FPB calls for public input on game classification process

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(I) "Competitive Intensity"
(i) The level of competitive intensity in a game to the extent that it is
linked to violence must be treated as a classifiable element to
determine age restrictions when appropriate.
(ii) Higher levels of competitiveness of games involving violence may
result in very high aggression levels than less competitive games
involving violence and is therefore a factor that must be considered in
the determination of an age restriction.
(iii) Competitive intensity is heightened by the degree of interactivity of a
game
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That concerns me slightly, classifying a game and restricting it by age based on how competitive it is, then stating a link to aggressive behaviour something which to my knowledge is still very much up for debate considering many contradictory or inconclusive studies.
 
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(ii) Higher levels of competitiveness of games involving violence may
result in very high aggression levels than less competitive games
involving violence and is therefore a factor that must be considered in
the determination of an age restriction.
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I wonder where they cooked up this "fact".
 
(ii) Higher levels of competitiveness of games involving violence may
result in very high aggression levels than less competitive games
involving violence and is therefore a factor that must be considered in
the determination of an age restriction.
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Have you ever been to a lan where guys are jamming online fps games?

I have seen some insane fights because of that exact issue, we as humans are competitive by nature, now mix that with a bunch of 16 year old boys that think they have something to prove by smashing each others heads in, then mix that with a hot hall with roughly 100 gamers suffering from "I am the best fuck you" Syndrome and you'll see why that point is important.
 
MOnk said:
Why, what makes PEGI or ESRB so special?
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You mean apart from almost twenty years' experience? Apart from being independent bodies that enforce as well as cater to the ratings, advertising standards of over thirty countries?

They are recognised, they are scrutinised and they deal with the concerns of an entire international community as opposed to the FPB's meddling, pain-in-the-ass temperament.

Mostly, the FPB's bloody copy-paste stickers that tarnish my boxes! *rage*

There was some other pain in the ass thing that the FPB did ages ago that worked on my tits. But I've loooong forgotten it.

Essentially I just consider them a superfluous institution.
 
The Joker said:
Have you ever been to a lan where guys are jamming online fps games?

I have seen some insane fights because of that exact issue, we as humans are competitive by nature, now mix that with a bunch of 16 year old boys that think they have something to prove by smashing each others heads in, then mix that with a hot hall with roughly 100 gamers suffering from "I am the best fuck you" Syndrome and you'll see why that point is important.
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What does that have to do with the game being violent? That's just called competition and some people respond to it differently than other.

I've seen the same thing at soccer games, hockey games, mtg games, FIFA compos. Any time you have competition you have potential for conflict, the medium of the conflict is nearly irrelevant.

If you put an age restriction on competition then you should put an age restriction on Rugby because I've seen way more fights at Rugby games than I have at LANs. (and no I don't mean at the pub afterwards)

They are recognised, they are scrutinised and they deal with the concerns of an entire international community as opposed to the FPB's meddling, pain-in-the-ass temperament.
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What entire international community, ESRB = NA and PEGI = Europe, which didn't even include the UK until a year ago. PEGI is also only 9years old so by your reasoning Europe should have just used ESRB rating. The FPB is only 2 years younger than the ESRB.

I really don't see what the problem is, having a classification authority for your country is very common since cultural differences means people may be sensitive to different things and hence what may be acceptable in one country isn't in another.

The sticker issue is only there because we get our stuff from Europe and they aren't just going to reprint it with FPB labels just for us. If you have any tangible complaints about the FPB other that just the fact that they exist I would be interested to hear. We've never complained about them when they rated our movies so why is it now such an issue with them rating games?
 
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MOnk said:
What entire international community, ESRB = NA and PEGI = Europe, which didn't even include the UK until a year ago. PEGI is also only 9years old so by your reasoning Europe should have just used ESRB rating. The FPB is only 2 years younger than the ESRB.
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Europe is an international community and PEGI is also recognised by many other Commonwealth countries and even some Middle-Eastern countries.

I really don't see what the problem is, having a classification authority for your country is very common since cultural differences means people may be sensitive to different things and hence what may be acceptable in one country isn't in another.
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When your country (and its media consumption) is largely Westernised to begin with, it just places emphasis on the superfluity and redundancy of a "local" body that copies and pastes the same nonsense.

The sticker issue is only there because we get our stuff from Europe and they aren't just going to reprint it with FPB labels just for us. If you have any tangible complaints about the FPB other that just the fact that they exist I would be interested to hear. We've never complained about them when they rated our movies so why is it now such an issue with them rating games?
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What makes you think we've never complained about them when they've rated our movies? :p

The FPB has always been a redundant institution that serves no practical purpose. That is my major criticism of them which is secondary only to the vandalism of my products.
 
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The FPB has always been a redundant institution that serves no practical purpose. That is my major criticism of them which is secondary only to the vandalism of my products.
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I agree they are mostly redundant but I don't see any difference between their rating and those of the ESRB or PEGI, maybe that's just because I ignore both.
 
The Joker said:
Have you ever been to a lan where guys are jamming online fps games?

I have seen some insane fights because of that exact issue, we as humans are competitive by nature, now mix that with a bunch of 16 year old boys that think they have something to prove by smashing each others heads in, then mix that with a hot hall with roughly 100 gamers suffering from "I am the best fuck you" Syndrome and you'll see why that point is important.
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Sadly but that is very true.
 
MOnk said:
I agree they are mostly redundant but I don't see any difference between their rating and those of the ESRB or PEGI, maybe that's just because I ignore both.
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Well, the way I see it, PEGI/ESRB set the bar and FPB (and other countries' local equivalent) follow their lead.

I would ignore it too, if they kept to sticking their advisory ratings to the bloody plastic wrap as opposed to on the box, cardboard or anything else that makes it impossible to remove/leaves a mark.

Yes, I am that petty and pedantic about my collection :p
 
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