A new draft of the R18+ classification has been released by home minister Brendan O’Connor through the Australian Federal Government. The new guidelines closely match those in place for Australia’s film industry. The new R18+ rating removes restrictions on bad language, drug use and nudity; in contrast, the current guidelines forbade the classification of any adult-themed games.
O’Connor’s draft claims that the R18+ rating will allow “virtually no restrictions on the treatment of themes”, and violence in games “except where it offends against the standards of morality, decency and propriety generally accepted by reasonable adults to the extent that it should not be classified.” As far as sex, the draft says, “Sexual activity may be realistically simulated. The general rule is ‘simulation, yes – the real thing, no'”.
Of course, “standards of morality, decency and propriety” is still troublesomely subjective, while “simulation, yes, the real thing, no” is comicly inept for videogames, where everything is simulation. You may be able to tell when live actors are actually performing sexual acts, but when can you tell a videogame character is actually having sex?
O’Connor stated:
“The Gillard government wants to provide better guidance for parents and remove unsuitable material from children and teenagers. The introduction of an R18+ classification will help achieve that and will also bring Australia into line with comparable nations. This issue has been on the table for many years, without the necessary progress to make a change. We’ve recently seen several states publicly express their support for an adult only rating for games and I’m keen to reach a unanimous decision at the July meeting.”
Rather than banning games, why not punish stores for selling mature games to underage children? Or put the onus of raising children on the parents?
This week’s episode is the final episode before E3, and next week, an outtakes episode filled with Dr. Who and Game of Thrones discussion will run. After that, we’ll have some serious E3 2013 discussion, especially about what happens with Microsoft and Sony in particular.
@Pachter predicts $349 for PS4, $399 for Xbox One
Interesting. I don’t see this happening though, the hardware behind them is basically identical. And for the same stuff, Sony has a history of running higher prices.
@World of Warcraft movie
*sigh* … why the hell not … I’ve seen Mario, Prince of Persia, so why the heck not. I mean it’ll have a ton of CGI, so does it really matter the origins of the story/script? For all it’s worth being “made after WoW” will most likely be used as a marketing tool to get more people in the cinema.
@Robert Bowling’s Robotoki raided by LAPD, mistake COD figure as armed intruder
… really? I blame the dev who pressed the panic button.
Jonah, Ghost is wielding an M4 with an M203 under-barrel grenade launcher and a red dot reflex sight. Not sure what to make out of the sound suppressor though.
@Documentary seeks to unearth 3.5M E.T. cartridges from landfill
… waste of time if you ask me. But hey, they have money to spend, the contractor has people to pay.
@Oculus Rift developer Andrew Scott Reisse, 33, killed as bystander in police chase
Manslaughter. That’ll be the verdict.
As for Andrew Scott Reisse, R.I.P.
@Shadow of the Eternals Kickstarter fundraising struggling
So I remember that at one point we were wondering when we’ll get the first failure on kickstarter. Now if I remember correctly, what we wanted was a project to meet the goals, but then to not deliver. This one doesn’t quite meet the requirements but still, it is the first project that could fail while still being under the spotlight.
@EEE
Didn’t watch any conferences. They were all at some awkward time; 12pm pdt is the worst time to have any conference. It’s middle of the night in Japan and workday in US and UK. Only suitable for Chinese where consoles are banned. Regardless, the news was all right. It’s surprising to see the console battle so one sided. PS4 definitely plowed Microsoft. I am genuinely surprised to say this but Sony seems to have learned from it’s mistakes and is doing what the gamers want. As opposed to Microsoft, whose vision of the living room seems to be inconsistent with our own. That said, I will probably be getting a PS4 on release. That and Battlefield. Glad to see that some very good MMOs are coming to consoles.
@Xbox 180
Composed the post above a week ago. So much has changed. I have never seen Microsoft so humbled in its entire existence. Bill Gates is rotating in his grave. And he ain’t even dead yet. From one side they slapped themselves in the face hard by going back on their “vision of the living room”. On the other hand, it speaks volumes that they take PS4 as a serious threat and a more appealing console. Which means they still have time to turn things around. Still, I am set on the PS4 but will eventually get an Xbox. Once the price is right.
@WiiU
I am currently taking bets on if the WiiU collapses before the core Nintendo titles come out. Since my Lovefilm subscription ran out I haven’t even touched the thing. And not really planing on doing it any time soon. I am tired of Nintendo feeding me promises.
PS: I love the fact that Microsoft is ripping of Playstation plus, but considering that the first 2 games available are Halo 3 and Assasin’s Creed 2 are a joke. Here in UK Halo 3 costs a pound and practically every person who owns an Xbox has it.