Australian Censorship Ministers To Meet Over R 18+ Rating, Opposition A Downer
Australia has some of the harshest censorship laws in the western world. Granted, it's not at the same level as places like China or Korea, but compared to parts of Europe and even the US, it's quite tight, particularly when it comes to video games.
For those of you who aren't up with the classification rules down under, the R 18+ rating (the Aus version of "Adult's Only") doesn't exist for gaming and multimedia products, it only goes as high as MA15+. So what happens if a game is considered too much for even that? That's right, it's banned and it's sale at retail illegal. Obviously a big downer for both publisher and player.
Well, that might be changed soon, with Censorship ministers meeting today in the sunny Barossa Valley to discuss the introduction of the new rating..... though it seems that one minister in particular, Attorney-General (in other words, the queen's lackey) Michael Atkinson is in no mood for discussion arguing that "adult freedoms shouldn't be given priority over the protection of children".
But isn't that the point of the R 18+ rating? To protect children and easily offended people from buying such games? Banning them is simply denying people from making their own choices; the onus should be on the parents, retailers and publishers to make sure that only the right people get their hands on the product. We shouldn't be penalized for the actions of a few stupid and negligent people. I hope Mr. Atkinson realizes that soon enough.
If the classification is introduced, games that have been denied, such as Dark Sector, Soldier Of Fortune: Payback and Reservoir Dogs to name a few can hopefully go back and be re-rated and then sold in common retail (there are no current laws banning importing such games, except those with explicit pornographic content). It would be a huge victory for the gaming industry and those who oppose the current classification methods of the OFLC in general.
Here's hoping for a change for the better.....
Censorship ministers to meet over R18+ on Friday [Aussie-Nintendo.com]
List Of Games Banned By The OFLC (2000-Present)
Film and Video Game Guidelines [OFLC website]
I was going to move to Aussie a few years back. It was a little weird realising that I'd be going to a place in which a few of my favourite games that I couldn't be parted with were considered illegal.
I had Marc Echo's Getting Up (banned for graffiti content), and the Hot Coffee version of GTA: SA (damned if I was gonna buy another copy).
It was just weird. Hopefully it gets sorted.