Australian Government Finally Creates R18+ Game Classification
It seems the Australian government has had a change of heart when it comes to game classification. Simply put they have passed a bill that will create an R18+ rating for video games. This will finally stop the defacto banning of games that the ESRB in the US, Canada and Mexico would simply rate as mature. From here on out it would appear our fellow gamers in Australia will be able to enjoy games without content being cut to meet the MA15+ classification. Games that have been banned or censored in Australia include Dark Sector (censored), Left 4 Dead 2 (censored), Risen (banned), The Witcher 2 (censored), Silent Hill: Homecoming (censored), Mortal Kombat 2011 (banned). Although many of these had to be censored to meet the rating boards approval, in the future gamers in Australia will finally be able to enjoy the games as they were intended. While in some situations these titles could be acquired unedited and uncut with workarounds for an example a friend gifting a copy over Steam, this will soon no longer be necessary. The new bill will take effect January 1, 2013.
For years it’s been a running joke that whenever a ESRB mature-rated game would come out here, you’d be sure to hear how it was banned in Australia. That will change now that both the Australian House and Senate have passed a bill that would create an R18+ ratings category for video games, essentially lifting the de-facto banning of some mature-rated games in the country.
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