Grats Australia

[adam5396]

No games were ever actually BANNED in Australia. What was happening is that some games were being rated beyond MA15+, and because there was no allowance for such a rating FOR GAMES, they were unable to be sold. There is a big difference between a BAN and a refusal of sale. Australia does not ban the content found in those games. It is easily found in other media. However, through ignorance, games were not allowed to possess that higher rating. Being "granted a R18+ rating" does indeed mean that games that recieve that rating will be therefore sold under it. Later in the article, the is a quote about moving forward to adapt to the "covergence" of media types, and that games should be treated "like film".

Ok, but we havn't got the rating yet. It's gonna be decided on Friday. Were did all the posts about us getting the rating due to this come from?
This is just saying that the government is in support of the rating.

 

[Treblaine]

I love how the Aussie media are desperately trying to spin this as a blow for video gamers:

Jurno Hack: "Sneer, yeah, all your games now have higher ratings! More restrictions! Gotcha!"

Gamer: "But we campaigned for this. We adult gamers are fed up of being ignored and not given due consideration by the censors"

Jurno Hack: "but.... but... games, they're for kids... and, and now they taking their fun games away... no, mind cannot comprehend. Stupid video games, GRR!"

 

[Zaik]

I feel like the control in Australia keeps going over more and more to the government. Can an Aussie intelligently explain the whole political situation down there?

Sure.

An age ago, the attorneys-general (think jedi council for all things legal) got together and decided that these awful things called "video games" are only intended for children, and any game that has "horrible stuff" it it should be banned. Hence they didn't see a need for an R18+ rating. We don't have an R18+ rating.

I'd say about 90% of the games in EB atm (that are rated 15+) are rated 18+ overseas. To achieve a 15+ rating, either the classification board sugar coats the violent themes, or the game is heavily modified (censored), this also attributes to cost increase. Any game that can't get this 15+ rating is banned from sale, yet an 18+ game can still be shipped in from overseas, more cost increase/stress for local business. They're also still games intended for adults, with or without censorship, the "15+" on the box is often a lie. Parents also seem to have no idea about the disparity between our VG ratings and the ones overseas, and at the end of the day they're the ones who should decide what to buy their kids, they're the ones who should be more informed.

If we get an R18+ rating, then this banning and censoring nonsense wouldn't be happening.

To be honest, despite it being off topic, i'd actually like to ask his question as applied across the whole political spectrum down there(actually thought that was what he was going for). From what i hear and read and piece together, i've got you guys slated for a socialist dictatorship in 10-45 years. Not that we in the US aren't headed that way, however we've not had all our effective firearms outlawed and seized yet.

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

Also, like he said, no games will be unbanned when they're changed to 18+.

That just means the OFLC won't be overturning any of their Refused Classification rulings on their own initiative. It doesn't mean that publishers of RC'ed games can't resubmit them for classification.

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

I love how the Aussie media are desperately trying to spin this as a blow for video gamers:

Jurno Hack: "Sneer, yeah, all your games now have higher ratings! More restrictions! Gotcha!"

Gamer: "But we campaigned for this. We adult gamers are fed up of being ignored and not given due consideration by the censors"

Jurno Hack: "but.... but... games, they're for kids... and, and now they taking their fun games away... no, mind cannot comprehend. Stupid video games, GRR!"

Mate, the Daily Terror is a NewsCorp paper. Do I really need to say more?

 

[Trogdor1138]

I'm glad this is all finally going to happen, I've been increasingly shocked at what they continuously allow to meet an MA standard in games.

Rebellion certainly were when the latest AvP got an MA15+ on resubmission by their publisher.

That game turned out to be a majorly disappointing piece of shit too unfortunately. I didn't consider the content in that anywhere near as bad as what some MA games contain (especially being based on pre-established violent franchises). I'm more concerned about stuff like GTA, Fallout, Fable, COD etc. being accessible easily to kids. I'm a firm believer in allowing people to be able to experience what they wish to, but parents obviously aren't getting it. The R rating will most definitely help reinforce the fact that some (well, a lot nowadays) games aren't for children.

I swear you're all being stupid.....this isn't about "banning" games, its about an R18+ classification, it means that children under 18 wont be able to go into store and buy them. They are only "banned" for people under 18 who want to buy them, parents can buy them for their kids, but what does that say about the parents, kids will get a hold of them sure, but not EVERY kid is going to be in possession of them. I have no idea were bloody censorship comes into this.
Sure they are edited, but they aren't censored like you believe, its only removing blood or gibing or anything like that, not taking out information in the game which the government doesn't want you to see.....

