Adult games for adults. Why so difficult?
When it comes to Australia’s video game rating system, it’s time to hit the reset button.
The video game rating system in Australia is inconsistent and out of touch with the rest of the world. It does not reflect the changing demographics of just who is the typical person who plays video games.
At present, the highest rating that a game can receive in this country is MA 15+. If a game is deemed unsuitable for a fifteen year old to play, it will be placed into the category of refused classification (RC). No store in Australia can sell it. Such a game is given RC status often by default as no higher category than MA exists, even though it would not likely fall into the refused classification category outright.
Introducing an R18+ rating for video games and protecting children from adult content are not mutually exclusive ideas.
An R18+ rating would bring Australia’s classification system in line with the rest of the Western world and would recognise that games are not just for children.
The 2009 Interactive Australia Report found that the average age of those who play video games in Australia isn’t a child or teenager as one may assume. The average age of an Australian gamer is thirty years old.
A new rating system would reflect this clear change of demography. Not only will it allow adults to be treated like adults, it would also give a much needed sense of consistency to an outdated system.
To illustrate the lack of consistency and the confusion that ensues, you needn’t look far at all.
The 2008 video game Fallout 3 initially allowed players to use the legal drug morphine to recuperate the health of their character. When the game was first presented before the Australian Classification Board, it was refused classification due to the representation of morphine. The creators of Fallout 3 made the decision to rename the drug and modify animations of its use, which saw the game comply with classification standards.
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, released in 2009, allowed players to sell illicit drugs such as marijuana and acid; with digital depictions of their real-life counterparts. It was classified MA 15+ without any alterations.
Another confusing element to the debate is the ratings awarded to some games in this country as compared to overseas.
Several games given an MA 15+ rating here would receive the equivalent of an R18+ rating in other countries. God of War III, Modern Warfare 2, Alien vs. Predator – these are all games that have received the highest rating possible in several Western nations (meaning their sale is restricted to adults) in this year alone. Biut all those games can be bought by any fifteen year-old in Australia.
It’s baffling to those adults who would play such games, and it can confuse many a parent trying to make an informed choice on what is and is not suitable for a child to play.
There is no doubt that the idea of an R18+ rating is of great concern and interest to Australians. A public consultation on the issue, which finished in February this year, attracted over 58 000 submissions. This is the highest number of submissions to date for a public consultation in Australia. A staggering 98% of respondents welcomed the introduction of a new rating.
Despite the massive response, no action was taken by the State Attorneys-General at their latest meeting.
For a change to occur, there must be unanimous agreement amongst the Attorneys-General. It would only take a single, ill-informed Attorney-General to block something that could benefit many, and satisfy the will of the people.
For a long time, South Australian Attorney-General Michael Atkinson took a very vocal stance against the introduction on an R18+ video game classification. Not only did Atkinson withhold support for a new rating, he refused to endorse the public consultation on the issue. With his exit after the 2010 South Australian election, there remains no other politician who is so vocally opposed to the introduction of the rating.
Could a lack of unanimous support be a symptom of fear from pressure groups who wish Australia to remain ever-conservative in areas that other nations have already progressed? It’s certainly not something that should be ruled out. Especially when you consider the fact that the Australian Christian Lobby is one of the biggest opponents to a new rating system.
The concept of allowing Australian adults access to mature games and the need to inform parents on how to protect children from them are by no means incompatible.
On the contrary, the two concepts can go hand-in hand. An R18+ rating could serve to satisfy both parties and give a much needed level of consistency and clarity to our classification system.
Cody Giunta is fascinated by many aspects of media and politics. Having previously studied English and education at the University of New South Wales, he is now a freelance writer and Media Practice student at the University of Sydney.
PurpleHope
September 16, 2010 at 2:13 pm
Well, adult games are fine,
Well, adult games are fine, just in the hands of adults of course. Parents should be careful.. some wrong pictures can really be traumatizing.