nic.suzor.net

[ Reposted from http://r18games.com ]

The Escapist has a good story on a recent Stateline story on "the power play over video games".

MICHAEL ATKINSON: I'm sure most people can distinguish the fantasy of a computer game from the reality. But it is the small number we know can't that leads to mass-murder in American high schools and in Thailand, last year led to a gamer playing out the fantasy of hijacking a taxi-cab and murdering the driver. It happened.

[…]

MICHAEL ATKINSON: I think the Western industrialised countries that allow R 18 plus computer games and the extreme violence that goes with them are just so many […] swine going over the cliff and I'm pleased that Australia has a principled, sensible stand against this extreme violence. I'm happy for Australia to stand alone and international gamers can laugh at us all they like.

[…]

MICHAEL ATKINSON: Some gamers have suggested I should be eliminated as an attorney general whatever that means but were I eliminated I'm sure there's other Australian attorneys general who would step forward and veto R 18 plus computer games.

You can watch the story on YouTube: No R18+ Gaming Classification in Australia

[ Reposted from http://r18games.com/. ]

Jason Hill at The Age Blogs is reporting that the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General (SCAG), at a meeting in Brisbane yesterday, agreed to release the discussion paper about the proposed introduction of an R18+ category for games in Australia.

This is good news. Australian gamers will finally be able to have a say as to whether or not they should be allowed to play content pitched higher than that which is appropriate for a 15-year-old.

EFA will be lodging a submission to SCAG once the discussion paper is released. This time, however, I'm keen to try something different. I'd like to hear from all interested gamers, and I'd like your help in drafting the submission. I want to create an excellent collaborative submission which covers all the issues, including all the latest research. I believe that together, we can all pitch in to create a definitive submission representative of those that this really effects: gamers.

If this is something you think you'd be keen to help with, please comment below or drop me a line at nic@efa.org.au. We have some time up our sleeve, but it won't hurt to get started early.

A recent report indicates that the South Australian Attorney-General, The Hon Michael Atkinson MP, has dug in his heels and refused to make the discussion paper on Australia's lack of an R18+ rating for games public.

A spokesperson for the Victorian Attorney-General, Rob Hulls, has said that “it now appears unlikely that there will be unanimity from all jurisdictions to proceed further at this stage with introducing an R18+ category for computer games.”

The article notes that “Mr Atkinson has opposed the introduction of an R18+ rating for games for many years, telling parliament earlier this year that he knew it denied Australian adults choice but was necessary to help restrict children's access to 'potentially harmful material'”.

The article also notes Mr Atkinson's reliance on the unfounded assumption that “Games may pose a far greater problem than other media – particularly films – because their interactive nature could exacerbate their impact”. Atkinson continued, saying that “The risk of interactivity on players of computer games with highly violent content is increased aggressive behaviour.”

I have now launched EFA's campaign to introduce an R18+ rating for games in Australia.
We call on each of you to let your Attorney-General know that we do not think that the fate of Australia's classification scheme should be determined by one state politician's unfounded beliefs. The public debate on this issue has now been cut short, without sufficient reason. It is now time to call upon the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General to make the discussion paper public, and see what Australians really think about an R18+ rating for games.