Ben-DutkaIf you weren't aware, the upcoming Aliens vs. Predator has been refused classification in Australia, which essentially means it's banned from the country. But why?
Well, we're not entirely sure but according to GamesIndustry.biz , Australia's Attorney General has issued a semi-explanation. Michael Atkinson was quite frank in his support of the board's decision not to hand out a classification: "You don't need to be playing a game in which you impale, decapitate and dismember people." This was said during a recent ABC News interview, where Atkinson defended his country's policy on not providing an 18+ or Mature rating for video games. Said Atkinson:
"This is a question of a small number of very zealous gamers trying to impose their will on society. And I think harm society. It’s the public interest versus the small vested interest. I accept that 98 per cent, 99 per cent of gamers will tell the difference between fantasy and reality, but the 1 per cent to 2 per cent could go on to be motivated by these games to commit horrible acts of violence."
But also included in that ABC feature were statements from Australia's IGEA (Interactive Games and Entertainment Association) CEO Ron Curry, who said, "it doesn't seem democratic that a single Attorney General should be able to dictate what the vast Australian population can interact with." And then came the comment that all gamers and journalists are more than thankful for, and quite ready to embrace for the benefit of the ignorant. Curry added:
"The government trusts us to be adults with films, but they only want us to be children with games."
Couldn't have said that better myself. If you're banning Aliens vs. Predator , I had best not see "Hostel" show up for sale in Australia. Oh wait, it did. But after all, I'm still a child and I play video games (but I don't watch movies) and I need to be told what I can and can't do, right?
Related Game(s): Aliens vs. Predator
We'd raise HELL in the US if this kind of s*** ever happened here
Seriously, movies treated differently than games?
How 'bout parents be parents and take care of their damn children?
Or how 'bour retailers not selling Adult games to kids? That works
'Cause if a parent buys it, then it's completely the parent's fault
It still surprises me what the politicians get away with under our name. I wouldn't speak SO high of our political reaction. Well, maybe if they stopped MySpace the people will revolt here. Otherwise keep pillaging the Americans just don't take our entertainment.
I don't see the big deal, they have lots of beaches and warm weather.
Soon they may deem to sun a health hazzard and ban those warm beaches.
They may have lots of warm beaches and sun, but there's also a giant iceberg that's heading their way right now
Last edited by Geobaldi on 12/12/2009 12:51:08 AM
I thought all these guys were running around the Outback dodging aborigines and killing crocodiles? How's this game going to damage them in any way. Shouldn't they be using it to train their young in the art of the hunt?
/s
If you look at their culture Australia clearly isn't afraid of action, violent sports or sex. Yet their board of censors (or whatever they call themselves) is extremely strict. Australia is a bit of an enigma.
Idiot..
He needs a punch to the face from a Mr. Kangaroo.
I'm afraid Australia has a few conservative politicians that seem to want to take us back to the 1950's.
We can't change the rating system for video games unless all the state attorney generals agree and this one from South Australia is blocking it.
So as you say we can watch torture porn like Hostel as an 18 year old, vote, drink, drive, smoke, marry, have children, buy real porn, and join the army and fight in Iraq and Afghanistan.
So in fact you can do everything as an adult apart from play a video game.
Bizarre and shows how old fashioned most politicans tend to be. The bad news is that the majority of the people voting for this 'gentleman' wouldn't know the first thing about video games so the chances of voting him out on this single issue is pretty slim.
We can only hope as it's pretty embarrassing to live in Australia and have these archaic rules.
The beaches, surf and sun does make up for it though!
Talking about crocodiles…
It's one thing to swim in the sea and worry about the odd shark but when you go into Northern Queensland and want a swim to cool off you can't swim in the sea because of the jellyfish, the rivers are teeming with saltwater crocodiles up to 6 metres in length, and that only leaves the waterholes.
(You do also need to check your swimming pools every morning before you dive in!)
Each waterhole gets checked regularly but you never know what just walked in the day before. They have signs up everyhere saying "Danger, salt water crocodiles known to be active in this area, swim at your own risk".
You tend to get in if there are other people already in and they seem to have lasted more than five minutes. If you are the only one in you must be a crazy person or a local (usually one in the same).
Heightens the senses I can tell you!
It would be more newsworthy to do articles on any game that DOESN'T get banned in Australia 🙂
Michael Atkinson has obviously incurred the wrath of the gaming gods. Australia now has a gigantic iceberg heading its way.
Australians should demand something be done about the obvious hypocrisy in choosing one form of media to impose limitations on.
People that are going to snap one day and kill someone, will do so no matter what form of media they entertain themselves with. It's a ridiculous ban.
