BBFC research on video games and gaming released; players know they’re “just games”

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) has published its research on video games and gaming (prepared by Cragg Ross Dawson), and interestingly, the findings are both expected and unexpected.

BBFC rates about 6% to 7% of video games sold in the UK, while the majority of the games goes through the Pan-European Game Information system or PEGI for classification. This research on video games and gaming was conducted so that the BBFC will be able to use the appropriate approach in classifying video games, as the medium used video games is different from those used in television and film.

The research’s focus to gain insight into the issues involved in playing video games is fairly simple. It set out to find the following:

• the attractions of playing video games
• the impact playing games has on players and on their behavior
• what players think about violence in some games
• whether the interactivity element of games alters the experience or not
• how players choose which games to play
• what parents think about video games

It’s true that these are simple questions which most opinionated people may have ready answers to, but the actual findings of the research are nothing short of insightful.

Download “Video Games” prepared by Cragg Ross Dawson for BBFC

Click on “Full Article” to see some of the answers to these issues raised.

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) has published its research on video games and gaming (prepared by Cragg Ross Dawson), and interestingly, the findings are both expected and unexpected.

BBFC rates about 6% to 7% of video games sold in the UK, while the majority of the games goes through the Pan-European Game Information system or PEGI for classification. This research on video games and gaming was conducted so that the BBFC will be able to use the appropriate approach in classifying video games, as the medium used for video games is different from those used in television and film.

The research’s focus to gain insight into the issues involved in playing video games is fairly simple. It set out to find the following:

• the attractions of playing video games
• the impact playing games has on players and on their behavior
• what players think about violence in some games
• whether the interactivity element of games alters the experience or not
• how players choose which games to play
• what parents think about video games

It’s true that these are simple questions which most opinionated people may have ready answers to, but the actual findings of the research are nothing short of insightful.

The attractions of playing video games
One answer to this is the same as the answer as to why people watch films and TV – playing video games provides an escape from the players’ daily lives. The “world of adventure” they escape to contains no risk, and the players have almost full control over it, unlike the real world.

Games provide a sense of achievement; it is also more active compared to watching television and films which are considered passive.

The impact playing games has on players and on their behavior
Video games and gaming have been found to be better at developing action than building a person’s character. Players will tend to focus more on making progress in his play rather than on the game’s storyline. Gamers also claim that playing develops hand-eye coordination, and that games are mentally stimulating.

“Gamers appear to forget they are playing games less readily than film goers forget they are watching a film.” But surprisingly, gamers are not emotionally involved in the game; they appear to be engrossed with playing but they are just concentrating to proceed in the game. And when it comes to violence in some video games, players are aware that it is an issue, but they think that violence shown in films and television are more upsetting and more real.

The points discussed here do not even represent half of the research – findings on parents’ and non-gamers’ reactions to video games and gaming, casual games, women gamers, and other interesting results are still to be taken point by point. We’ve managed to grab a copy of the BBFC research prepared by Cragg Ross Dawson and titled “Video Games”. The published research is provided in the download link below and is a PDF file. It’s very informative and insightful especially for non-gamers who wish to understand just a bit more about playing video games and its impact on gamers. Readers can also visit the BBFC site by clicking on the Via link.

Download “Video Games” prepared by Cragg Ross Dawson for BBFC