“Our plans are to introduce the R18+ bill in the first session of parliament this year. If it passes the Lower House, it will then go to the Senate for the same process.”

For the bill to be passed in the lower house, it requires the support of two crossbench MPs (independents Rob Oakeshott, Tony Windsor, Andrew Wilkie, and Bob Katter; and Greens MP Adam Bandt), all of them remaining silent on the issue.

To be passed in the Senate, it must be approved by either the Greens or the Coalition. Shadow Attorney-General had doubts about the rating in the past, while the Greens are showed their support.

If the bill is passed, then Mortal Kombat and Syndicate will be able to get released with an R18+ rating, Left 4 Dead 2 would be uncensored, and a majority of violent games such as The Darkness II will get the ratings they deserve.

It’s regrettable that government policy in Australia is denying adults the right to play Syndicate. The game will be not be available in Australia despite its enthusiastic response from fans. We were encouraged by the government’s recent agreement to adopt an 18+ age rating for games. However, delays continue to force an arcane censorship on games – cuts that would never be imposed on books or movies. We urge policy makers to take swift action to implement an updated policy that reflects today’s market and gives its millions of adult consumers the right to make their own content choices…

· We are not releasing Syndicate in Australia. The reason for this is because we do not have an R18+ in place as yet.

· We will not be appealing the RC decision. Syndicate is a game made for a mature audience and any changes to would significantly affect the game’s quality and appeal.

· Syndicate will continue to be released in New Zealand (unchanged) on the 24th February 2012, and has a confirmed rating of R18

EA chose not to release Syndicate for two reasons. Firstly, as mentioned, the game is designed for adults, not those under eighteen.

And secondary, it costs a lot of money to appeal the decision, and to send the game back to the developer so that they can tone down the content just for Australians and release it under the MA15+ banner. Other companies may do this, but not EA.

games.on.net has managed to get a hold of the Classification Board’s report explaining why the game had to be banned. Matt Williams, the author of the article, has named two games that already feature the type of violence the report covers.

It is not clear what EA Games will do following this decision. They have three options on their hands. They can release the game in Australia, in a modified form; appeal to have the rating lowered to MA15+; or just refuse to sell the game in Australia.

After the story aired, a representative from the AG’s office confirmed this to Kotaku Australia.

“The AG doesn’t want any dilution of the Refused Classification category for games, but remains fully committed to an R18+ rating for video games, [...] the point is that he wants games with extreme gratuitous violence or gratuitous sexual violence to remain in the Refused Classification category.”

Seven News has used Grand Theft Auto IV as an example. In regards to his comments regarding the game, the representative stated that it was “just his reaction after watching the game”, and that he has no plans to change the game’s rating to RC.

The Guidelines use the following hierarchy of impact:
• very mild – G
• mild – PG
• moderate – M
• strong – MA 15+
• high – R 18+
• very high – RC

In addition, it mentions what games will be refused classification, and still argues that interactivity affects the level of impact.

Due to the interactive nature of computer games and the active repetitive involvement of the participant, as a general rule computer games may have a higher impact than similarly themed depictions of the classifiable elements in film, and therefore greater potential for harm or detriment, particularly to minors.

Interactivity may increase the impact of some content: for example, impact may be higher where interactivity enables action such as inflicting realistically depicted injuries or death or post-mortem damage, attacking civilians or engaging in sexual activity. Greater degrees of interactivity (such as first-person gameplay compared to third-person gameplay) may also increase the impact of some content.

Interactivity includes the use of incentives and rewards, technical features and competitive intensity.
Except in material restricted to adults, nudity and sexual activity must not be related to incentives or rewards.

Computer games will be Refused Classification if they contain:
(i) illicit or proscribed drug use related to incentives or rewards;
(ii) interactive drug use which is detailed and realistic.

Finally, the guidelines state what can and cannot be permitted in an R18+ game:

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. High impact violence that is, in context, frequently gratuitous, exploitative and offensive to a reasonable adult will not be permitted.

Sexual violence may be implied, if non-interactive and 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.
Drug use related to incentives and rewards is not permitted.

NUDITY
Nudity is permitted.

Ron Curry, the CEO of iGEA, was pleased at how R18+ was proceeding, yet raised some concerns about the discussing of interactivity.

