Banned Games in Australia

The Federal Government has recently announced that it is reconsidering the video games that are currently banned under current classification regulations. The 'Attorney-Generals Department has announced that it will, for the first time, open the issue up to public consultation and are inviting parties to submit position papers on whether a new video game classification (R18+) should be introduced for video games that are currently deemed inappropriate for the MA15+ classification.

Unlike movies, video games have been traditionally aimed at younger audiences. The original gaming consoles (think Avatar and Nintendo), with their low pixelated graphics' abilities, produced few games that could be considered controversial although some titles such as Death Race caused quite a stir. Based on the movie Death Race 2000, the game encouraged players to hit and run pedestrian "gremlins" that looked like human stick figures. The controversy over the game resulted in it being subsequently pulled off the shelves. Many early gamers will also remember outcry over the first releases of titles such as Mortal Kombat and Double Dragon that depicted "blood in battle" and potentially encouraged violence against women.

In 1999, two high school boys in the US embarked on a massacre at Columbine High School, killing 12 of their fellow students. The incident caused international uproar as violent films and video games were largely considered the culprits for raucous teen behaviour.

Australia Video Game Classifications

Of course, video gaming has come a long way since their early predecessors with most popular gaming consoles, including Playstation, Xbox, Nintendo Wii and even the PC, now capable of generating high quality digital graphics to rival cinema standards. Games have become more detailed and graphical than ever, with the average playstation game being about 25 GB in size.

Because there is currently no "adult only" rating for video games, with ratings ending at MA15+, Australia's list of banned games is comparatively longer than other nations. In fact, Australia is one of the only developed countries without an R18+ rating for video games. As recent studies have demonstrated that the average gamer is actually 30 years old, the need for a new classification could be in order.

List of some games currently banned in Australia:

7 Sins
Blitz: The League
BMX XXX
Grand Theft Auto III and beyond
Left 4 Dead 2

With many banned games, censored versions of the original games, such as the Grand Theft Auto series, were often developed specifically to meet the Australian standards. Meanwhile the highly anticipated Alien vs Predator recently received MA15+ classification after many gamers were disappointed by its original refusal of classification.

Does Australia need an R18+ video game classification?