Discussion paper not good enough: O’Connor

Monday, May 10th, 2010

The SCAG meeting took place in Melbourne last Friday to review the discussion paper. With 60,000 submissions, of which 98.2% were in favour of an R18+ rating, Home Affairs Minister Brendan O’Connor described this an “overwhelming” effort. Unfortunately, with only one Attorney-General absent from the meeting no final decision has been made.

And despite the majority in favour, according to Games.On.Net, O’Connor has requested further analysis from the community and expert views before making a final decision on whether Australia receives an R18+ games rating. The Federal Attorney-General’s department has released a status report, available for download here. O’Connor helps this would ensure that community is kept well-informed of its progress.

The report provides statistical breakdowns as well as summaries of the positions taken by various lobby groups. Interestingly, only one religious group, the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, spoke out in favour of the new rating.

The Australian Catholic Bishops (ACB) state that their preferred position is that R 18+ material would not be available in Australia. However, as material is currently available despite its illegality, it would be preferable to introduce an R18+ classification category for computer games so that access to such material, particularly by children, can be restricted.

Well, at least one religious group is using common sense!

EA calls for R18+ rating

Friday, May 7th, 2010

The SCAG meeting takes place in Melbourne today, and we are yet to find out whether Australia finally receives an R18+ rating for video games. In the meantime, Frank Gibeau, president of EA games, has released a statement (through gamesindustry.biz) likening Australia’s refusal to add an R18+ rating is a form of censorship, and he urges the Attorney-Generals to vote unanimously in favour of the new R18+ rating. The statement reflects not only his views, but the views of his entire company that adult consumers can make their own choices.

Gibeau then goes on to explain the changes in the userbase, saying that the average age of gamers is 28, yet the rating system only goes up to MA15+. This “demonstrates a distance between those policies and the reality of the video game industry and the people that play interactive games in Australia today.” and the legislation “effectively censor[s] entertainment choices for adults.”

Read the full statement here. Note that you have to login or register with the site to be able to read it.

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