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Banned: the absurdity of Australia's game rating regime

By Tom Crago

Posted July 31, 2008 08:51:00
Updated July 31, 2008 09:02:00

Many adult gamers were eagerly awaiting the release of Fallout 3. (www.fallout.bethsoft.com)

Ask an average Australian about censorship and chances are they'll tell you it's a bad thing.

And yet when it comes to video games, we have one of the toughest regimes in the world in terms of dictating exactly what is available to our adult population. On one hand Australia is an oasis of game development, with a thriving, highly skilled industry generating hundreds of millions of dollars of valuable export revenue. On the other hand Australia's lack of an R18+ classification means that some of the world's most important video games are effectively banned from appearing down under at all.

This unfortunate paradox is centred on the horrifically outdated view that games are just for kids. The reality is that video games are an evolving entertainment medium of truly bewildering variety, that covers at least as many ages and tastes as traditional entertainment like movies, books and television. It is a great shame that some among our lawmakers have such a narrow view of the work carried out by the 2000 people employed in and around the video game industry in Australia.

The most recent game to be refused classification in Australia illustrates just how absurd the situation has become. Fallout 3 is a highly anticipated instalment in a series that began 10 years ago. Many adult gamers were eagerly awaiting the title's release, only to be thwarted by our archaic classification system. The farcical discussion of this issue on ABC television's recent Q&A program shows how little effort some policy makers have made to understand the current system, let alone get across the arguments for reform.

Let's take a look at the Fallout example specifically. Anyone who has played a video game will probably understand the concept of picking up a 'health pack' thereby enabling you to carry on in the game. In Fallout 3, set as it is in a post-apocalyptic world, this act takes the form of an injection. This depiction is in keeping with the artistic setting and expectations of the adult audience. As a game developer I respect the view that the injections in Fallout 3 might constitute an 'adult concept'. What I cannot respect is the implied assertion that I should be not be able to make or play games that incorporate such concepts. This is a massive violation of my creative and artistic rights, and of my basic rights and freedoms as an adult living in a country like Australia.

If the publishers of Fallout 3 want to release their game in Australia, it will need to be reworked just for the Australian market. Because of the small size of our market, this is usually not worth the expense. So not only are Australian gamers being deprived of several titles per year, they are literally being pushed towards piracy, which hurts every part of our industry.

The goals of the Australian National Classification Code bear repeating for these purposes:

Classification decisions are to give effect, as far as possible, to the following principles;

(a) Adults should be able to read, hear and see what they want;

(b) Minors should be protected from material likely to harm or disturb them;

(c) Everyone should be protected from exposure to unsolicited material that they find offensive...

Dissenting South Australian Attorney-General Michael Atkinson interprets the above code such that (b) overrules (a). This is how he put it in a recent letter to a constituent reprinted on the Australian Gamer website:

"To my mind, increasing the volume of inappropriate material available (which includes even more extreme content) will just mean even more unsuitable material is on sale."

In other words, adding an R18+ certification will put more games unsuitable for minors on the shelves and that's simply more important than your rights as an adult. That's quite a leap in logic, and a frankly outrageous position to take in my view. Can you imagine the same the same justification being used for any medium other than video games?

Part of the problem is that Michael Atkinson believes, against the government's own evidence, that games are unusually harmful to children, as compared with films, television, and books. What's more, he seems not to believe that there exists the facility to stop children from playing adult games. All this despite the fact that we already have a statutory age restriction for retail (MA15+), and that games consoles have easy to use and effective parental lockout systems.

Australia's absence of an R18+ category, and the financial imperative of getting a game onto store shelves in a timely manner, means that many games intended for adult audiences (and rated 18+ in other countries) are inappropriately shoehorned into the existing MA15+ category in Australia. Far from protecting minors from adult content, our uniquely incomplete classification system has allowed them, in many cases, to legally purchase and access such content. A consistent classification system would better serve to protect the rights of children, as well as ensuring those of adults are not infringed.

As game developers, we are trying to make games that provide entertainment to players of all ages. Video games are not going to turn your children into criminals. They are, in fact, the modern face of the entertainment industry, and something that we in Australia are very good at producing.

The focus of this debate should be upon how the Australian classification system can best give adults the information they need to chose video game content for themselves and their children, without burdening our country with unjustified and draconian censorship to the amusement and pity of the rest of the world.

We can start with the immediate implementation of an R18+ games rating.

Tom Crago is the chief executive of Tantalus and president of the Game Developers' Association of Australia (GDAA).

Tags: arts-and-entertainment, games, business-economics-and-finance, censorship, australia

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Comments (121)

Comments for this story are closed. No new comments can be added. If you would like to have your say on this issue, you can do so via the Emails section of our Opinion pages.

Roland:

31 Jul 2008 9:14:59am

With the quality of graphics that are coming out these days not having a R+18 rating is just stupid and naive of anyone who's not into computer/console games.

Once again the government is doing the role of what parents are supposed to do!!!

Monitor your own kids for goodness sakes!