I live in South Australia, the state that Michael Atkinson represents as Attorney General. Unfortunately for gamers in australia the Attorney Gernerals from every state must agree on introducing an R18+ rating for games and Michael Atkinson is the only one not willing to introduce this rating. The Federal Government is composing a paper/report on an R18+ rating but he is also currently blocking that getting anywhere also. Many have tried to reason with him including myself, there is rarley a reply and when there is they have not really made any sense since he doens't listen to facts. Our next state election is in March 2010 and a gamers political party has formed to oppose his seat of Croyden.
For more information on everything including emails to and from him got here:
http://www.gamers4croydon.org/
He is one of those people that thinks he is right about something and won't let the truth change his mind, he stated that only 3 people in his represented area want an R18 rating, however Gamers 4 Croyden proves that incorrect and he doesn't seem to understand his decision affects the whole of australia, NOT just his seat of Croyden. Please head to the site, they need all kinds of support.
Thanks for the "onsite" info. 🙂
So paradoxically more regulation in the form of a new rating would allow the release of this game which is not being blocked by regulation, but rather the inaction of a single man? Interesting.
its so stupid that one man can have such power to say what millions of people can and cant play.
technically i could be thrown in jail for importing said games if i got caught.
rebellious.
1 i thought parliament was a majority rules, not 1 idiot can stuff everything up.
2 i thought we were voting these idiots in to do OUR bidding not theirs.
they call it the voice of the people not the voice of the person.
sigh 🙁
i wish i was finished tafe so i could get out of this urine soaked hell hole.
when it comes to games, no scratch that when it comes to anything australia is the worst place to live in.
should go live in Dubai where theres almost no laws.
hell killzone 2 got released almost 6 weeks early there, most games do.
bootleg copies selling for as low as 40 AUD instead of buying the normals for 120.
Dumb guy, dumb law, dumb ban.
What else is there to say?
"You don't need to be playing a game in which you impale, decapitate and dismember people."
Well is it for kids? 15?? f*** no give the Aussies the right to play true gaimz!! its completely unfair on them plus is violence on Sonic having a terrible effect on people!? young gamers would start jumping on people if 18+ games were still banned in Australia or even Germany?!
Well, I've been playing games like Mortal Kombat since I was in elementary. I think I came out ok. lol.
Didnt MW2 release over there? It had a M rating here, so unless they censored parts of it… somethings wrong here. BIG MONEY BIG CONTROVERSY no problem, a few GoW qualities on a less popular title, and here come the Censors wtf
bump
only reason why that got passed is because they would know what would happen if it got banned.
blowing zombies heads off is not ok but gunning down innocent civilians is?
WTF?
if it got banned there would of been a massive backlash knowing the fan base it has.
and bobby kotik probably would of tried to sue them.
I think we're missing the point. I mean, just how damn good is Aliens vs. Predator going to be for it to be banned in Australia?
not sure how the economic argument got started, might as well say what i have to say…
in an ideal world the government not only would represent the will of the american populace but would also regulate themselves so they only have the power they need, only exercise regulations that are necessary, and butt out when they arent needed.
unfortunately the government is made up of people, and is thusly inherently flawed. while they may be publicly "accountable", we cant do sh** between elections (here in the states). regardless of their political affiliation, politicians typically do not have the best interests of the people in mind.
now (without delving too deep into "capitalist rhetoric") the average citizen votes hundred of times a day with their hard earned cash. if nobody wants an item, they wont buy it and the manufacturer will cease production because theyre losing money.
300 million people vote all the time, with their opinions calculated daily. market trends stop and start on a dime, based on what people think is worth their money. whole companies shift focus in a week because of what the people want.
when given the choice between a government who really only has my best interest at heart on election day and the company that wants my business daily, and is governed solely by my (and countless others') decision that theyre worth my money, ill choose the company. there's far more accountability there, and if i dont want something i dont have to buy it. when the government decides theyre gonna make something, they pay for it with a tax, from which i am not exempt.
now is the government necessary to keep snake oil off the streets and make sure the food I buy is worth eating? absolutely. do i want them regulating freaking everything? absolutely not. stick to what we need you for, mr senator, and stay the hell away from everything else. god knows you cause enough trouble as it is…
Last edited by LightShow on 12/11/2009 10:31:49 PM
There is no collective accountability with business. Consumers do not as a rule act en mass, which is the only way consumers can force accountability on an organization. Have you noted *anyone* successfully bringing Microsoft to account for the 360? Actually people continue to buy the bloody things. That is consumer led accountability in action.
Yes High it's unfortunate that MS and companies like MS can still sell their junk and people still buy it but that is the nature of a free nation. If those idiots want to keep buying Xboxs then that's their choice, not yours or mine or Atkinsons or Obamas or any ones.
As Mel Gibson said in Brave Heart
"FREEEEDOOOOOOOOOMMMM!!!"
