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You’ve got to harden up, gamers of Australia

Stephen Harrington

by Stephen Harrington

14 Dec 01:20pm

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Filed under: 18 Rating, Censorship, Gamers, Gaming, Internet

65 comments

Well, it was years in the making.

Harden the f(*&(*k up, Australia, says Chopper (AKA Heath Franklin).

It has taken countless meetings, public submissions, reports, and years of debate, but on the incredibly long-overdue introduction of an R18+ category into the national classification system for video games, the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General (SCAG, to you and me) has finally decided to take action…

… and they’ve decided to wait a little longer to make a decision.

2010, the year Australians couldn’t properly make their minds up on anything, has given us another wet firecracker.

It’s a shame, because all the signs were looking good.

Michael “Bowser” Atkinson had resigned his position as South Australia’s Attorney-General back in March, effectively removing what appeared to be the final political impediment to genuine reform.

98 per cent of submissions to a public consultation on the possible introduction of an R18+ games category supported a change in the law.

We’ve had refreshing signs of direct leadership from government on the issue, as we saw in Brendan O’Connor’s excellent piece (Why the government backs an R18+ games rating) in The Punch last Tuesday.

We even managed to bypass the predictable kneejerk reactions, and have instead had a reasonably mature, well-informed, and thoughtful debate this time around, largely informed by rigorous, independent research.

All the very clear, rational arguments were laid out on the table: that the idea of games being played mostly by kids (or just grown up versions of them) is completely out of step with reality; the current system is self-defeating because some games that ought to be R18+ end up getting an MA15+ rating; that, crucially, there isn’t any proven link between video game violence and real-world violence.

So, when SCAG met on Friday, all the ducks had been hand-picked, sedated, and lined up in a row.

This was surely going to be a clear-cut, home run, bullseye, hole-in-one, gold-dipped slam dunk.

There was no halfway decent reason remaining to stop our Government giving us gamers the present we’ve been waiting far too many years for.

But, no. They’ve decided to drop a lump of coal in our Christmas stockings instead.

On Friday afternoon, after the decision was announced, some gamers on Twitter were hailing this as some sort of victory – as if “at least they didn’t say no!” should somehow be cause for celebration.

Well, I’m sorry, but we’ve really gotta knock our voices up a notch. We’ve tried being civil, but it didn’t work.

It’s time to start getting all Niko Bellic on those who stand in our way.

We need to take a leaf out of Soap MacTavish’s book and take no prisoners.

We’ve got to channel our inner Solid Snake and harden the f**k up.

As an academic, I am ordinarily championing the cause of rationality, and have much faith in the idea that the best arguments will always win out in the end. But even that faith is now being stretched to its limits.

Maybe it’s time we let the world know that we don’t just want R18+ games introduced because it’s a wise decision on a matter of public policy. We want them because we’re mature adults, and we demand to be treated as such.

We want to be properly respected now, not just at some indefinite point in the near future. As mature adults, we should be able to entertain ourselves in violent, graphic ways should we choose to.

Because, let’s face it, sometimes it’s fun to shoot a Zombie in the face with a sawn-off shotgun. (I mean, what are we to do? Let it kill us?)

Getting a sweet long-range headshot with a sniper rifle is just plain exciting. (It’s OK, they’ll respawn soon enough.)

Smashing an opponent through a wall just feels good. (They won’t actually feel a thing.)

It is our right, as adults, to play games like these, and we should not feel an ounce of shame for wanting to do so.

We live in an age where the most sick, disgusting and profane stuff is just a few clicks of a mouse away from the average internet user, so we should not accept for a moment longer the ludicrous notion that computer games need to be more judiciously restricted in case they “fall into the hands of kids”.

Most of us probably won’t even play R18+ games if/when they’re finally introduced – I imagine the number of games in this category, and the market for them, will be really quite small – but we should at least be given the right to make that choice ourselves.

