Retail is key in ratings debate, says Ramsdale

The role of retailers can be crucial in ensuring that the message about age ratings for games is communicated effectively to the mass market.

That's the view of Keith Ramsdale, VP and general manager in the UK and Ireland at Electronic Arts, who spoke to GamesIndustry.biz ahead of Thursday's release of the Byron Review.

When asked how the industry can educate parents more, he said: "I think retail is a very key part of that, because retail can display information at a correct information point, and every retailer now works with a barcode scanner.

"It's very simple to have a system that flashes up an 18-rated game, or a 15-rated game and ask if the consumer is of the compliant age. So I think they can do a lot for us without any great cost, just through in-store practice."

But he doesn't believe that there are any significant problems nowadays with retailers selling inappropriate products to underage customers.

"No, and I think there are three key things that need to happen," he said. "The first is that the publisher needs to be compliant against the classification, so if our content is '18', we put '18' on that box.

"The second part is retailers need to make sure they don't inappropriate games to minors, or indeed point out to a parent that it's '18' - and that it's a content-driven rating, not skill-driven.

"And the final piece is for us to educate the public. Tanya Byron has said publicly that she wants the industry, and that includes retail, to do its part. And then it's about parental control."

Ramsdale also talked up the benefits of the PEGI ratings system over the BBFC, echoing comments made on GamesIndustry.biz previously by Microsoft's Neil Thompson and Matt Lambert.

The full interview with Keith Ramsdale is available now.