Monkeythumbs
04-01-2008, 08:10 AM
GamesIndustry.biz (http://www.gamesindustry.biz) has posted what is probably the most in-depth, detailed and insightful interview with Dr Tanya Byron.
You can read Part One here. (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/dr-tanya-byron--part-one)
You can read Part Two here. (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/dr-tanya-byron--part-two)
Six months in the making and in a frenzy of media interviews - including a cosy TV appearance with Gordon Brown - the much anticipated, UK government-backed 226-page report on Safer Children in a Digital World, more snappily labelled the Byron Review, was yesterday finally unveiled by Dr Tanya Byron.
The fallout from her detailed recommendations on evolving the way videogames are rated, promoted and sold will continue to be hotly debated in the coming days not just by the games industry, but also MPs, the press and the public. Which is precisely what the Review sought to achieve.
Though concerns have been expressed about the nature of the recommendations, the industry has received extensive, and largely clear-headed coverage across all major media outlets. At the heart of the review is the recognition of a general lack of awareness and understanding of the games industry from without. Now firmly centre stage, the Review provides gaming with a solid, visible platform for sensible, positive debate.
24 hours after publication, Dr Byron spoke with GamesIndustry.biz to give her reaction to the response, and explain in detail her views on the games sector.
* * *
Whether she likes it or not, Dr Tanya Byron has spent the past few days with her telegenic face splashed all over the British media, championing the ethics and entertainment value of videogaming.
Crticisms characterising her Review's recommendations as at best a tautology, at worst a completely unnecessary extra burden to an industry that has gone out of its way to do the right thing, are not entirely without merit.
But the tenor of much of the mainstream reporting, from which one could easily assume the feral beast of gaming had, to date, roamed wholly unchecked through the media wilderness, is a clear enough sign that an independent report of this stature was absolute necessary for 'getting the message across'.
That the best the recalcitrant gutter press could muster in retaliation was Anne Diamond is what you might call progress.
With her "job done", Byron insists the public consultation over the coming months will now allow all interested parties to work out their remaining differences in a constructive, grown-up way - a development in itself not to be sniffed at.
In the second part of the GamesIndustry.biz interview with Byron, she explains in detail why PEGI had to stay involved, and gives her opinion on the research into the effects of gaming on children.
You can read Part One here. (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/dr-tanya-byron--part-one)
You can read Part Two here. (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/dr-tanya-byron--part-two)
Six months in the making and in a frenzy of media interviews - including a cosy TV appearance with Gordon Brown - the much anticipated, UK government-backed 226-page report on Safer Children in a Digital World, more snappily labelled the Byron Review, was yesterday finally unveiled by Dr Tanya Byron.
The fallout from her detailed recommendations on evolving the way videogames are rated, promoted and sold will continue to be hotly debated in the coming days not just by the games industry, but also MPs, the press and the public. Which is precisely what the Review sought to achieve.
Though concerns have been expressed about the nature of the recommendations, the industry has received extensive, and largely clear-headed coverage across all major media outlets. At the heart of the review is the recognition of a general lack of awareness and understanding of the games industry from without. Now firmly centre stage, the Review provides gaming with a solid, visible platform for sensible, positive debate.
24 hours after publication, Dr Byron spoke with GamesIndustry.biz to give her reaction to the response, and explain in detail her views on the games sector.
* * *
Whether she likes it or not, Dr Tanya Byron has spent the past few days with her telegenic face splashed all over the British media, championing the ethics and entertainment value of videogaming.
Crticisms characterising her Review's recommendations as at best a tautology, at worst a completely unnecessary extra burden to an industry that has gone out of its way to do the right thing, are not entirely without merit.
But the tenor of much of the mainstream reporting, from which one could easily assume the feral beast of gaming had, to date, roamed wholly unchecked through the media wilderness, is a clear enough sign that an independent report of this stature was absolute necessary for 'getting the message across'.
That the best the recalcitrant gutter press could muster in retaliation was Anne Diamond is what you might call progress.
With her "job done", Byron insists the public consultation over the coming months will now allow all interested parties to work out their remaining differences in a constructive, grown-up way - a development in itself not to be sniffed at.
In the second part of the GamesIndustry.biz interview with Byron, she explains in detail why PEGI had to stay involved, and gives her opinion on the research into the effects of gaming on children.