Australia: WTF Mate?

[clutch-monkey]

how many games have been banned?
manhunt
that soldier of fortune game
L4D2

oooh.
wow.
such a loss, i mean i have L4D2 (thanks playasia.com!) but seriously... who gives a shit.

Actually

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_banned_video_games#Australia

As you can see, a large number of them are censored then re released. Also, a lot of them are crap.

Also - It brings into to question what the gov can and can't do.

wow, i am in awe of how many awesome games i have missed out on.
seriosuly whatever shall i do with myself, having missed out on such gems as SOF: payback (well actually, played an imported NZ copy), dark sector, and 50 cent: bulletproof.
fire daemon covered everything here that needs to be said.

 

[Enzeru92]

There will be a change when the gaming community fights back instead of taking it (hopefully that is)

 

[ottenni]

Well partially because we are all very lazy and aside from the gaming culture nobody gives a shit. In fact we are very good at that. A good response to something like this is to say 'fuck it i'm going to the pub'. Aside from the fact that we are supposedly descended from convicts this is a big place filled with lots of stuff that isn't much fun(like sand and plants with lots of thorns) so it takes allot to get people up and moving and with the R18+ thingy we haven't had that yet.

 

[Nalesnik]

Meh, it's not just Australia that enjoys banning media.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_banned_films
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_books_banned_by_governments
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_banned_video_games

Pretty much all governments have done it one time or another. Altho, currently most developed countries are pretty lax with censorship, and the few pieces of media that are censored are easily obtained through the internets with pretty much no legal consequences.
It's a good age that we live in now, but we shouldn't take it for grant, and we should defend freedom of speech at every turn.

 

[The Mighty Thesaurus]

how many games have been banned?
manhunt
that soldier of fortune game
L4D2

oooh.
wow.
such a loss, i mean i have L4D2 (thanks playasia.com!) but seriously... who gives a shit.
the entire premise for this thread is fucking retarded. good job faghats

It's not about the quantity or quality of the games, it's about our freedom.

 

[Nalesnik]

This.
Oh, by the way, it's not really Australian gamers attacking Michael Atkinson, it's overseas gamers attacking the entire Australian government. I've never complained about Atkinson, but I've directed attackers to the fact that it's just one.

It's not just one. R18+ game information will be locked by Stephen Conroy's Federal Legislation for a compulsory Internet Filter, dubbed "The Great Firewall of Australia" in many places. That legislation gives the government power to lock out any website containing any information relating to content which is refused classification in Australia. If that doesn't concern you, a rise in latency from 30-90% for the extra layer of information bouncing probably will.

The problem with that is most politicians don't have a degree in IT. Aren't all the software engineers saying it's pretty much impossible to create such a firewall? Both technically, and financially?

 

[Arcticflame]

Who knows? I've never been to Australia but from all I've heard, I can only assume its run by a bunch of right wing pussies.

Right now I think we are in the Left Wing zone....

No. Right wing. Mildly lefter than howard, but still very right wing.

And Australia doesn't do all this censorship crap usually. Which is why everyone cares so much. It's kinda come out of left field for a lot of us.

Also fire daemon has it right. It's not a point most people in Australia cares about, it's a legal loophole. Due to the fact that most the population do not care about video games (and the ones that do are generally in the teenage to early 20's, therefore no power) means that it's difficult to plug the hole, basically because nobody cares. The only one who does care is michael atkinson who is effectively all it takes to stop the loophole from being fixed.

I am in favour of their not being an R18+ rating though. Try to guess why.

Maybe I'm missing something obvious. But I couldn't guess why.

 

[acturisme]

In a free society censorship is always doomed to fail. Censorship creates curiosity. Curiosity leads to inquiry. Inquiry leads eventually to the truth or at least such truth that the reason for the censorship seems ludicrous. And the cycle starts over with another subject of censorship. And it goes on and on and on... Then you have the oddity of China and other nations that rule absolutely over the populace. But that's another can of worms.

