Hold on to your Koalas; common sense has finally prevailed Down Under. Australian parliament has just passed a legislation to allow video-games to be classified in the same way as its most comparable media; films.
The legislation, which passed without amendment and with a whopping 98% in favour of (what I’d call) the ‘positive outcome’, means that older gamers might soon be treated like the grown ups they are. Adults will be able to pick and choose what content they deem suitable themselves, and not have all their content tailored (butchered) towards a mid-teen audience.
Jason Clare, Home Affairs Minister, stated:
“The R18+ category will inform consumers, parents and retailers about which games are not suitable for minors to play and will prevent minors from purchasing unsuitable material,”
“The reforms also mean that adults are able to choose what games they play within the bounds of the law.”
Shadow Attorney-General, George Brandis also chimed in:
“The passage of this bill will no doubt be welcomed by adult gamers all across Australia. The industry has been waiting for this change for some time.”
So, how soon can Aussies expect to sink their teeth into (hopefully) uncensored content? As early as January 2013, apparently, after Australian States put their own regulation systems in place to ensure that games are properly classified.
While I don’t claim to know much about Australian politics, even as a Pom now living in South Australia and being used to a comparatively open censorship system back in the UK, this is certainly encouraging news.
Let’s hope this move will see the end to unnecessary cuts or edits that have blighted the likes of Left 4 Dead 2, Fallout 3, and the Witcher 2 before, and saw Mortal Kombat’s last outing downright banned.
(Source: news.com.au)
