Australian censorship ministers met yesterday to discuss changes to our classification system for video games. While many within the industry and gaming community were optimistic this would see the introduction of an R18+ rating, it appears those hopes have been cruelly dashed.
The Standing Committee of Attorneys-General have agreed in principle to remove the M and MA categories, meaning the highest rating now allowed under the new classification system will PG. All games released in Australia will need to meet the requirements to be suitable for gamers aged 12 and above.
A spokesperson for the Attorneys-General Department said the decision was made with a view to protecting children and vulnerable adults from potentially harmful interactive content. The spokesperson cited titles such as Halo 3 for its full frontal alien nudity, Dawn of War II for the way it encourages aggressive behaviour, and Blacksite: Area 51 for being, well, crap.
The new classification system will be tabled in Parliament in the coming weeks.
Comments
nice one, David. Zug's Race Through Space here I come!
You bastards had me goin then for a split second. Then I remembered what day it is :P
i was outraged until i hit the 2nd paragraph and realised its april 1st. well played.
wow APRIL FOOLS JOKE FAAAAAIL
Almost posted a real reply, then I remembered something very important about today :)
Nice. Though it is a shame that I have just enough cynicism about our politicians to believe this could actually happen
Nice April fools, you got me for a second then!
APRIL FOOL!!!
Thankgod for that! i can now protect my children from terrible M games.
:p
April fools
I wonder what date it is today?
Oh I see what you did there David :P, your not fooling anyone :D
You almost had me. Damn you!
Oh my! Noooes! My violence!!
Oh, wait...this is the day to stay off the internets. Never mind.
It's all true! I saw it on TV just now. A current affair had a special on about it last night. The children must be protected!
And Halo is - Gross! :O
What's the date again?
Posted by David Wildgoose at 9:00 AM on April 1, 2009
FINALLY! The children will be safe now.
Dave, you put the 'Goose' into April Fool.
Man that sucks! ;)
What do i get for guessing it's an April fools joke!
It better be a joke! (o.O)
Damn you Wildgoose! Even though I knew full-well it was April Fools you still got me you crafty bastard. Until the alien full-frontal nudity that is...
It's nice of the Attorneys General to boost Singapore's economy like this. Hopefully the incoming cashflow from Australian gamers buying copies of nearly every decent game off eBay since they won't be allowed to release here will help them improve their health and infrastructure to the point they are considered a first-world country.
Happy April Fools!
that was the longest 5 minutes of my life, till i checked the calendar.
Horrific if true. We can have R movies but not even M games?
Time to buy a PS3 and import everything...
april fools haha
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