R18+ rating discussion paper to be released

360 News | It's a start.

At the recent meeting of the Standing Committee of the Attorneys-General (SCAG) in Brisbane, it was agreed that a discussion paper on the proposed introduction of an R18+ rating for videogames will be released before the end of the year.

SCAG oversees the National Classification Scheme and in most jurisdictions, Attorneys-General are also the Ministers responsible for censorship. It was key R18+ rating supporter and author of the draft discussion paper, Victorian Attorney-General Rob Hulls, who achieved the agreement with fellow Ministers.

A spokesperson for Mr Hulls said, "Censorship Ministers at SCAG agreed that the discussion paper will be finalised by the end of the year, with the view to Australia-wide distribution."

Only last week, the discussion paper and any hope of an R18+ rating was under threat when South Australia Attorney-General Michael Atkinson declared he no longer supported the release of the discussion paper and subsequent public consultation. The reasons behind his much-welcomed back flip have not been revealed.

Importantly, when finalised, the discussion paper will be available to the public and industry groups on the internet. More details on the paper will be published when it becomes available.

Related Content

Public to decide on R18+ rating
28 Mar, 2008 After Ministers fail to agree.

Have your say on the R18+ classification
26 Mar, 2008 Before Friday's meeting.

R18+ rating for games being considered in Australia
25 Feb, 2008 We've heard this before.

PagePrevious 12

41 Comments

Bunnie

3 years ago

Spanca wrote

Tooki wrote

To put things in perspective, we dont have an R18 rating YET a 16yr old can buy a knife. Hypocritical much?

I believe it's actually 21 for a knife around here.

I *believe* it was 16 in NSW, at least when I was working at Big W. But it should be 18.

the_lost_jellybean

3 years ago

Passa wrote

I'll be thoroughly displeased if an R18+ rating is introduced, and am relieved it wasn't introduced before the release of games like Fallout 3 and GTA IV, two games I wouldn't have been legally allowed to play had the rating existed.

Funny i think this should be the main arguement for an r18+ right now kids can get there hands on games that should be limited to adults. Not so much Fallout 3 because lets face it apart from the VATs system where you can decapitate your enemies its pretty tame gore. But definitely games such as Condemned 2 deserve an R18+. Yet i could play it when i was younger than 18. I think this definitely needs addressing.

fantanoice

3 years ago

Quote

To put things in perspective, we dont have an R18 rating YET a 16yr old can buy a knife. Hypocritical much?

*Goes out to buy a knife.... for cooking reasons...*
*Cough* *Cough*

franky573

3 years ago

Passa wrote

Yeah, in the short term, adult games will be able to pick up all titles without edits. However in the long run, you're making games a niche hobby.

Games that get an R18+ rating are going to be games designed for adults. The majority of gamers are adult. So it makes sense that games can be rated adult. You'll be an adult one day. And you'll be wishing for an 18+ rating.

Also, why is this in 360 news?

Tooki

3 years ago

Yeah Spanca I should of included that. It is 16 to buy a knife in NSW. Sorry

Gamesta

3 years ago

lennex15 wrote

I want an OFLC that doesn't squeeze anything where it shouldn't go call it what it is. Set out clear guidlines on what categories have what in them.

No 18+ rating is the reason they do that.They do that because they want to let us play as many games as we can.

San Andreas should have easily got an 18+ rating.How many movies would use the f word as many times as SA and get a 15+ rating?

It's amazing how many games that are 15+ here are 18+ everywhere else in the world.

THAT is what is bad for the children.They are easily gaining access to games that 18 years and over should be playing.

Spanca

3 years ago

Tooki wrote

Yeah Spanca I should of included that. It is 16 to buy a knife in NSW. Sorry

Hmm, how odd. I specifically remember there being a problem when we wanted to buy a knife for a friend's 18th (good Swiss Army one, given we all did army cadets back then) and getting someone old enough as the store was really tight about that stuff.

