WA Greens oppose R18+ game rating, so which party supports it?
UPDATE 01/09/08: The WA greens have confirmed this policy. The WA Greens party will oppose the introduction of an R18+ classification for games if elected in the upcoming Western Australian election. According to WAvotes.org.au, a website run by the Australian Christian Lobby where parties respond to questions likely to be raised by Christian voters, the...
Australia gets censored Fallout 3
Relaxing on my Brisbane Show Day holiday, I nearly forgot to write about the censored version of Fallout 3 that will be released in Australia. The original game (that everybody else sees fit enough to play) was Refused Classification by the ACB last month because of in-game morphine use. The for-Australian-eyes version no longer has...
Game Developers’ Association attacks censorship
Tom Crago, president of the Game Developers’ Association of Australia, doesn’t touch on much we haven’t heard before in his essay on the lack of an R18+ games rating, but he does set a fine example of industry going after the censors. When you combine take-no-shit leaders like Crago with the tribal characteristics of gamers...
Michael Atkinson responds: R18+ games, bad parents and protecting children
South Australian Attorney-General Michael Atkinson is what most people consider a dickhead (and that’s by folks who vote for him). Gamers and anyone opposed to censorship aren’t so kind. They know he’s been blocking an R18+ classification for video games for years. Why? Atkinson swears blue children will be harmed by the introduction of an...
Confirmed: Fallout 3 banned
In what might be the most high profile game ban since GTA III, Fallout 3 has been refused classification for its realistic drug use. Australian Gamer obtained the Classification Board’s report. Here’s a small snippet: Encouraging drug use? In a game, sure, but in real life? Get off it. If the Government believes that kids...
Fallout 3 banned for in-game drug use?
Rumor around the gaming community is that Fallout 3 has been refused classification in Australia because it contains drug use. A user on the GameSpot forums says a friend who works for the ‘OFLC’ had revealed to them that Fallout 3 has been banned for its in-game use of morphine. Under the National Classification Code,...
ShellShock 2 refused classification
You won’t be buying the Vietnam War era horror game ShellShock 2: Blood Trails off the shelf in Australia anytime soon. The Classification Board has refused classification and early reports suggest Atari (who publishes the game in Aus) won’t be resubmitting an edited version. That might change though as Atari has now retracted statements and...
R18+ and video games: A history of stupidity
NSW TAFE student Alexander Gabbot has produced a great video about game censorship in Australia that’s not only informative, it’s funny as well. Cheers to Bookbuster for the tip off and Kotaku. Great to see stuff like this, especially with the R18+ rating for games discussion paper on the table in the next month or...
First they feared Elvis shaking his hips, now video games
Leslie Benzies, President of Rockstar North (developer of GTA) says that some of those who criticise his games are unnerved by progress. There is a big fear factor here. It’s the coming of the railways, it?s Elvis shaking his hips. It’s cars going over 25 miles per hour and making people explode, he said. The...
Ban GTA IV, astronauts: Family First NZ
Just quickly (as I’m attempting to move house this week): Family First NZ want GTA IV banned. What’s new. National Director of Family First NZ, Bob McCoskrie, says it’s completely unrealistic to believe that young people will not be influenced in their attitudes and behaviours by constant exposure to this type of material. Their press...