Playing a good game is an immensely pleasurable thing to do, and I don’t want any possible experience therein restricted to what the SCAG or the Australian Christian Lobby deems acceptable.

Seriously gamers, enough’s enough. This is a matter of principle.

We’ve got to stop asking politely, and start demanding change right now.

Most commented

429Australia, you have nothing to fear but fear itself
390There's no one Thomson won't burn to save his skin
333Animal experiments won't cure me from cancer
313Thomson didn't answer the question everyone is asking
265Who murdered the Arts degree?
246A big day for Thomson, who thus far is guilty of nothing...
231South Australia. It's the middle bottom bit.
231Craig Thomson speaks. Meanwhile, in Australia...

65 comments

Show oldest | newest first

    • Chris L says:

      12:38pm | 14/12/10

      No need Stephen. As long as the wowsers are fighting against the R18+ rating we gamers can keep downloading/importing them and handing our money to overseas suppliers.

      The funny thing is that the ACL and other opponents are effectively keeping the violent games available to kids under 18 but not stopping us gamers from getting what we want. Not the brightest tools in the shed are they?

      Reply

    • Tombowler says:

      02:21pm | 14/12/10

      I would like to see the following enshrined in the constitution. Perhaps under s51 somewhere:

      A)  The Commonwealth shall make no law that attempts to infringe in any manner upon any citizen of Australia or any persons residing within her borders to:

      i)  procure, produce or engage in the use of violent video games.

      ii)create an online handle implying that the creator thereof possesses particularly refined skills in the form of a sniper or in ability to procure and ingest marijuana; further to the provisions outlined in this division the Parliament will recognise that the use of awkward combinations of characters, numbers and/or symbols to achieve the handle outline in ii) are only because all the good handles are taken.

      iii) play the opening twenty bars from Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries to the entire match when any person has achieved a killstreak. In order to satisfy (ii) the killstreak must be of 7 or higher. If playing an antiquated Call of Duty then killstreaks gained through the unscrupulous methods of ‘martyrdom’ will not satisfy the conditions in this provision.

      iv) Be slaughtered by large groups of twelve year old children who should certainly not be up at this hour.

      v) Blame lag for all or any such errors in performance that might occur.

      vi) Apply the following labels to any person who shall best one at any online game: Hacker, cheat, nerd, camper, martyrdom-pussy, second-chance pussy, ‘he’s got a mouse bro’ or any combination thereof. Such accusations must be met by all present with a sincere head nod and consolatory statement as thus “Yeah bro… He’s definitely got a hack… besides your internet is sh#thouse at the moment… bro”

    • Viveka says:

      08:13pm | 14/12/10

      Tombowler: That proposal is only slightly odder than the situation we do have: in Australia we have laws about how sport can be shown on telly, apparently now including specific provisions about under what conditions it’s okay to cut away to the news when a cricket match goes over time, and the fact that it’s *never* OK to cut away from the Melbourne Cup.

      If we ever get serious about gaming, you can expect to see laws just like the one you proposed, plus about a billion dollars a year in public funding of Elite Gaming so that we can win plenty of gold medals in the CyberOlympiad (Unified Republic of Korea 2020).

    • michael j says:

      10:52am | 15/12/10

      @tomeydic
      why would you want to sit around all day shooting c—-ts in
      the head with a 50 cal sniper rifle ,,
      is it because you feel youre not up to the real thing
      or just a little bit gutless

    • Zeta says:

      12:43pm | 14/12/10

      If I wasn’t too busy playing World of Warcraft I might consider protesting.

      Remind me if this is still an issue after I hit level 85.

      Reply

    • dancan says:

      03:13pm | 14/12/10

      what’s taking you so long?

    • Kryptonwind says:

      03:39pm | 14/12/10

      I see your point, Zeta. Perhaps the opponents of an R18+ rating are trying to drag out the whole debate merely because they hope those for it will lose interest.

      Unfortunately what the Attorneys-General don’t realise is that they have taken a side without even meaning to. By choosing not to make a decision they have still made one!