“We are pleased to see this process moving forward and understand that great care has been taken to balance the concerns of those who have resisted an R18+ classification and adults who want to play video games designed specifically for mature audiences and readily available in other developed democracies.

“There will be continued debate about whether the interactivity of video games has a greater impact than other forms of media, and we will continue to refer to the lack of the evidence to support these claims. With that being said, we welcome the commitment from all parties involved to seek a reasonable outcome to address this longstanding issue.

“We now look forward to the Commonwealth, States and Territories implementing these guidelines in an expedient manner.”

You can view the entire set of guidelines at the Classification Board’s website here.

He outlined the lengthy process that will take another two years.

“There is legislation that’s been put to Parliament about the changes. What happens next is a long process again. It’s probably going to take another couple of years before you’re actually going to get an R18 that you can apply for, like a conventional classification that you have today.

It’s got to go to Parliament, then there’s changes that have to be made subsequent to that — to the Classification Act — to allow for people who have had a game that has gone to the classification board and been refused classification to then be resubmitted in some form.

There also needs to changes made to each state and territories classification act, that needs to go through the exact same process that I’ve just described, except on a state level. All of those things take ages, there are lots of delays.

The answer is that it’ll probably be another couple of years before we’ll be able to accept an application for an R18 game.”

Source: Games On Net

The ALRC has heard loud and clear that the current system is broken and no longer fits with how people are consuming media content. It is poorly equipped to deal with the challenges of media convergence, and the case for reform is strong. The ALRC is proposing reform that can be phased in to allow time for industry and the community to adapt to the new scheme. Responses to the paper will help inform the development of final recommendations for reform.

There are forty-three proposals, with the major one calling for an introduction of voluntary classification for G, PG, and M games.

“The classification of most other media content–for example, books, magazines, websites, music, and computer games now likely to be G, PG, and M–should become or remain voluntary. However, the ALRC proposes that industry bodies should develop codes of practice that encourage the voluntary classification of some of this other content, such as lower-level computer games, using the categories, criteria, and markings of the National Classification Scheme.”

In addition, games rated MA15+ or higher should be referred to the Classification Board.

More information is available on GameSpot.

The discussion paper can be found here. Note that submissions can be made before November 18, 2011.

SEGA’s Managing Director, Darren Macbeth, was overwealmed that the game was lowered to MA15+.

“It is with great pleasure that we announce the success of our appeal. We are proud to confirm that the game will be released in Australia in its original entirety, with no content altered or removed in any way. We were confident of successfully appealing the board’s original decision to refuse classification, and appreciate that the Classification Review Board has made a decision that complies with the current guidelines and framework.”

While HOtD fans may share the good news amongst themselves, it still highlights the need of an R18+ rating for video games, which hopefully is introduced by the end of the year. But as it is, games like this one, along with F.3.A.R. and Dead Island are available to minors while these games recieve adults-only ratings overseas.

House of the Dead: Overkill – Extended Cut goes on sale in Australia October 27th.

“The “Hardcore” game mode allows players to play in a manner that exceeds strong in impact,” claims the report, “engaging a headshot-only mode which results in frequent, detailed blood and gore as the zombies and mutants [sic] heads explode into bloody pieces that spread around the environment and onto the screen. The game also contains an “Extra mutants mode” which increases the amount of mutants the player must kill to proceed, resulting in an increased intensity and frequency of violence. In addition the game contains a baby mutant that jumps onto the screen and explodes into bloody chunks when killed.”

In response to the ban, SEGA’s managing director, Darren Macbeth, had this to say:

“There are far worse titles currently available in the marketplace which involve more than shooting down mutants in humorous circumstances. We will do everything we can to prove that House of the Dead: Overkill is worthy of an MA15+ rating in Australia.”

The company had three choices on its hands: edit the game’s content so that the game is passed MA15+, challenge the RC rating, or don’t release the game in Australia. They chose the second option, and the Review Board will meet on September 26 to review the decision.

This news means that all states and territories have now signalled their support for the move, and discussions can begin on the guidelines to be used by the Classification Board under the new regime.

R18+ Games Australia would like to offer our congratulations to Greg Smith on his sensible decision and we welcome the continued development of the Classification system to incorporate this necessary and worthwhile addition.