R18+ rating for Australian games to have renewed discussion
Aussie video games could soon be getting the long awaited R18+ rating. There is currently no R18+ in Australia meaning games that the Classification Board deem excessively violent or overly sexual have been either completely banned from sale or modified to fit within a MA15+ rating. Bob Debus with the Minister for Home Affairs has confirmed that the issue of, whether or not to allow an R18+ classification””, will be discussed at the next standing committee of attorney-generals on March 28th. The previous government had been unwilling to discuss the issue since 2005. More inside The Australian game industry last year appealed to both parties before the federal election to have an R18+ rating. The Interactive Entertainment Association of Australia (IEAA) says that the average age of Australian gamers is 28 and over 50 per cent of gamers are over 18. The lack of an R rating was allowing some games that deserved an R18+ slipping through as MA15+, and that Australians who wanted banned games could get them overseas or through the Internet.
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Source: SMH
