will tell whether a dangerous precedent has been set.

Michael Gallagher, the Chief Executive of the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) is determined to gain the support of US politicians in an attempt to gain support for the games industry.

The ESA, the association represents the big movers in the games industry; Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo, EA and the new kids on the block Disney. Last year it set up a political action committee (PAC) which Gallagher says in the New York Times will donate between $50,000 to $100,000 this year to national candidates in a move similar to actions already carried out by the film and music industries.

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According to an interview with the shitrag Sun newspaper our Prime Minister Gordon Brown is calling for a ban on knives in the real world…and the gaming world!

The PM went on: “I am very worried about video and computer games.

“No one wants censorship or an interfering State.

“But the industry has some responsibility to society and needs to exercise that.”

Read on for my full thoughts