R18+ Meeting in Oz

[Adzma]

"Under the proposed guidelines games containing high-level violence will be restricted to adults, while games containing extreme violence will continue to be refused classification and banned from sale altogether."

Translation; Everything is the same except Ratings have been bumped up by one M > MA, MA > R, and you can all continue to enjoy not playing Mortal Combat.

That's exactly what I think they're doing. Until the new guidelines are released we won't know for certain, but if I saw this result it would not surprise me.

 

[infohippie]

Lets face it, most of the stuff that makes it into that category you don't want to play/see anyway.

Whether I want to play or see something has no bearing in my mind as to whether it should be banned or allowed. You know, "First they came for the socialists" and all that. I also vehemently disagree with the Australian government's stance that drawn or simulated depictions are considered the same as actual photos of real life events.

 

[SableKnight]

It sounds to me like they're just going to make games that would be MA R18+, and continue to ban games that were banned before. Sounds like a bit of a copout, to me.

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

That's exactly what I think they're doing. Until the new guidelines are released we won't know for certain, but if I saw this result it would not surprise me.

I don't think O'Connor would go for that. It'd certainly violate the spirit of what he's been trying to achieve, so he'd most likely just throw all his toys out the pram, push through his own version of R18+ and leave it up to the individual states as to whether they permit R18+ games.

 

[maxmanrules]

Heh, take that you Kangaroo-loving suckers. New Zealand has reasonable laws here!

Maybe you can migrate

 

[y1fella]

About bloody time.
I have never been more disappointed by a game than left 4 dead.
The way they cut that game back was ridiculous.

 

[NerfedFalcon]

I finally get it.

I finally get it now.

Victoria still has the MA15 rating, but there are also now R-rated games, which I wouldn't be interested in anyway. And I'm pretty sure Skyrim was given an 'M' in the first place.

W00t!

 

[Vault101]

Finaly but are they still getting rid off the MA15+ rating...plus are they going with the plain box art because that would suck!

and on top of plain packaging they are showing health warnings featuring fat kids/nerdy lonley people and violent psychpaths on them

 

[TheModWolf]

As long as there's a way for games to not have content removed or ways to stop banning altogether I don't mind about the ins and outs of the legislature. That being said I'm glad video games are on a national stage finally.

What I'm not all too keen on is how they're portraying gamers/gaming in the news, they're making it look like every game is a shooter and we're all either crazy or hermits (only showing interviews with the most extreme cosplayers or people who look like they haven't seen the sun in 14 months.)

 

[Jelly ^.^]

Heh, take that you Kangaroo-loving suckers. New Zealand has reasonable laws here!

You mean like the part of the Police Offences Act 1906 which makes it legal to take a piss in the street as long as you have one hand on a horse's arse and aim where the horse would piss if it happened to that moment?

 

[Conza]

But the one thing that has got me perplexed is this line

"Under the proposed guidelines games containing high-level violence will be restricted to adults, while games containing extreme violence will continue to be refused classification and banned from sale altogether."

I don't get it, by what definition is their idea of extreme violence?

I think if they are still going to ban games all together, then what's the point? All that seems to be doing now, is limiting high violence games from 15 year olds - what the hell Australia, what, the, hell. And I'm from Melbourne btw, I can bag my own country when it needs to be bagged.

In general the outcome of the meeting was brilliant, as the wheels are now in motion for introduction of the R rating.
The other thing is the government will go ahead with it anyway with or without the NSW AG's support. but that only raises my question does that mean NSW will not be getting the R rating, and that games will be banned from being sold in the state?

Probably will be illegal there, tough break dude, just order it on eBay from another state, you should be fine (eg. protected by federal laws). The AG from the ACT would've been the first to go 'oooo goodey!' as that is also the only state/territory, which allows the sale of extreme porn (its not called extreme, but the proper name escapes me).

Well it's progress i guess even it's just a chip off the block.

What do you think Escapees? espicially the Australian ones?
[link]http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-07-22/games-rating-agreement/2806200/?site=newcastle[/link]

Sounds like it might just be a chip, but hopefully when future AGs become more progressive, and less narrow minded (ie, any content should be available to anyone 18 and over), this new ruling will allow them to sell the games properly, as it was, they had to ban many more games, as they didn't have the classification high enough to sell them.

 

[42]

I think if they are still going to ban games all together, then what's the point? All that seems to be doing now, is limiting high violence games from 15 year olds - what the hell Australia, what, the, hell. And I'm from Melbourne btw, I can bag my own country when it needs to be bagged.
\

haha don't worry i hate my country if it calls for it. Julia Gillard = Massive douchebag

 

[ElNeroDiablo]

I think if they are still going to ban games all together, then what's the point? All that seems to be doing now, is limiting high violence games from 15 year olds - what the hell Australia, what, the, hell. And I'm from Melbourne btw, I can bag my own country when it needs to be bagged.
\

haha don't worry i hate my country if it calls for it. Julia Gillard = Massive douchebag

Yeah, booting K.Rudd for Gildumb just swapped us one douchebag for another. It's with idiots like BOTH the ALP And LNC (Lin/Nat Coalit) that make me wish we got more smaller/independent parties (eg: the A.S.P. - Australian Sex Party, outta Canberra) getting into Reps and Sen.

The R18+ rating at a NATIONAL level is probably gonna be a boon (though it's replacing MA15+ in SA I don't agree with) in the long-run, though in the short-term until the NSW AG makes up his mind, I'm gonna continue getting my games online.

If the R18+ lets us legalise erotic games (not every erotic game is Rapelay (itself an oddity of sorts in Japan)), even if you have to order them through ACT/NT stores, we are opening things up even further for the ADULT population of Australian gamers.
I don't give a hay-penny if you don't like games with erotic content aimed at ADULTS, we should NOT be crimping the choices of the ADULTS of today ~AND~ tomorrow just to "protect" the 'children' of today who BECOME THE ADULTS OF TOMORROW*.

~~~~~

*Yes, my hackles get raised when people scream "THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!!111ONEONEONE" without taking the time to think and realise that this generation of children are the NEXT generation of adults, and by fucking over things for THIS generation of adults, you're screwing over BOTH this generation ~AND~ the next generation of adults.

 

[Trippy Turtle]

I am so happy I could vomit rainbows. Dear attorney general, you are not my parent so stop telling me what I can do.

 

[Alumatine]

I am so happy I could vomit rainbows. Dear attorney general, you are not my parent so stop telling me what I can do.

You say that as if any of us listened to our parents telling us that a certain game or movie was too violent... you know we snuck out and watched it anyway. I'm sure the same will apply regardless of what the government makes legal or not.

 

[Quijiboh]

I feel like I should point out it's 'Attorneys General', not 'Attorney Generals'.