Video Standards Council

The Video Standards Council (VSC) is an administrator of the PEGI system of age rating for video games. It was established in 1989, and has been responsible for the age ratings of video games sold in the UK since 2012.[1] The organisation is accountable to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.

History

The VSC was established in 1989 following concerns from the Home Secretary about the video industry.[2] The organisation designed a code of practise[3] to ensure that the video and video games industries delivered their products to the public responsibly. It also provides retailers with staff training courses concerning the supply of age restricted videos and video games.

Since 1994, the VSC has been responsible for the age ratings of video games. Initially, they worked on behalf of the UK Interactive Entertainment Association (formerly ELSPA). Since 2003, they have been administrators of the PEGI system, which was incorporated into UK law in 2012. Since then, the VSC has been the statutory body responsible for the age rating of video games in the UK,[4] which it does through its sub-body, the Games Rating Authority (GRA). The GRA also rates games for at least 30 other European countries.[5][6][7]

References

  1. ↑ "Video Standards Council to take over games age ratings". BBC News. 10 May 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  2. ↑ "VSC - ParentPort". www.parentport.org.uk. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
  3. ↑ "Origins of the VSC". The Video Standards Council. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  4. ↑ "The Video Standards Council". videostandards.org.uk. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
  5. ↑ "Welcome to the Games Rating Authority". The Video Standards Council. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  6. ↑ "Isn't the GRA a new company?". Games Rating Authority. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  7. ↑ "Video Standards Council Releases Annual Report on UK Video Games Ratings". Game Politics. 23 July 2013. Retrieved 2 February 2014.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.