Of course, the majority of gamers aren't under 18...but we can't be trusted, obviously
Fallout continues from ban on game
Asher Moses
July 15, 2008 - 10:37AM
Australia's censorship regime is under fire for inconsistent rulings following a recent decision to ban one of the year's most anticipated games, Fallout 3, from sale in this country.
The Classification Board effectively banned the first-person shooter game by refusing to issue it an age rating, citing the simulated drug use in the game.
In Fallout 3, players can use drugs to augment their characters' abilities such as stamina, health and intelligence.
The ban stems from the lack of any R18+ classification for games in Australia, which means any titles that do not meet the MA15+ standard - such as those with excessive violence, drug use or sexual content - are simply banned from sale.
Gamers were outraged by the board's decision because other games featuring a similar or higher level of drug use have passed through the censors unscathed.
Game review site Gameplayer.com.au, which has begun a petition to "Save Fallout 3", has compiled a list of 12 games with stronger drug use. They include Battlefield Bad Company, BioShock, Haze and Grand Theft Auto IV.
Fallout 3, which is set in the year 2277 in a post-apocalyptic United States, is the third game to be banned from sale in Australia this year. It follows Shellshock 2: Blood Trails and Dark Sector, which met a similar fate in June and February, respectively.
Responding to claims that its rulings were inconsistent, the Classification Board said computer games may include depictions of drug use but could not provide incentives or rewards to players for taking drugs.
"In regard to the computer game Fallout 3, the board is of the opinion that the use of morphine in the game has the positive effect of enabling the character to ignore limb pain," the board said. "This ability to progress through the game more easily is the incentive to take the drug while the reward is in the character's abilities."
Long-time gaming magazine editor Ben Mansill, who is now associate publisher at Derwent Howard, which owns Gameplayer.com.au, said the board's justification was laughable.
He said morphine was not a street drug but a painkiller portrayed in countless war films and television programs - and many combat video games - as a way of easing pain. It was contextually accurate for morphine in the game to negate the effect of injury and allow the player to continue in the game.
Mansill said: "Killing people is acceptable in games, but applying first aid to yourself when wounded is not? What a mess of inconsistent messages."
The games industry and gamers have long pressed the case for an R18+ rating, citing research showing most gamers are adults capable of deciding for themselves what content is appropriate. They argue all modern games machines include parental controls that allow parents to block mature games.
Australia is the only developed country without an R18+ classification for games and any attempts to introduce such a rating have consistently been blocked by the South Australia Attorney-General, Michael Atkinson, who insists his opposition is to protect children from "harmful material".
He argues that games pose a far greater problem than other media such as films because of their interactive nature.
Any changes to the censorship regime must be agreed on by the Commonwealth and all state and territory attorneys-general.'
QUOTE
Any changes to the censorship regime must be agreed on by the Commonwealth and all state and territory attorneys-general.
As South Australian AG happens to be a right-wing christian 'family-values' nut...it's not likely