      On a separate note, what server are you on?

    • St. Michael says:

      04:05pm | 14/12/10

      Too busy training up on Batman Arkham Asylum for when Arkham City comes out.  That one’s gonna be a corker if it surpasses the first one.

    • Ironside says:

      01:19pm | 14/12/10

      The problem is if we get all agro about it we risk validating the opinion that gamers are immature, mental pygmies rather than rational adults. For every gamer who rationally points out that there is a mountain of evidence that supports the introduction of an R18+ rating on games, there are a bunch people who will post stuff like “OMFG!!!1! WTF government Epic fail, ROFL we will just illegally download/import the games anyway etc etc etc,” which again only supports the enemy so to speak.

      We need to stand up as adults, in the real world. When was the last time you saw a march of adult gamers through the streets of a capital city demanding change. Good lord you had hundreds if not thousands of people turn out to support a man accused of Rape just because he is sticking it to the US, but even with 98% public support and a hard core of university trouble makers in this country, we cant manage to organise a simple rally. Until you have public action by people, ignorant politicians will decide that the least dangerous option is to leave things just the way they are because at least they wont make anyone more angry/less likely to vote for them.

      I would like to call on one of those major players who was able to organise mass responses to the public call for submissions, like the Electronic Entertainment lobby or EB games or whoever to organise and coordinate an actual real live protest march against this stupid decision.

      Until we as gamers get off our computers and onto the streets to protest our case we will remain a minor concern for the government because generally only people who already support the idea will post on these sorts of blogs. Lets get our case onto the 6 o’clock news and tabloid current affairs programs, the 7 Pm project and FM radio come on gamers if the government wont give us what we want then lets stand up in the real world and make them.

      Note : I am aware of the irony of decrying posting on blogs over real action whilst calling for real action by posting on a blog.

      Reply

    • Bookbuster says:

      01:42pm | 14/12/10

      Street protesting is a waste of time and money for all involved.  Email campaigns are almost as bad.  What *really* needs to happen to effect change is for eloquent and well-presented gamers to snail-mail and personally visit their local members and the AGs of their state.

    • Jotun says:

      02:11pm | 14/12/10

      And I applaud your self-deprecation, it made me chuckle heartily.

      You have a fantastic point, and the 98% of people who care about this issue should take paeceful action.

    • braunman says:

      03:19pm | 14/12/10

      Hearty agreement from me Ironside. Was it last year that one of the video game retailers attempted to stage a protest where people were to turn up in cosplay?

      As gamers we need to keep in mind that we should act like adults rather than man-children.

    • LC says:

      12:50pm | 04/02/11

      Agreed, Ironside. People, please be rational about it and debate this properly like sensible adults. Don’t give the anti-gaming zealots stuff to point to as “evidence”.

    • Elphaba says:

      01:37pm | 14/12/10

      I was going to write that at least the discussion is on the table and they’ve started thinking about it, and we should just be patient and it’ll happen, but damnit, you’re absolutely right.

      This is just another example of the piss-weak excuse for government we have at our helm.  Disgraceful.  I was never the ‘march-in-the-street-waving-a-placard’ kinda girl.  I might do it over this though. wink

      In the immortal words of Howard Beale: “I’m mad as hell and i’m not going to take it anymore!”

      Meanwhile, I’m still waiting for the ACL spokeperson response to Brendan and Jeremy’s articles.  Here, I’ll even motivate them to get started:

      “Chiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiicken!!! Bruck bruck bruccck!!”

      Reply

    • Geordie says:

      01:40pm | 14/12/10

      Mmmm.  Negate the opinion that adults who play games are immature and unrepresentative of mainstream adult Australia by being immature and refusing to engage on the issues as they’ve been discussed to date.  I’m sure that’ll work a treat.