People who are whinging about this are either
1. Under 18
2. Read the article the wrong way
3. Non-Aussies who have no idea how stuff works down here
4. Idiots

Its the most progress we (Australia) have had towards an R18+ classification in A LONG TIME.

tl;dr its not about "banning" the games, its to stop retailers selling them to underage kiddies.

^
THIS! Thank you for clarifying it to people. I don't see why this is so hard to understand. I also wish for the people under 18 years old would realize it's for the best and stop being so concerned over the fact it might impact their purchase of Call of Duty 57. If you have a problem, talk to your parents, they're the ones in charge of your life at the moment.

 

[UberNoodle]

The federal Cabinet has approved an adult rating for computer games after finding that many classified as suitable for 15-year-olds in Australia had been ruled suitable for adults only overseas.

As many as 50 games are now available to children as young as 15 but should rightly be played by over-18s only.

...

Seventeen days before my fifteenth birthday, my government decides 'hey, we've made an R18+ rating, and that means fifteen year olds can't play all those games they used to be allowed to!'

Plus, my parents were sceptical about me buying the M (Teen) rated Medal Of Honour 10th Anniversary, so there's no way in hell they'd buy me an R rated game that used to be MA.

I was so close to just being able to go into a game retailer and legally buy all these games, without having to get friends to or go through some other ridiculous method. Now I have to wait another three fucking years. And of course then it'll be election time and of course someone's going to get elected and introduce... I don't know, an AO21+ rating or something.

Timing couldn't have been worse for me

Sorry, but you really shouldn't be playing those games anyway.

If we don't have an R18+ rating, games like Left 4 Dead 2 get censored or banned.

It horrifies me when students in my year 7 Science class talk about playing CoD or Fallout 3.

Hmm... of course, you're totally right, I shouldn't be making my own decisions and I should let the government regulate what I experience because they know much better than I do what I should be doing with my life.

It is your parents who decided this, not the government. Unfortunately for you, if your parents think you are not ready for such content well, it could be possible that you aren't. You don't think you should be entitled to go buy porn from the corner shop, or see R18+ movies do you? Games should be the same as everything else.

My level of maturity is not the reason my parents prohibit these things, it's that good Christians shouldn't be playing or watching them. I think I should be allowed to make my own decisions regarding what I watch and play, especially seeing as I understand perfectly the vast difference between reality and works of fiction such as violent movies and video games.

Of course, I might just be an arrogant little brat, mightn't I?

Well, then perhaps you should also make your own decisions about how to earn an income, pay the rent and take care of yourself. Go for it! I think you're ready! Sorry for the sarcasm, but "them's th' breaks kid". Right now, it's Parents Rules. You have just got your "P Plates". Learn to drive. In a few years you'll get your Opens and whatever you do will be on your back. Master of your own destiny, and all that. That is what growing up is all about. But you can only see the world from where you are, and I can only see your world by hindsight. Trust me when I say we humans never truly understand as much as we think we know. The distinction there is very important.

I remember what it was like watching Robocop when I was woefully under 18. I remember watching those old Revenge of the Ninja films, Mad Max, Aliens and Braindead. I remember later, sneaking into nightclubs or scabbing spirits from poeple who should have known better. Us kids all accepted then that while it was fun to bite the forbidden fruit, it was, by definition and purpose, forbidden to us. We never kidded ourselves to assume any rights over it.

 

[Treblaine]

Can we PLEASE get some facts straight here.

"Over time, we've allowed games to get into the hands of 15-year-olds that would not have been available in comparable countries; that should not have happened." And Mr O'Connor also gave a guarantee he would not allow games that had been banned in Australia to be approved for release under the new R18+ classification, if it is approved.

Because games with 18+ content can be sold in Australia now. Previously they would either be banned or censored heavily. It's a good thing.

From what I got form reading the article. This isn't about the 18+ rating. This is that games that should've been 18+. Will be 18+. That does not equal us getting a 18+ rating.

Also, like he said, no games will be unbanned when they're changed to 18+. I assume it just means the ones that were censored will be uncensored.

Correct me if I read something wrong. But this is what it looks like to me.

