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Legal Games: The Regulation of Content and the Challenge of Casual Gaming

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Daithi Mac Sithigh

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Abstract

The regulation of video games in the United Kingdom has come under the authority of the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) since the 1980s, but the system was extended in 2010 and a new authority will take over from them in due course. This article considers the history of this regulatory system, arguing that the limitations of the Video Recordings Act (VRA) (the governing statute) and the assumptions made by legislators are a result of the gulf between legal and academic understandings of games. Furthermore, the range of games now played, such as casual downloadable games and applications on smartphones and mobile devices, means that the dividing line between regulated and unregulated may be based on history instead of necessity. The author draws upon legal decisions, regulatory statements, and general and specialist press reports, alongside the academic literature on games from the humanities and the social sciences, arguing that an alternative form of legal control could be informed by advances in the academic and cultural understanding of video games.

Publication metadata

Author(s): Mac Síthigh D

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Journal of Gaming and Virtual Worlds

Year: 2011

Volume: 3

Issue: 1

Pages: 3-19

Print publication date: 29/03/2011

ISSN (print): 1757-191X

ISSN (electronic): 1757-1928

Publisher: Intellect Ltd

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1386/jgvw.3.1.3_1

DOI: 10.1386/jgvw.3.1.3_1

Notes: Post-print available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2017235

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