[FaDeHellfyre]

Originally Posted by mGGDrGooSe

I think the most important factor of this news needs to be summed by refering to this statement: Previously the highest rating available to the computer games classification board was the MA15+ rating, which meant that either computer games that would otherwise be deemed adult-only where either banned or given the MA15+ rating allowing children to obtain them.

This is such a misleading statement. no R-deserving game was ever given an MA classification, as we know, games like L4D2 were simply massively censored. More to the point, it meant that some games could be left in limbo. Rather than gaining a classification or getting censored by prudish tea-sippers, they were simply unclassified and therefore illegal to sell inside of australia. So the best part of this news is that this loophole has now been taken away from the over-zealous censors.

And Meatex, the criteria for classifications hasn't chagned AFAIK, so MA games will remain MA, while R games can now be released as R games.

Actually that is not correct, many games slipped into Australia through the MA15+ net and would have been a different classification oversea's.

The witcher, was 18+ in the US and the UK and everywhere in Europe. MA15+ here with no changes.

Dead Rising and Dead Rising 2 were the same, 18+ everywhere in the world except for here. No changes to them but they were released in Australia under MA15+.

These an many other games (just listed these ones because they're really popular), were released with no changes under a different classification in Australia. This is the kind of thing that they are SAYING that they're trying to stop.


Really they've finally given in to the reality that the age of an average gamer is over 30, and there are many awesome games, big titles, that we miss out on because our government is too backwards to care and isn't up with the times.

+ [our government] +

Huzzah! now just pray for a Mortal Kombat re-release, and now we won't miss out on Hitman. You all knew it was going to happen if they didn't make the changes.