Why have age ratings?
Computer and console gaming is now a mass-market leisure activity, with millions of players throughout Europe. In the UK, at least one in four people played a video game in the last year. And many of these players are adults: in fact, the average age of games players is now over 23. While most games are suitable for players of all ages, there is a huge older market and, just like film and video, there are games that are only suitable for people over 18.
It is not a massive proportion of games – in fact only around 2% of titles released in 2004 were certified with the BBFC 18 recommendation – but it is important that parents and others buying games for children are aware of the content of the games. And that's where age ratings come in.
Facts
"Retailers who sell a BBFC age-rated game to someone under age face six months in prison and a £5000 fine"
"Computer and video games is the only entertainment sector to show continuous growth in the past 15 years"
View the Facts page