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_jase:

31 Jul 2008 9:22:20am

Totally agree with this post. No R Rating is an extremely outdated idea, and I think you would find most people are against the idea of the Government deciding what games they think we should play.

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thelonenut:

31 Jul 2008 9:22:31am

So what exactly is the problem here? As far as I am concerned, many games are moronic, violent and contain puerile, infantile sexual fantasies. Sure they are not just for kids - many kids I know are mature enough to realise computer games serve a purpose in childhhod and adolescence and do not maintain this interest as adults. More adults should stop wasting their time and money and get more exercise, instead of submerging themselves in these infantile fantasies, much like role-playing games and the like. Get Real, stop living life in some Cyber-fantasy and get over these violent fantasies -

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Devo:

31 Jul 2008 9:30:34am

Couldn't agree more, and the ABC should be ashamed of the way the issue was handled on the Q&A program. Not a single member of the panel, Tony Jones included, seemed to even realise that Australia already HAS a games ratings system. Only one member of the panel actually had the guts to at least ADMIT that they didn't understand the issue though. Everyone else carried on as though they weren't utterly ignorant of the issue, which of course they were.

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DK:

31 Jul 2008 9:43:06am

No such thing as an important game. Its a contradiction in terms. Games are entertainment, definately not life or death stuff.

I used to be a power gamer for many years playing nightly after work for 4hours so i know where these people that have to get these so called 'important' games. After touring europe life really gets put back into perspective. Get outside and experience life, dont just watch it go by on your 22" wide screen lcd.

Rating systems dont work. The only real way to sensor what gets sold in australia is the system we have at the moment, stop it coming into the country. 13yr old's will simply get an older brother or parent to buy the 18+ game, as they do, people did and will continue to do for time to come with dvds,video's and all music.

Games are like food, everything in moderation. I encourage anyone spending more then 3 hours a day on computer games to stop for a week and try something different.

Cheers,
DK

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MO:

31 Jul 2008 9:44:50am

I have taken my young son to an on-line gaming parlour.

All I can say to the pasty faced, fat and addicted clients of these places is that you really do need to get a life.

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Tom:

31 Jul 2008 9:45:21am

If a child was to go into a video store to hire out an +18 movie, they wouldn't be able to, would go the same if it they tried to buy an 18+ game.

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Spider Dijon:

31 Jul 2008 9:47:26am

Tom, I couldn't agree more. Too long have video games been viewed as a childish pursuit. I'm 22 now, my brother 30, my cousin 32, and my mother 56. All of us enjoy video games, and all of us are mature, consenting adults. In fact, all of those kids who started playing video games years and years ago are all grown up now. I'm sure its time to cater to that market. I find it somewhat unfair that we are restricted to "kiddy" games, when you can go out and buy a dvd or book with violence, sex or drug use as the central theme. It's not my fault that parents are incapable of keeping a track of their kids activities. Why should adult gamers be punished for the flaws of incompetant parents?

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ram:

31 Jul 2008 10:04:30am

Given the prices of full-out gaming machines and large high resolution monitors one can hardly doubt that most of these are bought by mature adults. There should be a sensible rating system so local retailers can sell these games (and the government collect the tax) rather than having them smuggled in from overseas.

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dragon:

31 Jul 2008 10:11:33am

And they wonder why piracy and peer-to-peer file sharing is rampant !
The whole censorship thing is moot these as you can just download a copy legally from the distributors anyway. Usually at a lower than retail price :)

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John in Bris:

31 Jul 2008 10:14:10am

Hey you're preaching to the choir here mate. And I see this as part of a poor overall approach by the Government to the emerging (arrived???) IT world. The previous government failed to properly manage the most critical phase of the growth of the internet and IT sectors and we are now getting to a high acceptance and prevalence of the net but with lower quality infrastructure than many countries with significantly lower gdp per person. In other words - plenty of poorer countries were smarter than us and they are at an advantage now. South Korea has much better net and they spend lots more on education too - nice one Johnny. Add to this the statistical anomaly of the older, less "with-it" baby boomers running the show and I don't know how soon this will change mate. I heard that Soldier of Fortune was banned recently? What a joke.

To be fair, I reckon you need to give a new regime a year or so to get the hang of the job, especially after so long in the wilderness. After about November however, I will be blaming them fully for silliness like this. The economy is on a slower cycle so I won't be blaming the Krudster for the looming crap anytime soon but I will be wanting to see some sensible "reforms" for this sort of stuff pretty soon now.

In other news, I am still impressed with this Unleashed concept on the ABC site - I remember it started in October or November last year and it is great to see the variety of stuff people are writing - and responding - about. Too many people with ideas who never saw a way to put them out there before. Good stuff. cheers John

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David Ferstat:

31 Jul 2008 10:32:58am

I think it's important to realise here that computer games are the new form of story-telling.

The first storytelling was oral. Then there was theatre, then books, then comics and films. Now there's computer games. The new thing about computer games is that they're interactive. That is, the player can interact with the story. But it's still story-telling.

