In a move that surprised everyone, legislation was passed and will be enforced starting from tomorrow that prohibits the cases of R rated movies to use their original cover art. The part that didn’t surprise anyone though was that it was announced by Michael Atkinson. The amendment bill was introcued by the Hon Dennis Hood MLC, a member of the Family First party.
This new legislation is almost as ludicrous as the Joh years in Queensland.
The updates have been thin lately. As some of you may know, I was made redundant from my job as a programmer in the games industry in November. Events have transpired that I’ve taken up a short term contract with that employer again, which has resulted in overtime and almost no time to think about anything outside of work. Apologies for the lack of updates.
This is fantastic news for those of you that want to play the game legally. However, I’m waiting for the inevitable response from Atkinson.
The OFLC’s media release can be found here.
It finaly happened. The paper is out there.
I will be submitting to the discussion. Limiting what I have to say to 250 words may be a challenge considering I’ve already run a protest over the matter. Regardless, you’ll hear my comments here first before they land in a Government inbox.
Download the submission template and send in your own views on the matter.
Talking online about the R18+ debacle is one thing. Email is roughly on the same level.
Snail mail, though, is still taken seriously. It implies more thought and care has gone in to what you have to say than just quickly typing up a post on the internet and pressing send. That’s how society works at the moment.
As such, you should write snail mail to the Hon Brendan O’Connor MP, Minister for Home Affairs, and request that the discussion paper for an R18+ rating be released.
Again, the usual modus operandi when a website asks you to send a letter is to provide one that you can print out and send. I won’t be doing that. Rather, I encourage you to write out your own request and mail that. I can only see multiple separate responses going over better than a canned response sent 100 times.
For those that are not aware, have a read through this brief history of Konami and their activity within the gambling industry. You may have even played some of the poker machines mentioned in the article at your local pub.
Pokies. The paradox of Australia. Video poker machines are the scourge of the pub, the oppressor of live music. RSL clubs and pubs down here will expand simply so that they can open up a new room full of poker machines.
Gambling in Australia is illegal for those under 18. This, by definition, makes video poker machines restricted to adults.
By all definitions, video poker machines are video games. They run on computers and are interactive and define a set of rules by which you can win or lose a game. You’d think that the lack of an R18+ rating for video games would mean that these games would be refused classification and thus not be allowed in Australia. As it stands, they operate under a completely different set of laws.
What message exactly is the Government trying to send here? Are they saying it’s alright for Australians to play games aimed at adults if there’s a healthy revenue stream coming in? In my mind, any argument from an Australian politician concerning their fears of what video games are capable of is null and void while they still get income from these machines via taxes.
If our politicians are going to be against adult games, they could at least try not being hypocritical about it.
The rally exceeded pretty much everyone’s expectations. We had a turn out of around 60 to 70 people. I (Ethan) gave a talk, as did Nic Suzor, chairman of the EFA. I will create a few articles/posts covering some of the points I raised in detail.
An attendee filmed the rally and uploaded it. I have two other copies sitting on my hard drive that need to be uploaded.
Good start, everyone. As I mentioned, just keep getting the word out there. I will let everyone know about my next event sometime in the near future.
The Classification Board has Refused Classification to the upcoming Aliens vs Predator game.
I would honestly like to know if there’s anything more graphic in this game than the face melting scene in the movie Aliens vs Predator: Requiem. The Classification Board has yet to release the reasoning behind its decision.
So, Atkinson is to appeal the MW2 classification after all.
I’m all for applying the same standards for classification to all media. With this in mind, I ask: what exactly would cause the game to not be rated MA15?
Is it violent? Yes, but can you say it’s more violent than Saving Private Ryan?
Is it bloody? Yes, but can you say it’s more bloody than District 9?
Is it graphic? Yes, but can you say it’s more graphic than Children of Men?
Is it confronting? Yes, but can you say it’s more confronting than Elephant?
I have used four movies rated MA15+ in Australia as examples. These films are available on DVD and can be purchased just as freely as MA15+ rated video games. I have played Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 thoroughly and I can honestly say that this game has not been more violent, bloody, graphic, or confronting than those movies.
It saddens me that more time and money will be spent by the Government on this game than is necessary. Perhaps the collective “I told you so” from the general public after the game has been reclassified MA15+ will make Mr Atkinson pause and rethink. More likely though, it will turn him against the Classification Review Board as well. The fight may be about to get harder, ladies and gentlemen.
