Revised Guidelines for R18+ rating released

Monday, November 7th, 2011

According to Kotaku Australia, the revised guidelines for the R18+ rating for video games has just been released. First, they discuss how the following hierarchy will be used to classify games, ranging from mild to very high.

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.

Silent Hill: Homecoming Refused Classification

Wednesday, October 1st, 2008

Melbourne’s The Age is reporting that the much anticipated Silent Hill: Homecoming has become the fourth game this year to be refused classification by the Classifications Board. Distributed in Australia by Atari, the board have refused the game for excessive violence in the same manner as that of Fallout 3. The inevitable backlash from industry leaders followed, with IEAA chief Ron Curry saying to News.com.au:

“With the average age of gamers being 28, it makes no sense to censor games to a point where they are only appropriate for a 15 year old… Such censorship would not be acceptable on television, at the cinema or in print, so why apply it unfairly to another entertainment medium?”

Unfortunately, News.com.au also saw fit to garner the opinion of Heather Ridout, Chief Executive of the Australian Industry Group, who provided this monstrously unqualified piece of insight:

Chief executive of the Australian Industry Group Heather Ridout said she supported the work of controversial photographer Bill Henson and that it was necessary to view art through “a different prism”. However she said she found violent video games “appalling”.

“Grand Theft Auto was one of the more famous games and seemed to turn everyone into a car thief,” Ms Ridout said. “Violent games… violence, it breeds violence.”

While Heather is of course entitled to her biased and outdated interpretation of art forms, her naive statement about violence shows exactly how uninformed prejudices about video games are preventing a mature and informed debate about their classification in this country. In the 1700′s, people were terrified that women who read fiction novels would become unsatisifed with their domestic duties and that their weaker feminine mind would collapse from immorality. In 2008, we can laugh at this old-fashioned thinking and dismiss it out of hand. Let’s hope we can soon do the same about these ridiculous fears surrounding video games.

Source: No Homecoming (Jason Hill, The Age)