Although some companies (like Ubisoft) have volunteered to do extra epilepsy-related tests for their games, the existing standard isn't enough for some people. Take, for example, famous and loathed mom Gaye Herford, who's responsible for bringing this fight to Parliament after her son suffered a fit while playing Rayman Raving Rabbids DS.Sprong reports that the House of Commons debate was held yesterday, with members supporting different solution. Margaret Hodge, the Minister for Culture, Media and Sport, pushed for a voluntary testing system, which could be changed to mandatory in the future if the issue remained problematic.
John Penrose on the other hand led a more paranoid debate, stating, "The point is that some games manufacturers may decide to do that, but there is a huge number of games-makers and manufacturers throughout the world. Some are large and responsible, such as Ubisoft, but as in any industry, there is a large number of manufacturers who are relatively tiny, and although some may be responsible, we cannot be sure."
It doesn't seem as if a final decision was reached, but you know politics -- things take a while to get done.
[Via Game Politics]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-03-2008 @ 11:33PM
hvnlysoldr said...
They're figuring out a way to tax companies into complying.
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7-04-2008 @ 1:37AM
aj said...
I propose that fun and joy be outlawed in every nation on Earth. And no smoking, talking, or running. It's the only way to be certain.
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7-04-2008 @ 5:30AM
Andrew Brereton said...
"you know - politics. Things take a while to get done."
This is unfortunate but true! Unless it serves political self interest. For instance, in the British parliament, we recently had a debate on Zimbabwe, - the chamber was almost empty of MP's, but the day after when they were debating their own pay rise, well, it was full!
This is a serious issue involving the health and welfare of children. It needs action. - NOW
http://www.snowdrop.cc
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7-04-2008 @ 7:06AM
bombchu said...
Hm... I think... making it voluntary and giving th' companies who test a schweet sticker about how safe their games are could work? And those who don't are just risky business?
I've actually had something similar happen to me (surprise! seizures for life!) and I swear to god if I couldn't play games I would just die. Seizures really really suck for everyone involved, especially when it's randomly triggered from something you love to do :( I just feel so bad for them...
So yah. At least let them play the big company games =\
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7-04-2008 @ 7:09AM
bombchu said...
(Don't forget there's more people affected than just this one family :P They could all play games! It would be fun!)
7-05-2008 @ 9:51AM
Biscuit said...
While sometimes good, Penrose (the MP of my area/town) often gets the wrong end of the stick. While his intentions are good, the somewhat draconic approach will not improve anything. Getting rid of potential epilepsy triggers could possibly damage the game's gameplay and aesthetics, something which is fundamental to a player's enjoyment.
Have a copy-pasta from the reply he sent me in answer to my complaints and questions.
"Dear Ms Smith,
Thank you for contacting me about this. The reason why I'm pushing for testing instead of the current regime of voluntary warnings is that a fairly large minority of people are potentially epileptic (if they're exposed to the wrong combinations of flashing lights & colours) but don't know that they are. The reason they're latent is that we've had laws to make TV programmes test what they broadcast for years, so most people who are at risk never have their problem triggered off in the first place. The problem is that the laws which apply to TV broadcasters were written before modern games were available, and they don't apply to games even though gaming is just as likely to trigger a fit. I'm told there's some very standard and well-tried software which all the TV companies use which automatically (and cheaply) prescreens anything before they put it out, so it shouldn't be too difficult for them to fix.
I hope this helps.
Yours sincerely,
John Penrose
MP for Weston-super-Mare."
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