And, like all story-telling, some stories are made for children, and some are made for adults.

Think about it. Some movies are made for children, and some are made for adults. Some comics are made for children, and some are made for adults. And, most relevant here, some computer games are made for children, and some are made for adults.

Unfortunately, we have a censorship system in Australia that does not yet recognise this last fact.

In the eyes of these censors, it seems, all computer games are made for children, and only children play computer games. The consequence here is that those people who don't fit into the censors' preconceptions, the adult players of computer games, miss out on stories, and experiences (however virtual), that they would otherwise enjoy, and that would enrich their lives, which is the point of culture, pop- or otherwise.

As the Office of Film & Literature Classification (OFLC) falls, as I understand it, under the powers of the Federal Attorney General, it seems clear that the industry, and the (would-be) consumers of these more adult games, need to address the Attorney General and get him to change how the OFLC operates.

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Devo:

31 Jul 2008 10:35:01am

The most offensive part of this issue is the fact that the majority of people are in favour of an R18+ rating for games. The system is being held back by just one dissenting wowser, Michael Atkinson, who has his head firmly buried in archaic attitudes, and whose stated views directly contradict all clinical research.

Which brings me to another priceless nugget from Q&A the other night, and there were many: Heather Ridout's assertion that 'we just don't know what effects these games could have on kids' (naturally linking video games with kids, without even bothering to stop and think) because of their interactive nature. Actually Heather, we do know. There have been dozens, hundreds of clinical studies. The answer you're looking for is 'no effect whatsoever'.

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Patch:

31 Jul 2008 10:35:57am

There was argument over this point when i was in highschool. Ten years on and politicians still have their head in the sand over the now known fact that games aren't going anywhere. Aren't they bigger than movies now?

The 'R' classification is too long over due. Why are we still talking about this?

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Christian:

31 Jul 2008 10:37:07am

For anyone saying kids will have access to more violent/drug using/sexualized games your COMPLETELY wrong.

Games that are RC are changed in the smallest way to meet MA15+, EG they are on the highest ends of what that classification allow. GTA4 is a great example, should be R18+, but they 'hide' the sex scenes and let all the drug/violence stay, and makes it pretty clear there is sex going on. Now thats MA15+ and available to a much larger audience.

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Bullfrog:

31 Jul 2008 11:23:07am

A figure regularly used by the gaming industry - average age of gamers, 28.

If we are going to argue that rating systems don't prevent acces, then we need to ban everything that would have gone beyond 'G'.

Since we won't do that, the only reasonable approach is to have the same spectrum of ratings available, and put some appropriate penalties in place for those who supply restricted material in ways that are against those restrictions (eg games/ movies / magazines / etc.)

And for those who call gaming infantile - no more so than spending a ridiculous amount of money for a few % increase in output (cars), or any other hobby. Hobbies by definition are a waste of time. However, as long as it harms no other, we shouldn't disparage people's choices.

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Megasaxon:

31 Jul 2008 11:23:40am

Viva la Ratbag!

My biggest concern, which I'm glad to see has finally been raised, is the pigeonholing of current "Adult" titles into the MA 15+ category.

Our inconsistent rating system and lack of an R 18 classification is doing more harm than good.

If anything, an introduction of an adult classification would reduce the amount of inappropriate content finding it's way into children's hands.

Given the average age of gamers, politicians would be doing themselves a massive electoral favour by actually sitting down, listening, thinking and then acting on behalf of the people who support them.

That'll be the day.

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Rick:

31 Jul 2008 11:27:30am

I totally agree.
So, what can we do and how do we proceed and get an R18 rating into the system?

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David:

31 Jul 2008 11:36:24am

People will get this one of the most anticipated game no matter what, no government organisation can stop that. When are the politicians ever going to realise that?

The responsibility to protect the children also falls squarely on the parents, not the government.

Currently everyone loses with this lack of R18 rating. Retailers lose sales, adult gamers can't play the games they're supposed to have the rights to play (legally) while underage gamers will still get their hands on banned games (illegally).

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Ford:

31 Jul 2008 11:37:42am

I got a copy of Fallout 3 from overseas, and it was worth every penny.
I've seen far more disturbing violence in other games with a M15 rating (Clocktower 3 anyone??)...and the references to drug use contained in the game are laughable, and also inconsistent given the PS3 game "Haze" got through without a mention (you spend most of it hopped up on drugs to improve your performance...it's like the Olympics with more guns).
FO3 kicks it...there's copies available...do yaself a favour!

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Gamer:

31 Jul 2008 11:38:30am

as a game developer and a huge gamer. we honestly are shooting ourselves in the foot here with this archaic censorship system. To the point where we all will eventually buy imported games. Luckily fallout 3 isnt officially "banned" just refused classification.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/84959-Fallout-3-In-Australia-The-Real-Skinny

all this is doing is putting Aussie game retailers out of business. hurting our economy.

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Banned: the absurdity of Australia's game rating regime

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