There has been many cases when the Aussie ratings board has said (paraphrased):

"While that game may be suitable for those 15 years or older, this game is not"

"So are you saying this game deserves a higher rating?"

"Yeah, too bad that 15+ is the highest rating, I'd give it an 18+ rating if I could, but I can't. So no rating, no sale."

Now they can. I think the problem came back when the rating system was first made, they didn't take video games seriously and thought they were only for kids and none were made targeted at adults. They were treated like toys. Then you had asshole politicians who exploited that to serve their own idealist aims.

The newspaper is just trying to take their own spin on the story, try to look beyond the editorialising and spin at the central facts: Australia now has an 18+ rating for games.

Hopefully left-4-dead-2 gets a re-release with resubmission making it through without cuts. It's the cuts I can't stand. It's like buying a car without doors, sure it's a car but it hasn't got any fucking doors!

 

[Zeriah]

The federal Cabinet has approved an adult rating for computer games after finding that many classified as suitable for 15-year-olds in Australia had been ruled suitable for adults only overseas.

As many as 50 games are now available to children as young as 15 but should rightly be played by over-18s only.

...

Seventeen days before my fifteenth birthday, my government decides 'hey, we've made an R18+ rating, and that means fifteen year olds can't play all those games they used to be allowed to!'

Plus, my parents were sceptical about me buying the M (Teen) rated Medal Of Honour 10th Anniversary, so there's no way in hell they'd buy me an R rated game that used to be MA.

I was so close to just being able to go into a game retailer and legally buy all these games, without having to get friends to or go through some other ridiculous method. Now I have to wait another three fucking years. And of course then it'll be election time and of course someone's going to get elected and introduce... I don't know, an AO21+ rating or something.

Timing couldn't have been worse for me

Sorry, but you really shouldn't be playing those games anyway.

If we don't have an R18+ rating, games like Left 4 Dead 2 get censored or banned.

It horrifies me when students in my year 7 Science class talk about playing CoD or Fallout 3.

Hmm... of course, you're totally right, I shouldn't be making my own decisions and I should let the government regulate what I experience because they know much better than I do what I should be doing with my life.

It is your parents who decided this, not the government. Unfortunately for you, if your parents think you are not ready for such content well, it could be possible that you aren't. You don't think you should be entitled to go buy porn from the corner shop, or see R18+ movies do you? Games should be the same as everything else.

My level of maturity is not the reason my parents prohibit these things, it's that good Christians shouldn't be playing or watching them. I think I should be allowed to make my own decisions regarding what I watch and play, especially seeing as I understand perfectly the vast difference between reality and works of fiction such as violent movies and video games.

Of course, I might just be an arrogant little brat, mightn't I?

Well I'm sorry but even then you shouldn't have the right. If we want video games to be treated the same as everything else, we can't have underage kids buying R18+ video games when they can't for all the other forms of entertainment. I mean I'm sure your parents make a whole plethora of rules and restrictions on your life that have nothing to do with video games, or even movies. Do they let you drink? Gamble? Go out to clubs and party? Why should games be the only exception. Parents should be able to make decisions for their kids and if you don't like it, well it may be harsh but you can wait till you are an adult or you can move out.

 

[Estocavio]

Meh - Im a PC gamer anyway
I believe i may have just beaten the system with that phrase

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

I'm glad this is all finally going to happen, I've been increasingly shocked at what they continuously allow to meet an MA standard in games.

Rebellion certainly were when the latest AvP got an MA15+ on resubmission by their publisher.

That game turned out to be a majorly disappointing piece of shit too unfortunately. I didn't consider the content in that anywhere near as bad as what some MA games contain (especially being based on pre-established violent franchises). I'm more concerned about stuff like GTA, Fallout, Fable, COD etc. being accessible easily to kids. I'm a firm believer in allowing people to be able to experience what they wish to, but parents obviously aren't getting it. The R rating will most definitely help reinforce the fact that some (well, a lot nowadays) games aren't for children.

Yeah but my point was that Rebellion's reaction to AvP getting MA15+ on a resubmission to the OFLC by their publisher was along the lines of "WTF?" and "this game isn't suitable for under 18s"... possibly the only time I've ever heard of a dev criticising the OFLC for being too lax.

