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The British Board of Film Classification, or BBFC, is an organization that applies ratings to films and video games. While other game classifications in the UK are more advisory, the BBFC is covered by the law making it illegal to sell a BBFC rated game to anyone below the age specified.
On 16 June 2009, the UK's Department of Culture, Media and Sport ruled in favor of the PEGI system to be the sole classification system for videogames and software in the UK. This decision also, unlike beforehand, allowed PEGI ratings to be legally enforced much like the BBFC ratings. As of July 2012, the BBFC no longer rates video games.
Ratings[]
| Abbreviation | Rating | Description |
|---|---|---|
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Universal |
People of all ages are allowed to play video games with this rating. It contains no material likely to offend or 'harm' children.
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Parental Guidance |
Suitable for general viewing but may contain mild violence, mild language, infrequent use of soft drugs, and may contain frightening scenes that are likely to scare very young children; thus a parental guidence is suggested.
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12 |
Video games with this rating are suitable only for children 12 years and over (parental guidance is strongly recommended for those under 12). It generally contains very frightening scenes, moderate violence, gambling references and sex themes. It is illegal to sell 12 rated games to anyone under age 12.
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15 |
Video games with this rating can only be played by those 15 years and over. It contains strong violence, strong bad language and infrequent use of very strong language, sex references, nudity and use of illegal drugs. It is illegal to sell 15 rated games to anyone under age 15.
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18 |
Only adults are allowed to play video games with this rating. It contains either of the following: intense violence (often with blood and gore), very strong language, use of illegal drugs, criminal behaviour, adult themes, racism and strong sex references. It is illegal to sell 18 rated games to anyone under age 18.
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Previous designs[]
| Year | U rating | PG rating | 12 rating | 15 rating | 18 rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 – 2002 |  |
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| 1999 – 2002 |  |
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| 2002 – 2020 |  |
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See also[]
- List of games by BBFC rating
- Computer Entertainment Rating Organization
- Entertainment Software Rating Board
- Pan European Game Information
External links[]
- British Board of Film Classification at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Video game content rating systems | |
|---|---|
| Active | ACB (AU/NZ) • BBFC (UK)* • CERO (Japan) • ClassInd (Brazil) • ESRA (Iran) • ESRB (US/CA) • FPB (South Africa) • GRAC (South Korea) • GSRR (Taiwan) • GCAM (Saudi Arabia) • IARC (WW) • PEGI (Europe/Israel/South Asia) • RARS (Russia) • SMECCV (Mexico) • USK (Germany) |
| Defuncted | aDeSe (Spain) • ELSPA (UK) • GRB (South Korea) • KMRB (South Korea) • SELL (France) • VET (Sweden) • VRC (US) |