BBFC "ready and able to take on the extra work envisaged by Dr Byron."
In the wake of this morning's publication of the Byron Review, the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association and the British Board of Film Classification have issued responses to the report's findings.
Paul Jackson, Director General, ELSPA, said: "We fully support Dr Byron's advice to parents on the use of technology in the home and parental awareness of their children's activities, including the need for wider awareness of age ratings on video games.
"We believe in one legally enforceable system for classification of video games and to build increased public awareness of both the age ratings system and the long-standing availability and use of parental controls on all games consoles.
"However, we are concerned that the proposals as they stand may struggle to keep up with the public's increasing desire to buy and play on-line.
"The games industry would need to be re-assured that the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) would be capable of delivering against any new remit, or whether PEGI may be more appropriate. We welcome the news that the Government wishes to consult with the industry on any changes to the classification system."
Also responding favourably to the Byron Report, David Cooke, Director of the BBFC, said:
"At the BBFC we provide symbols which are trusted and understood; thorough, independent examination by skilled games players; individually tailored health warnings, and also the full reasoning for the classification covering all the key issues; a cutting edge approach to online film and games content, including independent monitoring.
"We co-operate closely with the Pan European Games Information Systems (PEGI) and will continue to do so.
"Unlike PEGI, the BBFC has the power, in exceptional cases, to reject films, DVDs and games which have the potential to pose real harm risk. We reject an average of two to three works a year (mostly DVDs) and will continue to do so where it is necessary to protect the public. At the adult level, we respect the public expectation that adults should be free to choose except where there are real harm risks. But we do not think it would be right to remove the reserve rejection power and we are pleased that Dr Byron agrees with this.
"The BBFC has been able to handle a major expansion of the DVD market over the last few years, and we are ready and able to take on the extra work envisaged by Dr Byron. We attach great importance to providing a speedy and effective service, primarily to the public, but also to the creative industries who produce films, DVDs and games. We will be talking to the Government, PEGI and the games industry about how to implement Dr Byron's recommendations.
"We are also studying very carefully Dr Byron's recommendations on the risks children face from the internet, and believe we have a significant contribution to make in this area too."
