27 March 2012

R18 games law hits the Assembly

| johnboy
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Simon Corbell has the happy news that he’s bringing laws into the Assembly to create an R18+ classification for computer games.

“The ACT Government has been a strong advocate in national discussions on the issue of an R18+ classification for computer games in Australia, and I am pleased to be able to introduce this bill to the Legislative Assembly,” Mr Corbell said.

“The ACT will be the first jurisdiction to progress a bill giving effect to the Commonwealth’s decision to implement the R18+ category in Australia.”

The Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) (Enforcement) Amendment Bill 2012, will be introduced following the decision of the Standing Committee of Attorneys General, now the Standing Council on Law and Justice.

Because if we can tear out the spines of our enemies in computer games why can’t we see our lovers’ boobies?

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it should also give the gaming stores the ability to say no to the youngens getting there hand on stuff they really shouldn’t be getting

Finally!

Although you could always get R18+ games for PC off Steam.

devils_advocate said :

Yay!

Why all the jubilation? Weren’t people just downloading/importing the games from overseas anyway?

Would genuinely appreciate if some tech-savvy gamer could explain the actual significance of this legislation…

For the most part you are correct, PC gamers have always been able to get R18+ online trouble free. Though gamers on all platforms that shop in store will now have the option of R18+ games.

Up until now Australia bans around 20 games per year due to content restrictions, or they let an R18+ game through and ask the developer to restrict things like sex, blood, and unnecessary gore then rebadged it as MA15+.

Mind you a lot of the games that have been banned are really really weird Japanese games…..

If ACT is first on board, Canberra games sellers will be able to make a killing selling mail order to the other states like they did with pr0n in the pre-interwebz days, yes?

devils_advocate3:04 pm 27 Mar 12

johnboy said :

potential $100,000 fines for possession of classification circumventing material for a start.

Did that ever happen or was it just one of those things was was impossible to enforce or never enforced? Regardless I guess it’s a moral victory in that people no longer have to be criminals.

I suppose it probably could also reduce the incidence (or at the very least the necessity) for piracy.

devils_advocate2:50 pm 27 Mar 12

Yay!

Why all the jubilation? Weren’t people just downloading/importing the games from overseas anyway?

Would genuinely appreciate if some tech-savvy gamer could explain the actual significance of this legislation…

potential $100,000 fines for possession of classification circumventing material for a start.

its about bloody time

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