Sorry, Aussies: Censorship goes too far down under, everyone loses
Censoring video games has been an issue since Mortal Kombat and Resident Evil. If parents don’t want their children to play violent games, that should be up to them and no one else. However this isn’t the case in Australia where censoring laws are so strict, not even a forty-year-old man can play Grand Theft Auto.
Australia uses the rating R18+ for their mature games. With censoring laws as they are, however, it is very unlikely to ever see a game on a shelf with that rating. Australia bans any game that is deemed too violent, includes sexual content or has too many drug references. Apparently the government is full of old fogies who think video games are only for kids. Not only is this not true but it is ridiculous…
Australians and New Zealanders can play Mabinogi
Nexon has opened up Mabinogi to more regions. As of June 20, 2008, people from Australia and New Zealand can now register and play the casual, life-sim MMORPG. Previously, Mabinogi was released in North America on March 27, 2008, after being available in Korea since June 2004 and both Japan and China since early 2005.
Australian government seeks public opinion regarding R rating
Last month the Australian Home Affairs Ministry declared that the country’s attorneys-general would mull over whether games with an R rating should be allowed in the country or not. The attorneys-general met recently in Barossa Valley in South Australia and reached a consensus that the final decision can only be reached after taking into account the public opinion.
Australia doesn’t have a R rating for video games which means that…
Aussie government contemplating R rating for games
The Australian Federal government is contemplating the introduction of the R-18 certification for video games that contain highly explicit content not deemed fit for minors. The absence of such a certification means that titles which exceed the MA certification (only for sale to persons 15 and above) are altogether denied an Australian release…
Dark Sector banned in Australia for excessive violence
The Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC), Australia’s classification board, has refused to give a rating to Digital Extreme’s latest game, Dark Sector, essentially making it illegal to sell the game in that country. The OFLC considers the game to be too violent.
Dark Sector is a third-person shooter about a black-ops agent named Hayden Tenno who, while investigating the propagation of a deadly virus, gets infected with it and turns into a bio-weapon with extraordinary combat abilities. One of the main weapons on the game is the glaive, a plate-sized throwing star much like the one on the movie Krull. This weapon can help…
EA offers Aussies refunds for missing mode in Metal of Honor
Electronic Arts has not only admitted its baffling blunder but also agreed to fully refund Australian gamers who innocently purchased the game Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 for the Wii only to realize that it didn’t have an online mode as promised in the game’s advertisements. The game was released this past Thursday (February 7, 2007) in Australia.
Many Aussie gamers bought the game believing that it had a 32-player online mode as promised in advertisements and the game’s manual. Apparently the game’s online mode is its unique selling point, so that was enough for gamers to…
Sexpert Samantha Brett will never bed a gamer
A recent online article by Aussie sex columnist Samantha Brett concerning deal breakers - as in, “There’s no way you’re gonna get in these pants, buddy” - includes anyone who plays videogames. In her article she also points out activities including porn, golf, being a nasty drunk, soliciting hookers and, of course, hardcore addictions to drugs, alcohol and smoking.
Most of the points in the article are anecdotes from readers and a couple professionals, but the last line was her only bit of personal insight…
Australian government continues to ignore video game industry
The Game Developers Association of Australia has reported that the Australian government once again neglected to provide tax incentives for the fast-growing video games industry. According to an official response to the 2007 federal budget on the GDAA website:
For every $10,000 the government spends on the Film industry they only spend $3 on the video games industry and this is not only a fiscal equity and imbalance issue but also a serious neglect of one of the fastest growing industries in the creative and entertainment sector.
The report is full of all kinds of other fun and interesting facts…
-
RE: Gamertell Review: Persona 4 for PS2
Press copy. Its really a wonderful game. I totally recommend it. For some reason, I find myself addicted to P4 in a way I was…" MORE »
-
RE: Gamertell Review: Persona 4 for PS2
How were you lucky enough to score a copy of this before the release date? I’m so jealous! :O Well, at least I’ll still have…" MORE »
-
RE: Grab a Google Android G1 for $125
The AMEX wishlist G1 has sold out but with the upgrade and activation fee this would push the price to around $150. I detail a…" MORE »
-
RE: Jack Thompson uses own son in videogame sting operation
Probably a living nightmare. Aside from all the kids at school who are still picking on him for just being JT’s kid. Dunno. Can only…" MORE »
