Australian Gamer Statistics Published, Calling for R Videogame Rating

[boratika]

The results of "Game Play Australia 2005," an exhaustive survey of Australian gaming habits and opinions, have been published.

Gamebiz (http://www.gamebiz.com.au/) has a nice summary (http://www.gamebiz.com.au/news.php?action=display&content=7842) of the study for those who are interested in learning who's gaming in Australia.

The market is more diverse than first imagined, as only 42 per cent of all gaming households had children, and althoug the average age of those playing videogames was 24, 38 percent of those who have played games in the last year were female.Currently, the highest videogame classification is an MA15+ restriction, which prevents anyone under the age of fifteen purchasing certain games unless accompanied by a consenting adult. The lack of a further mature rating has resulted in the outright ban of selected videogame titles, including Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, NARC and Leisure Suite Larry: Magna Cum Laude.
It's also nice to hear parents do indeed parent.

68 percent of adults rated classification of games as 'very important,' with 76 percent of parents stating that they set clear rules about the type of game content their children played. An overwhelming 87 percent confirmed that they are present during purchase or have given prior consent before their children purchase any games.
Finally GFK (http://www.gfk.com.au/) has some info on the $ side of things (http://www.gfk.com.au/info/Article41.htm).

In Australia the ratings of videogames is determined by the same body as films, just in case you were wondering. I'll let you decide for yourself whether there should be R rated games.

[Savok]

They just recently revamped the whole damn thing and didn't add the R rating. We've been calling for an R rating for years, as it is we'll just have to keep importing from New Zealand.

[Kefkataran]

Sounds like they're *trying* to be progressive about it at least. If there is an 'R' rating they'd stop having to ban games, right?

[Captain Awesome]

Australia has electricity??? who knew?!?! ;)

[Savok]

Progressive, don't use that word, it's what the left are calling themselves these days to try and pretend they aren't going backwards :p

[boratika]

Most banned games are slightly edited so they can get an MA15+. For example 3 seconds had to be removed from GTA3.

Gennerally speaking, it seems to me that the state governments want rating to be less strict and the federal government would rather you only see movies with violence but no sex and play no videogames at all, after all only children play them.

As for the classification revamping: It is nice that the qualifiers (violence, coarse language, etc.) are now the same for movies and games. But seriously, what is up with the new qualifiers? What the hell are "Mild Themes"? and "sugestive language", wouldn't you only know something was sugestive if you already had knowledge of the subject, meaning it is too late for you to be protected from it. Will Serenity say "chinese coarse language"? I'm guessing no.

It's all about moving it from the european style "sex fine, violence bad" ratings we once had, to an american style "sex bad, violence fine". Personally I'd rather society be exposed to skin than gore. Just seems, you know, healthier.

End rant.

[Kefkataran]

Progressive, don't use that word, it's what the left are calling themselves these days to try and pretend they aren't going backwards

There's a difference between going backwards and going forwards in the wrong direction.

Seriously, though, don't use overgeneralizations like 'the left'. Anyone who would actually call themselves a member of 'the left' probably doesn't have a fucking clue just as much as anyone who would actually call themselves a member of 'the right'.

Either way, I'm using the word progressive for what it means.

[boratika]

Progressive, don't use that word, it's what the left are calling themselves these days to try and pretend they aren't going backwards :p

Um... Which left?

[fitbabits]

So let me get this straight - Australia gives the world Neighbours, Home & Away, Prisoner - Cell Block H, and other televisional gems and they're getting their knickers in a twist about videogames?

[boratika]

No, no. We didn't give the world Neighbours and Home and Away. The world chose to buy those from us. We don't exactly get the best of what you have either.

[fitbabits]

No, no. We didn't give the world Neighbours and Home and Away. The world chose to buy those from us. We don't exactly get the best of what you have either.
You lot made them, for Pete's sake! That said, I did fancy Bronwyn for a long time. And "plain" Jane. So you're forgiven. :)

[Xaerin]

So let me get this straight - Australia gives the world Neighbours, Home & Away, Prisoner - Cell Block H, and other televisional gems and they're getting their knickers in a twist about videogames?
Soaps are hardly an indication of approval of gratuitous violence/sex. I don't see the connection?
Or the surprise, Oz have been notorious game nazis for years. Just be glad you don't live in Greece guys.

[fitbabits]

Soaps are hardly an indication of approval of gratuitous violence/sex. I don't see the connection?
Or the surprise, Oz have been notorious game nazis for years. Just be glad you don't live in Greece guys.
I give you Prisoner - Cell Block H as an example of violence. Raw. :rolleyes:

[Kefkataran]

Just be glad you don't live in Greece guys.

I hear Greece has been lightening up so far as videogames go lately. Not sure if that's true, just heard someone talking about it in class.

[nonchalance]

We have the same sort of system that a lot of Americans want - the games are the same as the films, so it's easy to understand, and government enforced.

Plus, if a game would be rated adult, it's banned instead!
Jack would be so happy. Except it doesn't work.
Games that should be R18+ get rated MA15+ instead, because banning seems too harsh.

I actually got an interview with the OFLC deputy head talking about it, but it's not online yet.

[Serapth]

Part that I find ironic in all of this, is I think North America needs an M15 ( M16 imho ) rating but for completely different reasons. We live in countries that say its ok to drive at 16, which causes more deaths then firearms... but you need to be 18 to hear the words fuck in a video game ( I believe a single use of the F-word, qualifies a game as 17+, but I might be mistaken. )

Actually, soup box momment here, but WTF is with all the different "age of majorities"??? Shouldnt there be a universal age at which you are mature? Currently, in the criminal system its 18, so imho, universally it should be 18. 18 to buy mature video games, 18 to drink, 18 to drive ( not in conjunction with the drinking mind you... :) ), 18 to vote, 18 to buy a firearm, 18 to be tried as an adult, etc etc etc... Right now the fractionilization of the system is simply retarded and probrably costs more money then you expect to maintain it. Plus the state by state, province by province stuff is just retarded.

Personaly, I think the age should be younger, say 16. At 16 you know right from wrong and should get all the benifits/deficits of being an adult. No way someone at 16 doesnt know that multiple homicides are bad, that drinking can get you drunk ( hell, all 16 years drink anyways... just illegally... it would probrably be safer to make it legal ). Given the fact that I havent been 16 in almost that many years, I dont really give a damn what age they set ( although any younger then 16 is too young IMHO ), just as long as they enforce it universally.

Oh, and yeah, Australia not having a category above 15 is pure retardation. That said, I think its more a product of a generation that just doesnt understand gaming. Gaming is this generations D&D or heavy metal. In 10 years times, todays outroar is probrably going to seem about as funny as the persecution and lawsuits around D&D seem to us now.

EDIT: Thinking about it further, I tend to think that adulthood should truly be defined universally. I know some countries have an obscene definition of "of age" like 25, whereas some countries have none at all. This is a thing that effects the global community ( child labour, war drafting, cross border criminal lawsuits, etc... ) so should be decided by a global body like the UN, G8 (well for the g8 countries ), or even the WTO.

[Savok]

So let me get this straight - Australia gives the world Neighbours, Home & Away, Prisoner - Cell Block H, and other televisional gems and they're getting their knickers in a twist about videogames?
Lets not forget Alvin Purple which had naked women every episode, full frontal no less. Then you had Chances where girls got topless more often then an 80s exploitation film.

And those prison were not only cruel in how they gouged out your eyes with their awful writing, but indeed were very violent and cruel. Ugly women prisoners are violent, very violent.