Australia Close to R18+ Rating
- Scribbled on April 20th, 2009 by Jonah Falcon
- Filed in ESRB/Ratings, Industry News
Kotaku Australia is reporting that an R18+ rating is close to being instituted for video game classification, as reported by GameSpot Australia.
The paper, first proposed a year ago and drafted by the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General, is intended to encourage public debate and consultation on the issue of an R18+ classification for video games. However, it’s been a rocky road as seemingly intractable disagreements over its content have threatened to derail the process.
The “rocky road” includes a lot of stalling and a lot of nastygrams.
Why is this significant outside of Australia? Well, the censorship in the country has effected worldwide releases, most notably Fallout 3, which was banned in Australia for drug references. When the ban was lifted, it was revealed Bethesda had changed the game in worldwide release, so everyone had to deal with the censored version, not just Aussies.
Let us know what you think – especially if you live Down Under.
April 20th, 2009 at 11:51 am
Stupid down under. Doesn’t that country have real problems? I don’t know like a serious decades long drought and uncontrolable wild fires? Why doesn’t their legislation do something for the people they work for instead of grandstanding on a platform of “we care about the children”
Great, little kids can’t play violent videogames! Not really an issue as they’re dying of dehydration and their house burned down.
July 10th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
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