With the New Year upon us, Australian gamers are now free to revel in all manner of virtual bloodshed as the rest of the world. Well, most of it anyway.
Approved in June, the new rating "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," said Home Affairs Minister Jason Clare.
Introduced around the same time as the United States' own rating system, the Australian system is fairly similar: E for material exempt from classification, G for material meant for general play, PG for games where parental guidance is reccomended, M for for mature but moderately young audiences, and MA15 for games where those under the age of 15 cannot legally play or buy the game without being accompanied by a legal guardian.
The big difference between Australia's rating system and our own, until now at least, is that any game that exceeded the MA15 classification was automatically given the "Refused Classification" and banned. Games met with this fate in years past have included Manhunt, Mortal Kombat, Left 4 Dead, Silent Hill, and even Marc Ecko's Getting Up.
With the R18+ rating now in effect, it finally opens up the country to the marketplace, and games will no longer have to be edited to be shoehorned into the MA15 rating so they can actually be released in the country. However, this also means that games that were once squeezed into that particular rating will be shifted to the new rating, rendering them unavailable to younger audiences. Sure it's a pain for the kids, but looking at the larger picture, it's still a victory.
