R18+ for games? Not a chance A scene from banned game Reservoir Dogs and, inset, South Australian Attorney-General Michael Atkinson.
Asher Moses March 7, 2008 - 12:48PM
In the gaming community at least, South Australian Attorney-General Michael Atkinson has become the Darth Vader of politics with his opposition to R18+ ratings for games.
But Mr Atkinson insists his forceful opposition is to protect children from "harmful material".
Australia is the only developed country without an R18+ classification for games, meaning any titles that do not meet the MA15+ standard - such as those with excessive violence or sexual content - are simply banned from sale by the Classification Board.
Any changes to the censorship regime must be agreed on by the Commonwealth and all state and territory attorneys-general. For the first time since November 2005, the issue will be discussed later this month at the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General, but Atkinson has confirmed he will maintain his long-running opposition to the idea.
Ron Curry, CEO of the games industry body, the Interactive Entertainment Association of Australia (IEAA), has all but given up hope that the censorship regime will be overhauled any time soon.
"I don't see any chance of him (Atkinson) changing his mind - I think a lot of his arguments are easily rebutted but I can't see him changing his mind," said Curry.
In a speech in South Australia's State Parliament yesterday, during which Atkinson was forced to return to his seat after being cut off by interjections, he acknowledged blocking the R18+ rating would deny adults choice.
But he said this was necessary as the alternative would allow children easy access to "potentially harmful material".
"Games may pose a far greater problem than other media - particularly films - because their interactive nature could exacerbate their impact," he said.
"The risk of interactivity on players of computer games with highly violent content is increased aggressive behaviour."
But Curry rejected this argument, saying no exhaustive or definitive research had been done to support claims that games have more of an impact on behaviour, if any, than other forms of media like films.
Atkinson said although the latest gaming platforms could all be programmed to allow parental locks, today's children were far more technologically savvy than their parents and could easily get around them.
Curry turned this claim on its head, saying since kids were more tech savvy than their parents, they were able to obtain games that were banned in Australia anyway.
"They (kids) are the very people that are downloading the material and sharing it," he said.
"At least with an R18 classification the parents can find out that the material they have access to is restricted material."
Atkinson then described the content of five games that have previously been banned in Australia - Blitz: The League, Reservoir Dogs, 50 Cent: Bulletproof, Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure and Narc.
All games mentioned contained either high-level violence, law-breaking or drug use, but Curry said similarly violent games, which deserved an adult classification, were already making it to Australia under the MA15+ rating anyway.
Atkinson was cut off and forced to return to his seat in the middle of describing Narc, but his spokesman said the interjections were "totally unrelated" to Atkinson's speech.
Research conducted by Bond University in Queensland for the IEAA found that the average age of Australian gamers is 28 and over 50 per cent of gamers are over 18.
Another survey of 1601 Australian households, conducted by the university in 2005, found 88 per cent of Australians supported an R18+ classification for games.
"From what I'm hearing the majority don't seem to be opposing the R18+ [rating for games], so i'd be interested in what constituency he (Atkinson) is fighting this cause for," Curry said.
Logan Booker, editor of the gaming blog Kotaku Australia, said that ultimately parents, and not the government, should be the ones take responsibility for restricting what games their kids play.
"The UK, Europe and the US seem to handle an R18+ rating just fine, isn't Australia mature enough to cope as well?"
http://www.theage.com.au/news/technology/r18-for-games-not-a-chance/2008/03/07/1204780028413.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1
Grand Theft Auto 4 WILL NOT be on PlayStation 2 EVER.
Congrats to the four "no name" teams who overcame bigger name opposition to make the final four of the FA Cup.