To get back to the point. No, I'm not surprised by anything Australia does. Anyone who wants that content can acquire it. I'm not criticizing anyone. If you don't like the way the world works change it or STFU.

 

[alinos]

Be nice if you done some research before you posted another pointless topic

A)R18+ games are banned By literally one Person (Due to a Regulation that all the Attorney Generals of Australia must be unanimous to change things like this)

B) He is an elected official in a electorate in south australia that heavily swings in his favour

C)99% of Australia Can't Do shit about getting Rid off him

D)The Rules were created in a time where games A) werent violent B) mainstream and C) the average age of a gamer was much lower

E) The Guy that needs to be removed is An Person acting purely on his own beliefs and not those of the people he is meant to represent

F) Non Gamers arent informed enough to know that when he mentions certain examples of what should be banned(IE Rapelay(the only example he ever uses)) that even with an R18+ Sector for games theres still a Section for Refused classification(Rape, Bondage,Childporn, And superExcessive violence that wouldnt be put in a movie ever


THE BIGGER PROBLEM WE ARE FACING RIGHT NOW IS NOT GAMING RATINGS

IT is stephen Conroy he plains to implement MANDATORY ISP filter and in effect classify every piece of content on the internet into whether its suitable or not to be seen by the australian population. Detailed Information about Euthanasia = BANNED, Graffiti Video on Youtube = Banned and this doesnt take into account that your old lady can say oh i think this site has violated the rules in which case the site is banned and access revoked until a time that it can be reviewed(Hint this is done by the govt thats gonna be a while)

The Good Minister is Now trying to tell Google they will have to filter Youtube for him because there our laws they have to respect them. He does this even though he's filtering technology should take care of the problem. Why he is telling Google they have to do this for him you ask?, Simple For the ISP level filters in Australia To handle it the broadband speeds in australian will become crippled because of the large traffic quantity and the fact that everypage would have to be check to make sure that it doesnt violate these rules

The worst Part of the Entire Filter Debacle is that the content that they've been using to justify it(child porn among things) is unblockable as it rarely has a fixed address and is something your more likely to get off a chat or P2P source. And If i tell a parent i've filtered the internet they are never going to watch there child on the computer again and there will be things that slip through. we should be educating people in how to use the internet not trying to shield them from the reality

 

[Acaroid]

We all know that Australia is horrible when it comes to banning video games. Okay but... why are we surprised any more. I mean, Australia does this all the time, yet people get all surprised. Lets face it, until Australia begins to show a little faith in its youth (aka: the gaming population), this is going to continue. In fact, our getting riled about it is just feeding them more and more attention, And for every gamer who rails against them, they probably get some boring or clueless person who agrees with them. Still, ignoring someone and waiting for them to change is no fun.

Why Australia? Why? What happened? Why does the sight of pixelated blood and guns make you cry? Can anyone shed some light on this? Anyone?

I know that everyone and their dog has done an Australia thread, but i have had it up to here with this crap.

What is wrong? How do we fix it? Where does it end? And why does Australia act like this? (Lets try to keep this conversation civil and reasonab- oh who am i kidding, knock yourselves out)

Okay.... GO!

Well we have an election next month or so and lets hope the people in the relivant area in south australia vote Mr Atkison out. Once that happens I can only hope will be the frist real big step into getting r18+ here in australia.

 

[alinos]

AVP was allowed to be uncensored in it's final release but L4D2 was censored. The board really need to look at themselves and get a life. Although judging games for bannable content would be a kick-ass job.

Wait... I think I know why they ban games now! If they didn't they wouldn't recieve as much publicity or money for the (crap) job they're doing.

the fact that L4D2 Didn't get through is actually Valves Fault

think of it this way I submit a game to you you ban it

next time i submit a censored version of the game and the original

Now if i was on the board my view would be well for the sake of looking like we done the job right and the fact that theres a nice shiney blood free version here lets keep the ban on the violent one and let this one through

AvP Basically turned around and said look "F#$# You, We made our game For Adults not 4 yr olds if you dont want us in the market thats fine by us!"

