To whom it may concern,
I am enquiring about your position on implementing a R18+ rating. The gaming community has had enough with the gaming industry, and their entertainment choices, being decided by a individual who has never supported his argument against the rating.
This individual claims "Other Attorneys General who are opposed to introducing an R18+ classification for computer games are content to let me be the lighting rod for the gamers" (Source:10th November Email to a Adult Gamer.) He also claims that he knows majority of Gamers are older then 18, but:
"I am well aware that many game players are adults… However, it is important you do not confuse the classification rating of a game with the game’s sophistication, or the challenge or interest to the player… It does not follow that a game is more interesting to an adult simply because it contains extreme violence, explicit sexual material or highly offensive language. Indeed, with all the effort and money that goes into game development, coupled with the effects and graphics now available, there is no need to introduce these extreme elements. I am bafffled and worried about why proponents of R18+ games are putting up their hands and saying ‘Give us more cruel sex and extreme violence!’" (Source:
A Letter From Michael Atkinson | Kotaku Australia )
Explicit Sexual Material has never made it upon Australian shores legally at all. He is making a reference to a game created in Japan that was never intended to be released to the rest of the world, but accidentally made its way onto Amazon.com.
Most of the arguments he brings up are either rebutted by Gamers who actually have an idea as to what is happening in the gaming industry, or has no basis or facts to prove them so they are simply ignored, for example his "lighting rod" remark.
"Classification of electronic games is very different from the classification of film. In cinemas, the age of movie-goers can be regulated… Rising game and console sales make it clear that this is a growing area that needs careful regulation, even more so than cinemas and private D.V.D. hire and purchase. Access to electronic games, once in the home, cannot be policed and therefore the games are easily accesible to children." (Source:
A Letter From Michael Atkinson | Kotaku Australia )
"Access to electronic games, once in the home, cannot be policed and therefore the games are easily accessible to children."
The same can be said for DVD's and VHS's of Pornography or any other film that is rated
above the age of the individual viewing them. Parents are responsible for the policing of their own children in their own homes. If a parent comes up and says "this game has made my child naughty" it is their fault for allowing them to play it. It is also their responsibility for buying the game from Retailers. Why should Retailers lose profit because a parent didn't use common sense when buying a game?
His arguments are flawed and are without basis.
Please let me know what your position on the R18 Rating is, as the gaming community has simply had enough.
Name Name.
