14 DAY TRIAL // Australia has been making headlines in the recent few months because a host of high profile videogames have been refused classification in the country due to the way its ratings board uses its ability to push one game into a category or the other.
The biggest example was that of Left 4 Dead 2, the zombie shooter from Valve, which was banned because of the high level of violence perpetrated against non humans. Electronic Arts, who is set to publish the title, decided to fight the decision from the ratings board and the game eventually came out in the Land Down Under, even if with a few modifications made to appease the censors.
Now, it seems that the government is ready to open up a debate regarding the introduction of an R 18+ rating, which would make the system for videogames equivalent with that for movies and would allow titles that have until now been banned from sales to appear in Australia. But the site on which the government is asking for opinions from citizens appears a bit biased.
Attorney General Michael Atkinson says just “a small number of very zealous gamers” want the new rating and that “You don’t need to be playing a game in which you impale, decapitate and dismember people.” There are also mentions of the fact that the kind of new videogames, which would be allowed on sale will increase the level of aggression in those who play them, especially children, although there is no clear link established between virtual reality violence and real world actions.
The move to create a new rating level is supported by the 1,500 developers who work in about 50 studios creating videogames in Australia. They say that an R 18+ level would allow for the market to grow and would bring more work their way.