However, I do agree with you, there are a lot of games that are MA15+ here in Oz that are in no way suitable for under-18s if we use the established guidelines for other media as a rough measure of 'suitable'... or at least 'accepted as a workable enough framework for defining suitable'. It lessens the number of 'my morality is superior' contests that way. If individual, informed parents differ on that they can enforce their own rules in their own households, and that's fair enough - parents should be allowed to parent.

 

[UberNoodle]

We never kidded ourselves to assume any rights over it.

God damn man, I am so sick of hearing about "rights" in this country. "I have the right to do x" well no, mate, you don't. Everything is a "rights" issue now, it's goddamn annoying.

I blame libertarians, the self-rightious tossers.

I'm sick of it too. It's the Egalitarianism that has become so pervasive because poeple today lack the guts to say that anybody is different or should be treated differently. Difference has become a taboo word. We are all the same, like a pear and an apple are ... you know, exactly the same. Sure they are in many ways, but if I want an apple and somebody tries to sell me a pear, I won't accept it.

Parents want to be best friends with their kids, so they let their kids do whatever, dress however, and so on. And for all the rights that people rant and rave about, they often forget how they trample others' rights in the process. I'm all for fair treatment, but within reason and bounds. If all definitions and bounds are removed, it will be chaos and we'll have kids throwing other kids of bridges, headstomping them in school busses, and ... oh ... wait.

 

[instantbenz]

This type of thing is good and bad as children are becoming OVERLY prevalent on such games which is WRONG, but really the parent needs to be a parent. Buying Legos for a kid is simple as a parent knows there isn't going to be blood coming out of the bricks or older people screaming obscenities at their spawn. PTA meetings have to warn people about this stuff or else the future of gaming is at risk. Overall censorship is bad tho, mkay.

 

[Treblaine]

I love how the Aussie media are desperately trying to spin this as a blow for video gamers:

Jurno Hack: "Sneer, yeah, all your games now have higher ratings! More restrictions! Gotcha!"

Gamer: "But we campaigned for this. We adult gamers are fed up of being ignored and not given due consideration by the censors"

Jurno Hack: "but.... but... games, they're for kids... and, and now they taking their fun games away... no, mind cannot comprehend. Stupid video games, GRR!"

Mate, the Daily Terror is a NewsCorp paper. Do I really need to say more?

Only that you shouldn't trust ANY print media.

The only reason most are still in business is by each pandering to the prejudices of their particular audience. The Guardian have this spin, the Sun has this, the Daily Mail that, even the Private Eye. None let me make up my own mind with JUST the facts.

You have to wade through so much bullshit before you get to a single useful and relevant fact. In fact everyone does it and to me it is so blatant, I wish I could find news written like an encyclopedia or wikipedia entry. Clearly many different viewpoints hammering together to find the most neutral and objective explanation, no weasel words, no commentary, no insinuation, nor rants or indignation.

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

We never kidded ourselves to assume any rights over it.

That was half the bloody fun of it - getting away with something you shouldn't have been doing.

 

[UberNoodle]

I love how the Aussie media are desperately trying to spin this as a blow for video gamers:

Jurno Hack: "Sneer, yeah, all your games now have higher ratings! More restrictions! Gotcha!"

Gamer: "But we campaigned for this. We adult gamers are fed up of being ignored and not given due consideration by the censors"

Jurno Hack: "but.... but... games, they're for kids... and, and now they taking their fun games away... no, mind cannot comprehend. Stupid video games, GRR!"

Mate, the Daily Terror is a NewsCorp paper. Do I really need to say more?

Only that you shouldn't trust ANY print media.

The only reason most are still in business is by each pandering to the prejudices of their particular audience. The Guardian have this spin, the Sun has this, the Daily Mail that, even the Private Eye. None let me make up my own mind with JUST the facts.

You have to wade through so much bullshit before you get to a single useful and relevant fact. In fact everyone does it and to me it is so blatant, I wish I could find news written like an encyclopedia or wikipedia entry. Clearly many different viewpoints hammering together to find the most neutral and objective explanation, no weasel words, no commentary, no insinuation, nor rants or indignation.

When press does strive for transparency, they get strung up on dodgy charges, hit with "mysterious" denial of service attacks, get cut off by server hosts because the gov't indirectely pressured those companies (ala, "If you keep doing business with them, we'll have to talk to you about it"), and have their executions and assassinations called for by supposed "politicians" of democratic countries.