THE last six months have been great for gamers. Ever since the Media Development Authority (MDA) announced last year that it was working on a video games classification system, a handful of games which ordinarily would have been banned for nudity, sex and violence have made their way into Singapore.

Think Mass Effect, with that famous human-alien lesbian sex scene which made MDA ban, then un-ban, the game here after local and global outcry. Or Conan, with the gory disembowelment of baddies and full frontal nudity of sultry topless slave girls waiting to be emancipated by the Cimmerian.

These were among the first games to be released with an M18 label, even though the rating system is still not yet officially in place. There were also many other games - probably seen as lesser evils - where the game retailers had to stick a label warning that the game was not suitable for children without parent supervision.

These were both stop-gap measures which MDA has put in place while it is finalising the details of its rating system.

So far, MDA has said it will follow a system similar to its film classification system, where there will be different ratings for different categories of games. It also said the rating system will be launched by the middle of the year, which means very soon.

In principle, a games classification system is a good thing because it will allow the entry of games that would otherwise have been banned, and still offer some measure of protection for children under 18. But the devil, as they say, is in the details.

The first issue is how effective the system will be in making sure the games do not fall into the hands of the young. Right now, it just requires the buyer to produce his NRIC to prove his age, but kids can simply circumvent this by getting their older buddies to buy it for them.

Parents who have Windows Vista and Microsoft Xbox can use the built-in parental control features to prevent the kids from accessing the content.

In Vista, all the major game classification systems like ESRB from the United States and Europe's PEGI are built into the operating system of its Home Premium and Ultimate versions.

A parent can easily block his eight-year-old kid from accessing any content meant, say, for teens and young adults, by simply choosing his games rating system and the category of games he wants blocked.

Parents should be made aware of this feature in Vista and Xbox. They should be taught how to incorporate the Singapore rating system into these systems and use them.

Content filtering systems are also provided by the Internet service providers. For a subscription of less than $5 a month, parents can block keywords like homosexual sex, for example.

The second major issue is whether or not the new system will actually result in more choices for consumers. So far, the signs are that the same team in MDA who are handling film censorship will also manage the games classification system.

For instance, all questions that I have sent to MDA regarding the classification of games have been responded by a spokesman for the Board of Film Censors.

Under current film rating regulations, the importer or distributor of the film must pay $10 for every half hour for MDA to classify the film plus 80 cents for every rating sticker (like M18, NC16 and PG) that MDA sticks on the box.

It is not yet known how much MDA will charge for classifying the games, but it needs to ensure that the additional costs do not make the game too expensive. Otherwise, distributors will be selective in only bringing in the top titles - which means fewer choices for consumers.

Unlike a movie, which takes about two hours to watch, a video game typically takes 50 to 100 hours to complete. That works out to $500 to $1,000 to classify per title, which may just be too expensive. A related issue is whether it can even find reliable manpower to keep playing games to rate them.

Alternatively, MDA could come up with a system similar to one it is using now, where it requires distributors to submit snippets of the game which are the most controversial. But such a system would not be comprehensive, and it would not be difficult to envision situations where distributors inadvertently leave out some sensitive parts.

There are clearly many issues that MDA needs to deal with, and I am sure the entire industry is waiting with bated breath to see the final system that MDA will adopt. It is still early days for the games classification system, but at least MDA is on track by opening up the market for mature game titles, instead of banning them outright.

This article was first published in Digital Life, The Straits Times on Apr 1, 2008.