😉
This is total bullshit. Im getting sick of Australia's piece of shit laws. IT'S JUST A GAME. Not every person that plays a violent game is going to go out and kill someone. This game is si fi meaning its not real so if someone cant tell that then they need help. We can play war games like the cal of duty series they are more real then aliens vs predators. Way to go and take mad games out of our hands australia. By the way legalise air soft bb guns they are toys you dick's
Oh well.
o jesus christ dont get me started.
i was really, really, really pissed about it BUT whys everyone surprised?
i mean freaking L4D2 got banned, so of course this will i mean.
GOW 3 wont even last 2 minutes, they will turn it on and off and thats it.
they wont even need to play it.
only if i could find a site that lets me import these games that is
1 cheap
2 ships to my area.
3 RELIABLE! the amount of things ive bought off ebay and never received them.
4 and get here in a reasonable time.
every game ive imported from the US i paid "express" shipping and it took freaking 6 weeks to get here.
ive shipped stuff to the US like my xbox, cables, games, videos heaps of stuff and its ALWAYS there within 4 weeks.
and thats standard not express.
wait
"You don't need to be playing a game in which you impale, decapitate and dismember people."
so whats fear 2, fallout 3, dead space, ninja gaiden 2, ninja gaiden sigma 2, GOW1,2, mad world.
what are they doing there?
you dont need to play those games so why are they available?
i really could not care less IF they were consistent.
but there not.
whats ok in one game gets another game banned.
WTF?
im really starting to think its the highest bidder.
thats the only explenation i can think of, if not, what else is determining what gets passed and what does not?
removing heads and dead bodies laying on the ground soaked in blood is ok for ninja gaiden 2 but thats exactly what got left for dead 2 banned.
Trying to impose their will on society??? Oh man it's a good thing I don't live in australia, I'd break that guys hypocritical jaw. That atkinscum guy doesn't even know what horrible acts of violence are. I am so sick of of hearing this come from australia. You know in Canada Mature on a video game means 17+. It's such a shame that the aussies hace to have this guy impose his will on society.
There is so much support here for an R18+ rating in Australia, but Michael Atkinson continues to win votes based on his experience in politics and his take on issues other than video gaming.
Sadly, of all the people in SA (South Australia), only about 5% of them would be gamers. That leaves 95% voting for the guy who keeps taxes low, who keeps police, fire and emergency services well equipped, who takes care of peoples needs.
Unfortunately, he has been proven to be stubborn and will not budge on this issue despite overwhelming demand for an R18+ rating in video games.
The only option we have is to grit our teeth and bear it until he quits or dies of old age. And at 70 years old, that may hopefully not be too long.
Fortunately, there is no law against importing these games, only against advertising and selling them, or re-selling them.
Michael Atkinson knows about us. He knows there are people who want to play these explicit games, but he does not care. Those 1-2% of psychos and troubled souls who could be influenced by these games must be cared for by him.
(sarcasm) Big ol' friendly Michael will take care of us. He'll keep the spooky and nasty video games away from us timid Aussies.
But what will happen if Mr. Atkinson is no longer there to stop these games getting in? All hell will break loose!!! Chaos will roam the streets!!! Video gamers will go on violent rampages, smashing people with baseball bats screaming "100 points!!", and they'll try to shove controller cords in women to control them to do their sexual bidding!!!!
Oh Mr. Atkinson!!! How could we have ever doubted you!!! How were we to know!?!?! R18+ games are the devil!!! If only we could go back and change our wicked ways!!!
Does Michael Atkinson really think this is what will happen? Cos the way he is acting, it seems violent video games may lead to this. I wouldn't be surprised if this was one of his nightmares at one time.
There will be no R18+ rating in video games in Australia until Michael Atkinson is either voted out or dies and is replaced. Since the first option isn't likely (he has a 75% approval rating based on the last election), I guess we just have to follow the progression of his health.
BTW, show your support by visiting the following sites.
http://www.gamers4croydon.org/
– This one is a political party in South Australia who are challenging Michael Atkinson's political party. Any support would be appreciated here.
http://www.growupaustralia.com/
– This is a news and gamers site that is also available on Facebook, but became too big to stay on Facebook alone.
http://www.r18games.com.au/
– Another news and gamers site supporting the R18+ rating for Australia.
Thought his last comment might get a little attention.
Please visit the above sites I've recommended. Any support will go a long way. Very few people in Australia are gamers and very few care about this lack of R18+ in Australia.
If Australia's voice isn't big enough, perhaps other countries might be able to shout louder.
An interesting comment on that website:
Rebellion stated that they “will not be releasing a sanitised or cut down version for territories where adults are not considered by their governments to be able to make their own entertainment choices.â€