Which part of the UK are you from?, because as far as im aware it's: U (universal-suitable for all), PG (Parental Guidance- should be suitable for all but parents may want to check to make sure) and 12 (becomes 12A at cinema) 15 and 18.

BBFC has that, but PEGI is used for a lot of games



PEGI uses:
3+ (means universal as they don't reccomend games to under 3yo)
7+
12+
16+
18+

BBFC uses:
Uc (means specifically aimed at children, not sure I have seen it on games)
U (universal)
PG (Parental Guidance)
12/12A (I believe these are just two different things depending on whether you are buying/renting, or going to a cinema.
15
18
R18 (porn basically.... I doubt any games use it)

I generally don't see many BBFC ratings on games at all, perhaps PS/XB use them but most Nintendo games are PEGI rated..... there are some exceptions, like Resident Evil 4 Wii edition has a 15 from BBFC.

I have some GameCube games with ELSPA ratings on too, but I don't think they use them any more.... they use 3+, 11+, 15+ (may be some inbetween but I don't have games with them)

Me, my siblings and my friends have all been playing 18 rated games since we were 7/8, and it hasn't had a detrimental effect on any of us. I'm against censorship of all kinds from a Governmental level, I also don't think that parents should have the right to control what I watch/read/listen/play beyond a certain age (though I'm not sure what that age is).

My mum, for example, has always had a big problem for the GTA games because it uses prostitution, however, I do not think that she should have the right to restrict me from playing those games just because she has a problem with them (though, I don't really like GTA games anyways, although I have been looking at GTA4 with some interest, recently)

Mature games tend not to be very mature. Who really thinks killing a hooker is mature? But that's another issue.

I'm not sure ratings work all that well. If a 14 year old wants GTA5 then more often than not he will get it.

All games, videos, etc must be rated - but it's up to independent raters to rate it, the two main ones are BBFC and PEGI.

Books, plays and cinemas are different. Books and plays are unrated and can be shown to anyone, whilst cinemas are at the control of the local council - council's usually just follow what the ratings agencies say, anyway - but they have the power to change the rating or ban stuff if members of the community throw up enough fuss about it (though I don't know of any instances where this power has been used).

Ratings are a reflection of the content, not necessarily the audience.

Although I don't have a source, I am pretty sure I have read about a few films that were banned by certain councils... although I would guess it doesn't really happen today, after all it is simple to just drive to the next county.

Somehow you summarized my entire thread in one sentence.  How did you do that?

While I agree with guidance in principle (if only because the sad truth is many supposed adults and parents are dolts) I do think game ratings are terribly awry currently.

Strangely, while films with dark themes and content seem to be rating lower and lower (12A Dark Knight, Terminator, etc) games seem to get rated very harshly (presumably a result of the whole video-games having a bad influence nonsense).

Most 16+ games I've seen in the UK are clearly terribly rated, and I have no problem letting my 12 year old and 9 year old play them. Probably the only games I restrict access to are any 18+ or other whose themes/content I don't believe they are mature enough to understand fully - and that's more about waiting until they can appreciate the title properly than worrying about some very unlikely negative effect.

Of course part of the challenge is children can vary wildly in their ability to handle certain content - ratings, etc. are an attempt to standardize something that somewhat defines such easy rules. Really a parent should understand their own child, and guide (and if necessary restrict access) their choices accordingly (as others have noted the rating would be better taken as a guide for content rather than a direct indication of suitable audience).

In the end though I think the ratings are almost redundant anyway in as much as very few people seem to take the least notice of them. The number of parents I know who have no idea what their kids are playing nor what rating the game even has (or why) is simply amazing.