Plans to introduce cinema-style ratings for computer games aimed at the over-12s came under criticism as the world's largest games developer voiced its opposition to the proposals.

Electronic Arts (EA), maker of the Battlefields and Command & Conquer titles, said that the new scheme would confuse parents, be unworkable and lead to games being released later in Britain than in the rest of the world.

Computer games for the under-18s are rated under the self-regulatory, PEGI [Pan European Game Information age-rating system] scheme. The 18-plus titles are examined by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC).

Tanya Byron, parenting guru and columnist for The Times, has said in a government-commissioned report that parents do not understand the PEGI system and proposed that the BBFC rate all games that would attract a 12 certificate and above.

EA, which makes about one in five of the games sold in the UK, wants legal enforcement of the PEGI system. Keith Ramsdale, who runs EA's business in the UK, said: “What we need is a single system. "There are some games that are already rated at 18 on the current system but would be at 15 on the new cinema model. What we do need is legal enforcement of the PEGI standard, because now if a child of 12 wants to buy a 16-plus game, the retailer has to sell it to them.”

His comments came as ministers begin consultations on how best to implement Dr Byron's proposals. She said that she sympathised with industry concerns about the cost of compliance but did not accept EA's complaints. “Parents don't understand PEGI, and while adults don't buy Texas Chainsaw Massacre for their children, they might still buy a [violent] game like Grand Theft Auto,” she said. Dr Byron said that legal enforcement of the PEGI regulations would be “a good compromise” between a statutory scheme and self-regulation. She added that her wish to have the BBFC rate all games “may be changed slightly as a result of the consultation”.

EA argues that the BBFC proposal is also unworkable because games increasingly include extra levels or components downloaded from the internet. Mr Ramsdale said that the BBFC would need “a building with the size of Milton Keynes” to house all the censors needed to handle the thousands of game components and elements that companies like his hope to sell. The games industry has said that the proposed system could collapse because the BBFC could not cope.

Concerns about the need to regulate online games were overstated, Dr Byron said. “The majority of people buy games in the shops - that's where the market is today,” she said.

EA asserted that the UK release of games would be delayed by “weeks, not days”, while games released globally were made to comply with British ratings. The pan-European PEGI system could be undermined if the UK, the biggest single games market in Europe, walked away from it. Germany is the only other big country in Europe to have its own ratings system. Last year Britons bought £1.7 billion of video games.

UK top ten

1 FIFA 08

2 Dr Kawashima's Brain Training

3 Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

4 Pro Evolution Soccer 2008

5 More Brain Training from Dr Kawashima

6 Halo 3

7 The Simpsons Game

8 Wii Play

9 Assassin's Creed

10 WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2008

Source: Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association

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