Australia Voting on R18+ Game Rating in February

[Joccaren]

There is no M for Mature rating

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't you mean R18+ rating? I got plenty of games in my house that I purchased in stores with an MA 15+ rating, and I'd be surprised if we didn't even have an M rating but were pushing for an R one.

(well, without expensively importing it)

Cheaply importing it. You can import a game from the UK for half the price it retails in Australia for. Don't forget we have horrible game prices as well as no R 18+ rating.

However, THANK GOD we are finally getting there. I swear, if either the lower house or the Senate doesn't let this one through...
Our country needs to stop treating us like a bunch of children, and start remembering that a fair portion of us are adults.

 

[Zing]

Cool, same month that I'm moving to Europe permanently. Damn you Australia.

 

[Henriot]

Thanks for the update, Greg!

Yes, some games have been rejigged to get released here "down-under" (Fallout games, GTA, L4D), but sometimes I don't like the fact that the game I'm playing could be vastly different to what people are playing "up-over". I MOSTLY get my games through Steam now, and that takes note of your region.

(Fallout 2... No children in the Australian release. Still had their speech text files so disembodied voices would talk to you, but after a little research I found that hindered alot of quest lines or just cut them out).

 

[ottenni]

I will bet my left leg Tony Abbot opposes this. And even if id does get through parliament it can still get dumped by the Governor General. But its a step forward at least.

 

[Andy of Comix Inc]

We don't have an "AO" rating. We have a mature rating, it's just 15+ instead of PEGI's 16+, or America's 17+, which means games get cut (usually only slightly) to accommodate the rating. It usually only means incredibly extreme, realistic, and graphic violence (like the kind Manhunt 2 has) doesn't get through; apparently violence is bad, but drugs, swearing, and sex is just fine for 15-year-olds. Huh.

 

[Metalrocks]

maybe now it will change. took them long enough.

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

Australia has been a hotbed of controversy in the mature games debate, but here's a quick recap: The videogame system down under has no rating for games that might not be suitable for a younger audience. There is no M for Mature rating, and if games like Grand Theft Auto IV or Mortal Kombat receives no rating by the board, it is effectively banned in the country. Even innocuous titles like the Michael Atkinson [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/114858-Syndicate-Banned-in-Australia-UPDATED] was opposed to allowing anyone to play these games.

There are so many mistakes in this article that it seems like you didn't do any research at all. We do have two mature ratings: M15+ and MA15+. They just don't allow as much as an R18+ rating would. Also, Fallout 3 and GTAIV have been able to be purchased in this country for years without imports.