R18+ Draft Guidelines Released

Thursday, May 26th, 2011

Kotaku Australia has just announced that the Federal Ministers for Home Affairs, Brendan O’Connor, has released a draft of the R18+ Guidelines ahead of the SCAG meeting in July. The guidelines are sent to all Attorneys-General and detail what is allowed under the new rating, and what is not. O’Connor has issued the following statement:

The Gillard Government wants to provide better guidance for parents and remove unsuitable material from children and teenagers. The introduction of an R18+ classification will help achieve that and will also bring Australia into line with comparable nations. This issue has been on the table for many years, without the necessary progress to make a change. We’ve recently seen several states publicly express their support for an adult only rating for games and I’m keen to reach a unanimous decision at the July meeting.

For many years, there was concern that the most violent games were being shoehorned into the MA15+ category. The guidelines suggest a tightening of that rating, to make sure that such games are not available to minors. Below are the guidelines for the MA15+, R18+, and RC ratings:

MA 15+ – MATURE ACCOMPANIED
Impact test
The impact of material classified MA 15+ should be no higher than strong.
Note: Material classified MA 15+ is considered unsuitable for persons under 15 years of age. It is a legally restricted category.

Classifiable elements
THEMES
The treatment of strong themes should be justified by context.

VIOLENCE
Violence should be justified by context.
Strong and realistic violence should not be very frequent.
Sexual violence may be implied, if justified by context.

SEX
Sexual activity may be implied.
Sexual activity must not be related to incentives or rewards.

LANGUAGE
Strong coarse language may be used.
Aggressive or strong coarse language should be infrequent.

DRUG USE
Drug use should be justified by context.
Drug use must not be related to incentives or rewards.
Interactive drug use that is detailed and realistic is not permitted.

NUDITY
Nudity should be justified by context.
Nudity must not be related to incentives or rewards.
Note:

R 18+ – RESTRICTED

IMPACT TEST
The impact of material classified R 18+ should not exceed high.
Note: Material classified R 18+ is legally restricted to adults. Some material classified R 18+ may be offensive to sections of the adult community.

Classifiable elements
THEMES
There are virtually no restrictions on the treatment of themes.

VIOLENCE
Violence is permitted except where it offends against the standards of morality, decency and propriety generally accepted by reasonable adults to the extent that it should not be classified.
Sexual violence may be implied, if justified by context.

SEX
Sexual activity may be realistically simulated. The general rule is
“simulation, yes – the real thing, no”.

LANGUAGE
There are virtually no restrictions on language.

DRUG USE
Drug use is permitted.

NUDITY
Nudity is permitted.

RC – REFUSED CLASSIFICATION
Note: Computer games that exceed the R 18+ classification category will be Refused Classification.

Computer games will be refused classification if they include or contain any of the following:

CRIME OR VIOLENCE
Detailed instruction or promotion in matters of crime or violence.
The promotion or provision of instruction in paedophile activity.
Descriptions or depictions of child sexual abuse or any other exploitative or offensive
descriptions or depictions involving a person who is, or appears to be, a child under 18 years.
Gratuitous, exploitative or offensive depictions of:
(i) violence with a very high degree of impact or which are excessively frequent,
prolonged or detailed;
(ii) cruelty or real violence which are very detailed or which have a high impact;
(iii) sexual violence.
Sexual violence related to incentives and rewards.

SEX
Depictions of practices such as bestiality.
Gratuitous, exploitative or offensive depictions of:
(i) activity accompanied by fetishes or practices which are offensive or abhorrent;
(ii) incest fantasies or other fantasies which are offensive or abhorrent.

DRUG USE
Detailed instruction in the use of proscribed drugs.
Material promoting or encouraging proscribed drug use.
As a general rule, computer games will also be Refused Classification if they contain:
(i) drug use related to incentives or rewards;
(ii) interactive drug use which is detailed and realistic

The guidelines also suggest that the G, PG, and M ratings remain unchanged. You can view the proposed guidlines here.

Pro-R18+ Attorney-General Calls It Quits

Thursday, May 12th, 2011

According to Kotaku Australia, David Bartlett, the Attorney-General for Tasmania, has just announced his resignation. Bartlett, 43, previously announced that he is in favour of an R18+ rating for games.

The introduction of an R18+ classification would help give parents a clear idea of which computer games are suitable for their children,” he claimed, in a statement released just a few months ago.

It’s about giving parents clear information, a clearer choice, and more confidence in the games they buy for their children.

An R18+ category currently applies to other forms of entertainment, like films and some magazines. It’s appropriate to use the same clear and consistent restrictions for computer games.

For me, the real issue is not whether we should have an R18+ classification – which is obvious. The issue is how to construct those guidelines.

We need to ensure the guidelines are properly worded, so appropriate games can be played by adults, while still excluding those games which depict high-level sex and violence.

The debate should now be about getting those guidelines or criteria right.

Bartlett’s resignation means that it could take weeks to find a replacement; and whoever that is, hopefully they share a similar position as Bartlett’s and the decision whether or not to introduce an R18+ won’t be delayed yet again.

The Witcher 2 modified for MA15+ rating

Tuesday, May 3rd, 2011

The latest game to be classified by the Classification Board is The Witch 2: Assassin of Kings, which was awarded a rating of MA15+ (‘Strong violence, sex scenes, nudity, and course language’). However, according to Kotaku Australia, the Australian release was modified due to some elements not suitable for minors. Namco Bandai told Kotaku why this modification was necessary.

In the original version your character Geralt was given the choice of accepting sex ‘as a reward’ for successfully completing this particular side quest. The Australian Classification Board originally refused classification as they deemed the inclusion of ‘sex as a reward’ as not suitable for an MA15+ classification.

The change is only minor, in that the character choice is now made automatically for him. The character and the side quest are still in the game but presented in a slightly different context. No other changes have been made and this change has no impact on gameplay, storyline or character development.

Earlier, CD Projekt wrote in their April 2011 FAQ update:

WILL THERE BE DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF THE WITCHER 2?
The Witcher 2 will have the same content worldwide. There will be no regional differences aside from
the languages. And no censored versions – so no wondering about importing the game, nudity
patches, etc.

Now, CD Projekt thought that the game would be approved without running into trouble with the Board, but even though they were wrong, they still agreed to release it here. As mentioned before, the change is only minor and it does not affect gameplay or storyline in any way. Otherwise, the game would not get released here if sex played a big role.

However, the same type of content is already present in The Witcher, which was released unedited. And this is further proof that the Board inconsistently bans or forces edits to the game. This is why we need an R18+ rating in Australia, and according to comments made by ACT and South Australia, this may definitely happen.