The European Union (EU) is basically what it says - a community of 27 member states, mostly located in Europe which make Big Decisions. The latest is that the current rating system, Pan European Game Information (PEGI, more or less the equivalent of the North American ESRB) is not adequately protecting children. As such, they're giving developers and retailers two years to come up with a more widely adopted rating system for the industry to better regulate what kids play -- PEGI is sponsored by 200-plus industry members and is adopted in 20 of the 27 EU states.

In a sense, making developers partly responsible for this system is a logical step. Who knows the industry and content better than them? On the other end, what the heck does it have to do with them? As a developer, your job is to develop, not write reports and whatever on industry standards. I'm on both sides of the fence, personally. In any case, Destructoid writer Jim Sterling spoke out about this:

"..making the games industry assume obligation for the protection of children is silly. It should be the game store's job not to sell games to minors, the parent's job not to buy games for minors, and the games industry's job? Make games. That is where its responsibility begins and ends."

The EU is apparently torn on this as well,  with Commissioner Viviane Reding saying in a news conference that  "creators have to enjoy freedom of expression but at the same time it's an industry that impacts society."

The Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers' Association (ELSPA), a videogame industry lobby, seems to make a lot of sense, declaring the current system is "robust" and pointing out the importance of its relationship with online content:

"Importantly, it protects children as games move increasingly online and therefore should be adopted by UK regulators. We look forward to discussing this at the forthcoming UK consultation," said Paul Jackson, ELSPA's director general.

The man has a good point, and it would seem to make the most sense to improve the current system (which has been in effect since 2003) than to create a new one from scratch. According to Reuters, the EU "wants PEGI's age symbols to become familiar to the public." Seems as though they're a little scattered.

I'd just like to point to the natural order of things for a solution to this: lions don't appoint external bodies to protect their young. Herons don't, antelopes don't, cats don't. Sure they all lack opposable thumbs and speech, but maybe that's just proof we're complicating a situation that doesn't need to be complicated. Parents: you protect your kids. Retailers: sell responsibly. Everyone else: get a real job.