AvP being banned wouldve been a good thing in terms of changing the situation we need some high profile stuff gone

 

[Riobux]

It's not so much faith in the youth the society needs, since most western societies are very distrustful of youth, but actual faith in adults. They could make adult only games, but they think that computer games were designed for children. Which, for obvious reasons, is just horrible logic. Computer games, at least personally, looks to replace television. Sure, there will be people still watching television, it'll be in decline because people of this generation will prefer to play computer games than watch television programs just because of the interactivity of games.

Sure, the general price of living will rise somewhat due to this change of focus of entertainment, but I'd rather pay £120 a month than to just lay still for hours watching flickering images on a screen to follow that with laying still for hours watching flickering images in my mind.

 

[RavenTT]

Seeing as elections are coming up now is the time to get up off you asses and do something about the issue. I hate the fact that I'm not allowed to choose what is appropriate for me and I hardly think playing a video game will turn me into a mass murderer. I also don't like the internet censorship issue. Censorship is basically 'telling a man he can't eat his steak because a baby can't chew it' (don't know source)

but Australians, or South Australians! there is something you can do about this issue. Write a response to the discussion paper, get your opinion in. Your responses are due by the 28th so hurry.
also the election is coming up so if you can vote for Gamers4Croydon. A political rights party for gamers set to get Micheal Atkinosn out of his position as Attorney general.
they have some really good policies not just about gaming and I really encourage you if you are South Australian and old enough to vote then vote for them. They are going for legislative council so you don't have to be in the Croydon area to vote for them ^_^
links: http://www.gamers4croydon.org/
http://www.kotaku.com.au/2010/02/your-r18-rating-submissions-2/

 

[alinos]

You know what I'm fucking tired of? People assuming they know what this R18+ rating is all about and then spewing complete and utter ignorance all over the subject.

The reason that games are refused classification is because they have been damned worthy of an R18+ rating or higher however no R18+ rating exists so those games can not be legally sold here. However you may want to take note that very few games are actually banned (refused classification actually) and get given lower ratings than those of their American and Canadian brothers. If anything it's you lot that are right wing pussies afraid of violence and blood, not us.

And please, if you don't know about the situation don't fucking talk about it and don't get involved. If you want to help, fine help, but educate yourself on the matter before trying. I see a ton of people complaining about this issue but very few fully get it or even try to, they just complain and ***** and feel that they've made the world a better place.

The reason that there isn't an R18+ rating... aw hell go and look it up yourself. I've explained this shit too many times, it's like trying to hold back the fucking tides with an angry face.

I am in favour of their not being an R18+ rating though. Try to guess why.

Umm every point you make there is Why there should be an R18+ Rating

Selling games that are rated R18+ everywhere else shows that content is being made available to people who should not get there hands on it, Most of those games that are Rated R18+ in other countrys should be rated that way by our system but since there is no R18+ rating the board squeezes some of the title in under the radar using slightly different wording to justify it

See the difference between L4D and L4D2 in L4D they were Zombies in L4D2 they were infected Humans the fact that they were Humans Got the Ban(these were the words used by the classification board not Valve)

I have no idea what you mean about being against an R18+ rating but maybe your just 15 so you wouldnt be able to buy those games, if your talking about stuff like Rapelay thats why theres a Refused Classification Section that already has its own rules that prevents that filth ever reaching our shores

So maybe you should be the one doing some more research mate


Not to mention the fact that these games can make an impact, seeing in a video game the kinda damage war can do to people will change people opinions
Some Games are banned because drug use is used as an incentive, um my panadol makes me feel better its a drug and if i had a health bar im sure it would be giving me +5HP sure they may be using stupid names like meth and heroin but thats surely a small oversight on there side

The Govt needs to Stop Babying People and enforce larger penaltys on companies who would sell to minors, and educate parents in the rating of video games to ensure they know what there child is convincing them to buy