Somebody Think of the Children
Game Censorship

About time: Public Consultation on R18+ Classification for computer games

It’s finally here (and about time). The Federal Government is inviting submissions from the Australian public on whether the Australian National Classification Scheme should include an R18+ rating for video games. Download the paper here: DOC | PDF. According to the sixteen page paper, the government aims to summarise some of the key arguments for...

Protest Australian game bans – Brisbane, Saturday December 5

Show your support for the introduction of an adult games rating this Saturday the 5th Of December at King George Square in Brisbane. It’s set to kick off at 11am (a good chance for you to fit in some Christmas shopping after. Games perhaps?). The Facebook group for the event lists 74 confirmed guests, so...

Another high-profile game ban: Left 4 Dead 2 no match for censors

It didn’t take long. Another video game has been banned by the Australian Classification Board. This time Left 4 Dead 2, the high-profile sequel to the 2008 first-person zombie shooter which was classified MA15+. The ACB handed down a Refused Classification rating to the new game, citing high in impact violence making it unsuitable for...

Risen is the third game to be banned in 2009

Refused-Classification.com reports that Koch Media’s medieval role-playing game Risen has been Refused Classification by the Australian Classification Board, making it the third game to banned in 2009. It was due for release October 2nd. According to the Wikipedia entry, the game centres around a protagonist shipwrecked after a storm on Faranga, an island home to...

Parents find managing their child’s Internet use easy: ACMA report

A government report on media use by young people, that ACMA Chairman Chris Chapman says is sure to inform further debate about digital media literacy, has found 76% – 92% of parents surveyed find it easy to manage their child’s use of the Internet. The report also found that most young people do not have...

Rudd’s mandatory ISP filter will be used to censor video games

Asher Moses at The Sydney Morning Herald reports that a spokesperson for Senator Conroy has confirmed that ISP filtering will be used to block access to downloadable games, flash-based web games and sites which sell physical copies of games that do not meet the MA15+ standard, the highest game classification in Australia. Moses writes: This...

Sexy Poker for Wii banned

I’m playing catch up on bans this week and the first worth noting is Sexy Poker by WiiWare getting hit with an RC by the Australian Classification Board. Why? Nudity is an incentive or reward to game play. Sort of the point, eh. GameSpot reports: “In the Board’s view Sexy Poker offers depictions of nudity...

Classification Board’s new website reveals long list of banned titles

The new website for the Australian Classification Board reveals a comprehensive list of content that is Refused Classification (RC) in Australia. Although this information has been available to the public in the past (unlike the contents of the ACMA blacklist of banned websites), to the best of my knowledge the grouping of this data has...

Melbourne event: ‘Online games, censorship and the crisis of control’

Apologies for the late notice folks, but this one only just crossed my path (or I may have forgot about it – sorry). University of Melbourne is holding a free public lecture of online game classification and censorship on Wednesday the 13th May. Speaking is Dr Jeffrey E. Brand, an Associate Professor and Head of...

R18+ games discussion paper coming soon

Finally! The long awaited discussion paper on introducing an adult classification for video games will soon be released for public input. It won’t be released by state and territory Attorney’s-General though. They couldn’t agree on contents of the paper (no surprise). Instead the office of the Commonwealth Minister of Home Affairs, Bob Debus, has stepped...

Necrovision banned

As State and Territory Attorney’s-General meet in Canberra for SCAG, GameSpot has confirmed that the upcoming PC game Necrovision has been refused classification for excessive violence. This is the first game of 2009 that the Australian Classification Board has banned. GameSpot writes: The Board specifically called out excessive blood spray and the ability to continue...

Queensland Election: LNP won’t support R18+ game classification

I contacted Queensland’s three major political players this month to find out their position on introducing an R18+ classification for computer games. The results are not surprising. Lawrence Springborg is firm: LNP  ‘have have no intention of changing the current laws’. The Borg says ‘Games and films are a matter for the Film and Classification...