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Australian Classification Board Speaks On Games, R18+ & Fallout 3
Posted by Logan Booker at 1:00 PM on August 28, 2008
Those questions for the Classification Board? They came back. Alive. The replies read a lot like paragraphs from an official board report, but it's not like I was expecting riveting prose.
This doesn't mean the answers are no good. Not at all. Yes, a few of them are extended "no comments", but for the most part, they shine a moderately-sized shard of light on our classification system - where the power lies, who makes the decisions and why certain decisions were made.
Here are a few highlights:
Who should I be contacting to push the need for an R18+ rating for games?
Currently, the Censorship Minister is the Attorney-General for each State or Territory and the Australian Censorship Minister is the Minister for Home Affairs.Can I import games that have been refused classification?
Customs may detain or seize any items that are suspected of contravening the Regulations. The maximum penalty for this type of offence is a fine of up to $110,000.In the eyes of the Board and the guidelines, what constitutes an incentive or reward?
An incentive may be the ability to progress faster through the game. A reward may be a gain in points or access to a wider choice of weapons.Does the Board play the games it classifies?
An application for the classification of a computer game must include a copy of the game ... For computer games likely to be classified G to M, industry can access a scheme that permits trained assessors to provide a recommendation for the likely classification of a computer game ... Board members do not usually play a game to in order to make a classification.This is just a taste; the full Q&A can be found after the jump. If you're even remotely interested in games classification in this country, I highly recommend you read it.
Sigh. Refuting opinions against the R18+ classification is really starting to tire me, especially when a little research on the author's part would save me a lot of time. But hey, that's what I'm here for.
Activision just sent through its latest release schedule and, while the next few months aren't terribly exciting, promises of Resident Evil 5, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and Bionic Commando later in the year are more than enough to keep me tuned in... even if they taunt me with their deliciously nasty TBCs.
Mid last month, we heard the news that Activision had 
"Fuck no, I don't play games"
Yesterday we found out that 
With the US press release out on Activision Value's attempt at a third instalment to Raven's gory FPS series, I wasn't at all shocked when the localised version found its way to me.
