Dear Michael Atkinson:
As I'm sure, I would not be the first person to mail you about the matter of introducing an R18+ rating into the Australian Games Industry.
It stands to reason that Australia should have a consistent rating system. There are adult-level novels, films, videos, and television shows, all of which have an adult-oriented rating. The video game industry does not. This is because of minors gaining access to the adult-oriented titles without being of the pre-requisite age.
I agree with you on many points about that issue, but the idea of blocking the rating simply because that some underage minors may get their hands on the game is ridiculous. Many games are enjoyed by people over the age of 18, sensible people who deserve to be treated as adults.
Consider another medium of entertainment, the film industry. Studies show that all forms of violent entertainment media (with film being one of the three primarily studied) will increase a child's likelihood of violent behaviour. Studies also link alcohol-consumption and operating a motorized vehicle as increased signs of violent behaviour, the effects higher for younger participants. From this data, any child that has access to their parent's DVD collection, liquor cabinet, or car keys is at a significantly higher risk of violent crime than one that is not.
Because of that risk, there is a rating system in place for adult-level film media. There are laws in place for operation of a motor vehicle, and a law in place for liquor consumption. There are not laws in place for adult-level video games, nor is there a rating for them. The idea of denying games a classification parallels introducing an alcohol prohibition or banning motor vehicles.
Mister Atkinson, you are the only attorney-general opposed to the matter concerning a great deal of adults in this country. I raise this point as something to consider. Sir, all we ask is that you reconsider your position, and consider a potential need for a change to the system.
I now point you to a comment you made while being interviewed on the matter and was posted on the website http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,26319937-5006301,00.html. It says ?"The voters of Croydon will now be asked directly whether they want interactive games in which gamers score points by raping a mother and daughter, blowing themselves up, torturing human figures . . . killing people and taking drugs to improve their sporting prowess," he said.?
Could you please provide names for these games that are not banned in Australia since I cannot recall any? As far as my knowledge goes, RapeLay games are banned in most of the Western world and can?t be accessed by people on the internet without resorting to illegal matters. I also can?t recall a game where players torture innocent people, or blow themselves up, so could you also provide names for these as well. As for ?taking drugs to improve their sporting prowess?, athletes?, people small, impressionable people look up to, do this all the time, in REAL life. Where you can?t simply disconnect from the game and go outside. A lot of them get away with it too. I don?t think that you can honestly blame videogames for that.
On the same article, they posted a poll asking if there should be a R18+ rating in place. I show you the current results as of 10:39pm 8th November, 2009-11-08.
Should there be an R18+ classification for video games?
Yes - most gamers are adults. 82% (1640 votes)
No - just ban offensive games 17% (352 votes)
Total votes Total of 1992 votes
Those results speak thousands of words that I cannot put to paper. 82% of people who voted think there needs to be a change!
One change should be that video games are no longer just for people under the age of 18. Gaming consoles such as Microsoft?s Xbox 360 and Sony?s Playstation 3 are much more geared towards older gamers who look for style and substance over the younger generation. Uneducated people seem to be of the impression that when someone turns 18, they lose all interest in gaming because they?re no longer kids. This is a huge fallacy as I know gamers up to the age of 40 who still enjoy playing a videogame after a long day at work.
As I mentioned before, there are a lot of uneducated people outside of the gaming circle in society. A lot of this comes down to the media scare stories and unfortunately, people such as you supporting those stories. You appear to be a very smart man, but this is one subject you don?t seem to know much about. Here is an article from the website ?Science Daily? entitled ?Could Violent Videogames Reduce Rather Than Increase Violence?? http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080514213432.htm
The article talks about how video games are getting more violent, but a man named Patrick Kierkegaard, of the University of Essex writes that there is little evidence to show that games are but harmless devices used to entertain.
Another article, by the Sydney Morning Herald printed a study showing that people under the age of 18 who are already showing violent tendencies are more likely to be affected by violent videogames. http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Most-kids-unaffected-by-violent-games/2007/04/01/1175366055463.html
There needs to be more education towards video games and if an R18+ rating was implemented, stores should be mandated to provide the proper education to anyway who asks for it. Retailers should have huge posters showing the ratings, what they look like and what those videogames may have included in them and the age people under the age of 18 should be before coming in contact with them.
If an R18+ rating was implemented, R18+ games should be treated the same as alcohol, cigarettes or R18+ movies. A system that I?ve discussed with fellow gamers, who are also hoping to write to you, agree that if a game is classified R18+, it should be stored away from the general area, under the counter, or behind the counter and when requested, clerks should ask for a proof of age card or drivers licence to prove age, only then will the game be presented and sold. And if a clerk thinks that a game will be provided to a minor, it is at their discretion if they choose to sell the game or not. These measures will ensure that minors will have a hard time buying a game that has not been rated for them. As it stands, if a game has been refused classification or censored, internet-savvy gamers simply download a pirated version of the game. Another bonus towards the R18+ rating is that piracy of games banned under the current laws will be reduced, proving better for the current economic climate.
You?ve said before that censoring games works, and that you want to make sure that people under the age of 18 shouldn?t be able to see such violence. By not including an R18+ rating in games, those underage people are still seeing content made for 18+ adults, it may be watered down, but the content is still there.
