Protecting consumers
In 2007 the British Prime Minister commissioned psychologist Dr Tanya Byron to review measures that protect children from mature content in video games and on the internet.
GAME Group joined industry consultations with the Byron team, both to reinforce our support for age ratings and to see what we could do better in our own business. Our requests were simple - to have one simple video game age rating system across Europe which would give our customers clear information, and give our employees effective legal support.
Published in March 2008, the Byron Review recognised the crucial role played by specialist retailers to raise awareness of the ratings systems and to train staff appropriately.
In June 2009, GAME Group welcomed the Government's announcement that PEGI (Pan European Games Information) would be the sole video games rating system in the UK, with new legal authority and powers. We believe that the new system will bring additional clarity and support to our customers and employees.
GAME Group is represented on all relevant industry organisations relating to the sale of video games, including the Entertainment Leisure Software Publishers' Association (ELSPA), the Entertainment Retailers' Association (ERA), the Video Standards Council (VSC), and the British Retailers' Consortium (BRC).
We will continue to work with Government, industry partners and customers to develop and implement new legislation, to ensure that our measures to sell games responsibly are always robust, well understood and rigorously tested.
The Group takes its responsibilities very seriously, and we provide all of our employees with all of the tools they need to sell age rated games effectively.
