Australian Attorney General Opposes Adult Rating For Games

01 Oct 2009 at 10:46:31 by Andy Alderson

The South Australian attorney general Michael Atkinson has said he will oppose a move to introduce an 18+ rating for games in Australia.

Atkinson made a statement shortly following the OFLC’s refusal to classify Left 4 Dead due to its “realistic, frenetic and unrelenting violence.”

Currently, the highest rating a game can be awarded in Australia is MA 15+ meaning adult-oriented titles are unlikely to be passed by the OFLC without being re-edited.

“It certainly does restrict choice to a small degree, but that is the price of keeping this material from children and vulnerable adults,” Atkinson told news.com.au (via Edge).

“In my view, the small sacrifice is worth it…People are participating and 'acting-out' violence and criminal behaviour when they are playing a videogame."

However, Atkinson’s view is not shared by Victoria attorney-general Rob Hulls who believes that Australia is now “out of step” with the rest of the world.

“It seems inconsistent that in Australia adults are allowed to view adult-only films which have been classified R18+ by the Classification Board, but not computer games with equivalent high-level content," said Hulls.

Hulls’ view is supported by Australian game developers and Tom Crago of the GDAA recently spoke out about the “backward” censorship system in Australia.

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