Video Standards Council

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Video Standards Council
VSC (1989-present)
Video Standards Council (1989-present)
Company typeMass media
Founded1989
HeadquartersUK

The Video Standards Council (VSC), operating as the Games Rating Authority, is an administrator of the

Department of Culture, Media and Sport
. In conjunction with the International Age Rating Coalition (IARC), PEGI ratings are also voluntarily applied to games and apps on a range of digital stores.

History

The VSC was established in 1989 following concerns from then

retailers
with staff training courses concerning the supply of age restricted videos, DVDs and video games.

In 1994, the VSC first began administrating the age ratings of video games sold within the UK. Initially, they worked on behalf of the

UK Interactive Entertainment Association (formerly ELSPA) via a voluntary system of game ratings which most publishers adopted. In 2003, the ELSPA ratings were replaced by the Pan European Game Information PEGI system. The VSC continues today to administrate the PEGI system alongside NICAM (Netherlands Institute for the Classification of Audiovisual Media); NICAM classifying games for ages 3 to 7, and the VSC classifying games for ages 12 and above.[4]

In 2012, the government removed the responsibility of the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) to rate video games except those containing strong pornographic content, passing responsibility to the VSC. At the same time, the PEGI system was incorporated into UK law. Since then, the VSC has been the statutory body responsible for the age rating of video games in the UK.[5] From 2012 to 2017, the VSC branded the arm of their organisation fulfilling this responsibility as the Games Rating Authority. This branding was scrapped in 2017, and the new title of the VSC Rating Board adopted, to make it clearer that it was a division of the VSC rather than a separate entity.[6] However, the branding was subsequently readopted in June 2023.[7] The Games Rating Authority also rates games for at approximately 40 other European countries.[8][9]

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. Archived from the original on 3 July 2020. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
  3. ^ "Origins of the VSC". The Video Standards Council. Archived from the original on 19 April 2015. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  4. ^ "VSC - Our History". videostandards.org.uk. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  5. ^ "The Video Standards Council". videostandards.org.uk. Archived from the original on 20 December 2017. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
  6. ^ "Just When You Were Getting Comfortable". Game Ratings UK. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
  7. ^ "VSC renamed as Games Rating Authority". Games Rating Authority. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  8. ^ "Welcome to the Games Rating Authority". The Video Standards Council. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  9. ^ "Video Standards Council Releases Annual Report on UK Video Games Ratings". Game Politics. 23 July 2013. Retrieved 2 February 2014.

External links

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