New game ratings won't begin until 2010

Following yesterday's announcement that Gordon Brown and Dr. Tanya Byron are to launch a new game ratings system in the UK, it has been revealed that no changes will occur for another two years.

A breakdown of the Government's timetable for changes in classification reveals that the current system will not change until the summer of 2010.

The new system, which will see the British Board of Film Classification add movie-style ratings of 12, 15 and 18 to game titles aimed at older players, has already been met with mixed feelings in the industry.

Games publishers say, while they welcome the new system, they are unhappy that the government expects them to pay to promote the new ratings, but without offering any financial support. A spokesman from the games developers' body Tiga said: "The Government must not burden the games industry alone with the cost of executing an information campaign about the ratings system for games.

"The last thing the games industry needs is for the UK Government to impose additional costs on it."

But David Cooke, director of the BBFC, was full of praise for the new scheme: "Dr Byron says that when it comes to content, parents want better information on which to base their decisions. I welcome the film-style classification system and greater role for the BBFC which she recommends in paragraph 7.47 of her report".