Could it be that we're finally close to a decision on which ratings system should govern the UK game industry? The Byron Review consultation period ended yesterday if you've been following the news. So what's the early word from the participants? Find out in the full article.

The ELSPA-BBFC battle rages on. After getting hammered once again by the Entertainment & Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) has fired back and announced that it "rejects ELSPA's claims".

And the war against BBFC wages on. Are they really fit to rate video games, considering their system is built on movie ratings? ELSPA boss Paul Jackson spells things out for everyone: he says the BBFC isn't fit to rate video games anymore, and that PEGI would do a better job at it.

The vice president of Electronic Arts' Jeff Brown said some pretty strong words regarding Activision and Vivendi's decision to leave the Entertainment Software Association (ESA). He also reaffirmed EA's loyalty to the ESA and said that this year's E3 will most likely be successful. To find out more, head on over to the full article.

The Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA) and some of its partners recently conducted a raid which yielded illegally copied Nintendo DS games stored on discs. Meanwhile, ELSPA's crime unit head, John Hillier, wants to remind gamers (whatever console you may own) the detestable effects of piracy on the whole industry. For more on this raid, head on over to the full article for more information.

"Garotte the Game Boy and paralyse the PlayStation". Some of you may think that Jack Thompson uttered these words, but no, he isn't the one who said 'em this time around. These were the words of British Parliament member, Boris Johnson, in an opinion piece which got published on The Telegraph last December.
He also mentioned that kids who play games "become like blinking lizards, motionless, absorbed, only the twitching of their hands showing they are still conscious. These machines teach them nothing. They stimulate no ratiocination, discovery or feat of memory." Wait a sec! I certainly don't wanna be called a lizard!

Anyhow, these acerbic comments earned the ire of Paul Jackson, director general of UK's ELSPA (their ESRB). Mr. Jackson, through a statement issued at GamesIndustry.biz, said that he respects Mr. Johnson's opinion but he mentioned this:

The games industry is often a scapegoat for many problems society encounters with youths. But instead of placing blame where it should not lie, we need to educate parents and carers of the 21st Century child.

He shares that point of view with Connecticut Senator, Joe Lieberman. Aside from that, he also noted that games like Brain Training and Myst among many others is a "great source of education in their own right". As for the blinking lizards jab, the ELSPA head said that a large number of games require a huge amount of movement and social interaction - take for instance Wii Sports or Guitar Hero.

Mr. Johnson has gotta keep up with the times, it seems.

It seems like Talk Like a Pirate Day was taken too seriously by someone. And unfortunately, he got busted for it. See, kids? Piracy is a very, very bad thing. And remember when that unsuspecting guy uploaded a pirated copy of Advent Children up at Google? The long arm of the law (in this case Square Enix) is hard to escape.

The other day, a man in Lowestoft, Suffolk (UK) was arrested for producing and profiting from pirated games, music CDs, movie, and  pornography, all projected to amount to £40,000 (that's roughly $50,700). Officials from the MCPS (Mechanical Copyright Protection Society) and ELSPA anti-piracy investigators confiscated the man's copying equipment and a large amount of discs. There were 20 copying machines, and 5,000 CDs. It has been thought that he had been exchanging his pirated products over the internet and has been operating within and outside of UK.

We're just glad that ELPSA is really hunting down on these counterfeiters. Remember when they grabbed some woman's fake assets? So, unless you want your assets to be grabbed, remember: piracy is BAD, mate!