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South Australian AG will support R18+ rating if 15+ is scrapped
South Australian Attorney-General John Rau will support the introduction of the long-awaited R18+ classification for games in the region, if the country gets rid of MA15+. Rau's version of video games would change the system to G, PG, M (PG-13) and R18+. "At the moment, the MA15+ classification is like a crossover point between what is acceptable and what is unacceptable," Rau said, reports ABC News. "We want that to be a very clear gap. We will have a new classification R18+ and the MA15+ will disappear." Australia's Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor, who has all but demanded that the various, resistant attorneys-general meet and come to a consensus on an R18+ rating for video game at a meeting in July.
South Australian Attorney General wants to remove MA15+ games rating
Australia's Standing Committee of Attorneys-General are in the process of actively discussing the implementation of a (long overdue) R18+ rating for games in the territory, following the approval of said rating by the nation's federal cabinet earlier this month. However, South Australian AG John Rau recently introduced a thought-provoking idea to the committee: Should the R18+ rating be adopted, Rau believes that the MA15+ rating currently used by the Australian Classification Board should be removed altogether. Rau, who replaced longtime anti-R18+ advocate Michael Atkinson earlier this year, explained to Gamespot, "My reason for wanting to get rid of MA15+ if an R18+ is passed is that it will provide a crisper delineation between adults-only games and games that are for children." He later added, "if MA15+ comes out of the mix altogether, I think parents will have a clearer idea what games are for children, and what games are for adults." Should the MA15+ rating be repealed, the next-lowest rating used by the ACB would be M, which the board applies to games which "contain material that requires a mature perspective, but is still not enough to be deemed too strong for younger viewers." There's no age restriction applied to these games at Australian retailers, making it roughly equivalent to the Teen classification used by the ESRB. Rau's got a compelling argument, here -- but it won't make much of a difference if the Committee fails to approve the R18+ rating in the first place. C'mon, guys! We believe in you!
Aussie ratings board to discuss an R 18+ rating at April meeting
A meeting in April might bring an end to the Australian video game bans that many gamers there believe to be overly repressive. Local Aussie website Adelaide Now says that the Australian National Classification Scheme could finally take a look at the ratings issue when it meets in April of this year. One widely-supported solution would be to establish an R 18+ classification for games over there -- currently, any games that don't match up to the MA 15+ rating are automatically banned, which leads to story after story of games that are rated for 18+ instead smashed with the banhammer down under. The one spoiler is South Australian Attorney General Michael Atkinson, who not only opposes the R 18+ rating, but hasn't gotten a very good impression of angry Australian gamers. He'll be at the meeting in April and will have veto power on any measures proposed, so unless he has a change of mind (or gamers who are organizing politically against Atkinson can oust him in an upcoming March election), the meeting in April could end in the same old disappointments for Australian gamers. [Via GamePolitics]
OFLC posts rating for Perfect Dark on XBLA
The Australian Office of Film and Literature Classification has posted a rating on its website for the long-awaited XBLA port of Rare's Perfect Dark, which would hint that a release is just around the corner. (Major Nelson did say that it would drop "this winter.") The OFLC gave the shooter an MA 15+ for "strong violence," the toughest rating they hand out for video games. If a release is imminent, now might be the perfect time to play through the 360 prequel, Perfect Dark Zero, and get further acquainted with Joanna Dark before you can revisit her debut adventure in high resolution.
Australian net filter can block video games that aren't rated
Austrailia's censorship on mature-themed video games isn't as strict as we thought ... but it soon will be. The government is pushing forward with its national internet filtering system, a program designed to block all the world's evils -- including video games that don't meet the country's MA15+ rating standard. As The Age reports, the current system of "banning" only applied to actual stores, but the new internet filtration system is supposed to catch unclassified downloadable games, Flash games and sites that sell physical copies of games that don't abide by the MA15+ standard.Seriously, Australia needs to stop basing its video game rating system around what's appropriate for a 15-year-old.Source -- Web filters to censor video gamesSource -- Australian 'Net filter to block video games, too[Thanks, Isaac]
Australian game rating board under fire for Lost and Damned classification
Typically, when Australia's Office of Film and Literature Classification (the game rating board for the Land Down Under) is criticized for shoddy job performance, the attacks are coming from ... well, people like us. This is because the board's highest rating is MA15+, meaning games containing similar content to games rated Mature by the ESRB are often refused classification and sent back to the developer for content cuts.However, the OFLC has recently come under fire from its harshest critics, not due to its refusal to classify certain games, but rather, because of its rating for the recently released expansion to GTA IV, The Lost and Damned. These critics take issue with the fact that the expansion earned a rating from the OFLC without undergoing any content cuts, while GTA IV was forced to clean up its act before getting approved. These critics claim the similarities between the core game and expansion are evidence of major disparities in the Australian rating board. These critics might have a point -- the OFLC could be taking on a more lax approach to their classification of mature content titles. However, it's just as likely that Rockstar made content cuts to Lost and Damned before the first submission in order to avoid a refusal of classification -- and a costly resubmission. There's only one way to tell: Australian readers, we need you to boot up the game and, well, check for any and all wangs. We know, it's a lot to ask.
Australia may receive R-rating for games, fewer bans
The Sunburnt Country has never been a very friendly place for video games with adult content. With a maximum game rating of MA15+, games which are deemed unsuitable for the pubescent, corruptible senses of a 15-year-old are often refused classification, and therefore banned. Several North American best-sellers have fallen victim to Australian banning, or been forced to release censored versions for the land down under, such as GTA III, Postal, Manhunt, and (preemptive attack!) Dark Sector.Luckily for gaming Aussies (50 percent of which are over the age of 18), government officials are considering the addition of an R18+ rating, allowing the sale of more mature titles. This proposition will be discussed at the next Standing Committee of Attorneys-General on March 28. Should the system undergo the change, for the first time in Australian video games, there will be blood, nudity, and strong language. You know, the good stuff.
