Australia: Nanny State again

[Ecofarm]

So they banned a rating that doesn't exist... and GTA specifically (which, of course, could not have the non-existant M rating in the first place).

I think you painted a different picture...

They've banned all games rated M for Mature, including GTA.

They have only technically banned ~20 games. How many M rated games are there? I bet there are more than 20.

Video games in Australia cannot be rated R18+ as the rating only exists for film. This has led to the various following games being refused classification. Refused classification (RC) is more of a legal term and does not necessarily mean banned as an individual is still allowed to own RC games (with the exception being western Australia). But RC does mean that it is illegal to sell in Australia and must not be shown to a minor otherwise criminal charges will be laid out. There is currently a debate over the need for the introduction of an R18+ rating in video games fueled by research that indicates the average age of the Australian video gamer to be around 30 years old.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_banned_video_games#Australia

[Asher]

So they banned a rating that doesn't exist... and GTA specifically.


I think you painted a different picture...

You have to be ****ing kidding me.

The rating doesn't exist, so when the Australia Censor Board looks at the games and determines it to be very violent, sex-ridden, etc they "refuse it classification". These games would get rated M in other countries, but in Australia they aren't rated at all and thus become illegal.

[Ecofarm]

So there are only 20 M-rated games in existence?

Because Australia has only banned ~20 games, listed in the citation above. Another 20 have been refused classification but not banned. I don't believe those 40 games (half of which are actually banned) constitute the entirety of M-rated games.

80 M-rated games were made in 2007 alone.

http://www.joystiq.com/2008/02/07/esrb-number-of-m-rated-games-declined-in-2007/

[Riesstiu IV]

Ecofarm is the worst libertarian ever.

[Ecofarm]

This statement is false:

They've banned all games rated M for Mature, including GTA.

Australia has ~20 banned games and ~20 unclassified. That's only half the M-rated for 2007 alone.

If we include 10 years of M-rated games, Australia has banned about 2% of M-rated games and left another 2% unclassified.

[Asher]

This statement is false:




Australia has ~20 banned games and ~20 unclassified. That's only half the M-rated (including unclassified/not banned) for 2007 alone.

Unclassified games are banned from being sold.

Are you familiar with the concept of transitivity?

Most game companies of mature games go through and alter their games for release in Australia. They're not the same version of the games released elsewhere in the world.

[Asher]

So there are only 20 M-rated games in existence?

Because Australia has only banned ~20 games, listed in the citation above. Another 20 have been refused classification but not banned. I don't believe those 40 games (half of which are actually banned) constitute the entirety of M-rated games.

80 M-rated games were made in 2007 alone.

http://www.joystiq.com/2008/02/07/es...lined-in-2007/

Australia does not use the ESRB ratings system. Educate yourself before trying to argue with me.

[Ecofarm]

You're the one who said they banned M-rated games.

And now your going to use the argument that Australia doesn't have M-rated games.


You know who does use M-rated games? The US. And about 2% of them have been banned in Australia over the last 10 years. And let's not forget! Another 2% remain unclassified.

[Asher]

You're the one who said they banned M-rated games.


And now your going to use the argument that Australia doesn't have M-rated games.

Talk about not seeing the forest through the trees.



I was hoping to avoid the whole topic of discussing how the two countries have different rating systems and how Australia outright bans some titles and effectively bans other titles. The reason I was hoping to avoid it is because it's irrelevant to the ****ing point.

[KrazyHorse]

You're a ****ing idiot, pedotard

[Ecofarm]

Dude, you said they banned ALL M-rated games, and there are only ~20 games banned and ~20 unclassified. WTF



Just tell me this, Asher. Is pot banned in Portugal? It's not legal to sell it there, it's only decriminalized to possess it.

[ColdWizard]

This is Kenobi-esque

[Riesstiu IV]

Dude, you said they banned ALL M-rated games, and there are only ~20 games banned and ~20 unclassified. WTF

Stop saying "dude". You are practically middle aged.

[Ecofarm]

I'm just sayin...


Pot is "legal" in Portugal if it is decriminalized to possess it. But the same thing happens to ~20 games in Australia and they are termed "banned". Is that consistent?

I'm just wondering if Asher is one of those "pot is legal in Portugal" people.

[Kuciwalker]

Dude, you said they banned ALL M-rated games, and there are only ~20 games banned and ~20 unclassified. WTF

The vast majority of M-rated games that would have been exported to Australia either are not submitted for classification (because the publisher knows they will be denied classification) or are censored so that they are no longer M-rated.