MikeZombie777

3 years ago

All of you saying things like 'an R rating would kill sales, games would still be edited, stores wouldn't carry them, advertisement would be banned' etc are just making assumptions. Nothing more. You need to understand that R18 games are sold in Europe/UK/NZ/most of the world quite commonly. Such games are still marketed normally and sales are fine. R18+ DVDs/films are sold/advertised in Australia commonly also, retailers do not refuse to stock them or implement voluntary restrictions on legally restricted R18+ products. I've seen countless TV ads and billboards for R18+ movies so I don't know why you would imply R18+ films are not advertised commonly, because they are. Why are you using baseless hearsay to support your argument? Please present actual facts if you're going to jump into the debate. Right now you're just being completely hypothetical. What actual evidence do you have to support the notion that video games would be subjected to a completely different set of marketing and sales guidelines to other media? Again, you have absolutely nothing to back up such a claim.

Benza

3 years ago

Ok so say they wouldn't be able to put up big posters and advertisments for the game?

Would that matter?

How many people bought GTA cause they saw a poster, most of the advertising for games now days is done on the net.

The ratings for games aren't different to movies. There is a pretty massive difference between say the drug use in A scanner Darkly for example and the drug use that people chuck a **** about in games.
For example the drug in A scanner Darkly wasn't real, so it falls into the same category as the drugs in say Bioshock. And drugs don't immiedtley get a game banned. The Jamaicans in GTA 4 smoked bongs, and that mafia dude snorted coke.

The games that get the **** kicked up usually involve taking real world drugs yourself, with realistic consequences. Usually more akin to say Trainspotting etc.

If anything, censorship is easier on games then it is on movies. Especially when it comes to graphic violence. I mean Fight Club was rate R for it's depiction of violent anti social behavior. But I can shoot an innocent pedestrian in the leg and watch as he lies on the ground clutching his leg while I go hijack a car and back it over him in GTA and it's an MA game? That **** would never pass under MA in a movie.

MikeZombie777

3 years ago

****. Have you seen any of the SAW movies? All are MA And contain content much worse than what you just described. You must be pretty damn sheltered if you think an innocent pedestrian laying on the ground dying is the pinnacle of violence.

Benza

3 years ago

MikeZombie777 wrote

Violent Anti Social behavior is different to just plain violence.

The violence in Saw is just too ridiculous to ever be taken seriously. But I'm sure it could be matched in most survival horror games.

rufati

3 years ago

Weird (maybe ironic?) that the only people opposed to the R18+ rating are immature/selfish children who are under 18 and ignorant adults trying to protect said children.

Benza

3 years ago

I'd just like to point out that you can buy Penthouse at 16.

Jellyfish

3 years ago

Benza wrote

I'd just like to point out that you can buy Penthouse at 16.

So? I've had to reformat laptops belonging to Year 7s who've had multi-gigabyte collections of porn on them. I've heard stories about grade 4s with porn.

As for R rated games in the media, you realise no Magazines could review those games unless they were also in with the pornos. Getting equivalent to an R18+ in Japan and Germany means that your game will sell very little. So we will still see edits. An R18+ classification would allow for video games to gain on the way to being seen as a mature hobby. But in no way will it suddenly dismiss the stigma of it being a child's hobby. I don't expect video games to reach that stage for another 15-20 years when all the people who have minds like this are either dead and buried or ridded with Dementia to matter.

So really I see getting an R18 classification as a pointless song and dance when there are more critical obstacles to video games such as Region Encoding/Price Fixing (illegal in Australia thank you very much, but not enforced), the proposed (but very much likely to fail) Cleanfeed and the state of our Broadband infrastructure.

mikezilla2

3 years ago

nikack wrote

Benza wrote

I'd just like to point out that you can buy Penthouse at 16.

im not worried about the rest as not much can be done .

MikeZombie777

3 years ago

You actually don't even have to be 16 to buy generic Penthouse mags. Most of the ones they sell in News Agencies and such are classified M - Unrestricted. The others are CAT1 & 2 which you have to be 18 to buy.

Benza

3 years ago

nikack wrote

Benza wrote

I'd just like to point out that you can buy Penthouse at 16.

So? I've had to reformat laptops belonging to Year 7s who've had multi-gigabyte collections of porn on them. I've heard stories about grade 4s with porn.

Illegally downloading porn is completly diffrent

PagePrevious 12

View as forum topic

Add Comment