BBFC Says Violent games Less Harmful Than Films

[Hadrian]

From Joystiq

"The British Board of Film Classification, which assigns content ratings to both films and video games, says that video game violence is less influential and harmful to young players than violence in films or television. The board came to this conclusion as a result of their 107-page study, "Playing Video Games," featuring interviews with players ranging from very young children to the middle-aged.

Says BBFC spokeswoman Sue Clark, "We have traditionally taken the view that because a game is interactive, by definition we need to be more careful. But ... one of the key conclusions of this report is that interactivity actually helps players distance reality from adult experiences in games." The study was conducted to prepare for a revision of the BBFC's video-game ratings system -- which means that their new ratings may actually become less restrictive.

A study, huh? Using research, data, and possibly even science to draw conclusions? Silly Brits! We independent-minded Americans can make judgements without any facts whatsoever!"

 

[adgloride]

Someone whos never played video games will probably have wrote the article. You don't see films as bloody or violent as GTA, The Suffering or Manhunt.

 

[Tank5890]

Someone whos never played video games will probably have wrote the article. You don't see films as bloody or violent as GTA, The Suffering or Manhunt.

That's probably not true, but ignoring that, that's not the point. BBFC ratings are based on what "influences" people. That's not directly proportional to the volume of blood and the stabbings per second. Remember Carmageddon? I've not played the game, but it was initially temporarily banned in the UK because you allegedly got "points" for running over pedestrians. I don't think there were even any guns in the game to get it banned. GTA does involve killing innocent people, but it's nothing as blatant as "shoot person score goes up"

And "article" ? It's a 107 page study! This isn't some random Brit writing his opinion on a blog or a forum post, this is presumably someone experienced paid to find out what influences people more, and is probably an unbiased study given that all biased studies suggest something should be banned. I do notice the UK flag next to your profile, but I seriously think the end of the article is fitting for you:

QUOTEA study, huh? Using research, data, and possibly even science to draw conclusions? Silly Brits! We independent-minded Americans can make judgements without any facts whatsoever!