BBFC rated games may take longer to process

Manufacturing specialist The Producers is concerned that games may take longer to arrive at retail, but insists the manufacturing process will not be affected.

It was feared that if the majority of new releases have to go through the BBFC, then games will take longer to receive certification and more pressure would be placed on manufacturers to get the games out on time. However, commercial director Gary Winter insists the process will not be affected:

"The process of manufacturing games will not be affected by the requirement of either PEGI or BBFC or both,” said The Producers commercial director Gary Winter. But the time to deliver a game to retail may increase if all 12+ games have to go through the BBFC rating system. Up until now the BBFC have taken more time to rate games than PEGI, but that may change.”

The Producers, a wholly owned subsidy of Mastertronic, has also expressed concerns over the cost implications of a new rating system:

One further thing that may be significant is how much this will cost – currently publishers pay either PEGI or BBFC, if this has to be both for products rated 12 or below, then will the cost rise," asks Winter.