R-Rated Games Are Coming Out Into The Open

I am a true-blooded game buff. Name your game; chances are, I’m also addicted to it. But with the announcement that the Federal Government of Australia is considering updating the classification system for video games to include an R18+ rating, I don’t think I should be pleased.

A spokeswoman for the Minister for Home Affairs, Bob Debus, confirmed the issue of "whether or not to allow an R18+ classification" for games would be discussed by censorship ministers at the Standing Committee of attorneys-general meeting this coming Thursday. It will be the first time the issue is discussed since November 2005.

In Australia, video games have no adult classification. As such, any title that could not meet the MA15+ standard like those showcasing too much violence and sex are not allowed to be sold.

Claire Bowdler, a Classification Board spokesperson, said 18 games had been banned since 2001. Eight of the games had their bans lifted after they were modified and resubmitted, reported The Age. The most recent game to be axed by the board was the sci-fi themed shooting game Dark Sector, which was refused classification this month.

The Dark Sector contains graphic violence including "decapitation, dismemberment of limbs accompanied by large blood spurts, neck breaking spurts, neck breaking twists and exploded bodies with post-action twitching body parts”, the Board said.

Banned video games also include The League, Soldier of Fortune, Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure, BMX XXX, and Reservoir Dogs. They reasons behind the banning include drug use, excessive violence, graffiti promotion, and sexual content.

Bond University associate professor Jeffrey Brand said the lack of an R18+ rating meant some games deserving of adult classification were being let through by the Classification Board as MA15+. And Australians who wanted to obtain banned games could easily source them from the internet or overseas, he said.

"These games are entering the marketplace despite the classification restriction, and so very often parents, who in some cases are the least savvy in the household about games, are unaware that this adult content exists," Brand noted.

I am happy to know there are still people concerned about the welfare of the young generation. "We would be opposed to the adoption of an R-rated category because we believe that research is pointing to the fact that these games actually do impact behavior and psychology more easily than a film," said Angela Conway, spokeswoman for the Australian Family Association.