      Reply

    • Brimstone says:

      01:47pm | 14/12/10

      I remember when GTA4 came out Town Hall Station was PLASTERED with ads. the government had no problem taking money to promote games then…and no problem with promoting movies like Saw
      i’m a pretty squeamish guy but nothing in Left 4 Dead bothers me. wake up, Australia

      Reply

    • Alan says:

      02:02pm | 14/12/10

      How can your photo look so sweet and innocent while you write things like “sometimes it’s fun to shoot a Zombie in the face with a sawn-off shotgun”?

      Reply

    • Tripper Smurf says:

      11:34am | 15/12/10

      Cause sometimes it IS fun to shoot a Zombie in the face with a sawn-off shotgun.  You should try it!

    • michael j says:

      02:05pm | 14/12/10

      Well i have a 22 yr old son who has played these things for 12 years,after giving the normal GRIEF that a boy or girl gives through these years he has settled down to a routine of
      partime work,,over 20 hrs a week in the gym,,wants to fight UFC ?
      after a late night gym sesion last week and before he settled down to his games,i ask him if some of these games should have
      a 18+ rating,,no FU$$&&G WAY he replied,i won’t even play some of the sh-t thats on the market and i know kids that can walk into a store with no ID and just buy it, some of the stuff is
      just bloody sick AND SHOULDN’T BE ALLOWED IN THE COUNTRY,,oh i see i said a bit taken,,out of the mouth of babes,,
      where o where is pacman,,,,,,,

      Reply

    • Strawb says:

      02:51pm | 14/12/10

      The problem here Michael, is you think that’s normal!? 3 hours a day in the gym, what tha!

    • AndrewK says:

      02:53pm | 14/12/10

      ...that was coherent.

      If I’m reading you correctly, your point is that your son, who aspires to compete in the UFC, believes that the current regime of censorship isn’t strong enough, that the apporpriate ID checks are not being carried out by those selling video games and consequently…

      ...we shouldn’t have an R18 rating, or we should?

    • G says:

      02:55pm | 14/12/10

      Sorry Michael J what exactly are you trying to say here? I’ve read your post a dozen times and it makes as much sense as Shane Warne’s sex appeal.

      That your 22 year old son is a bogan who swears at his father in general discussion and that you are accepting of this?

      Your son should be commended for his bleeding heart antics about under 18’s buying R18+ games from the local JB Hi Fi but your entire post reads like a load of BS to me!

      R18+ games will force retailers to be more conscious of who they’re selling this merchandise to, but nothing is foolproof and no doubt once this rating has been approved, A Current Affair will release a story about how a 17 year old with a fake moustache and licence can walk into EB Games and purchase one of these games and how EB Games has breached their duty to the 17 year old by not tugging on his fake mo and not calling up the Dept of Transport to verify his license number.

      Australia needs to wake up and stop thinking that the apocalypse will occur once this rating has been approved.  How many R18+ games are made each year compared to G - M15+ rated games anyway?

    • Elphaba says:

      03:09pm | 14/12/10

      What video games does he play?  I mean the actual titles, not the genres.

    • Shifter says:

      03:18pm | 14/12/10

      Firstly, what?

      Secondly, all I want is Morphine in Fallout 3. Is that too much to ask? Hey mum, why don’t you get me a Pepsi? Please, all I want is a Pepsi!

      And she wouldn’t give it to me! All I wanted was a Pepsi, just one Pepsi, and she wouldn’t give it to me! Just a Pepsi!

    • Tombowler says:

      03:48pm | 14/12/10

      If I may be so bold as to distill your very eloquent prose into a more succinct and less grammatically frightening form.

      “I have a 22 year old son who instead of University or a trade prefers to work part time and spend too long in the Gym with the ultimate goal of getting muscular enough to inflict tremendous pain on other in a institutionalized environment.  This violent and quite possibly deranged son of mine responds with an overly dramatic and vitriolic stream of abuse when I asked him about the current video game thing. I assume this is because of all the steroids he’s been taking in pursuit of the noble goal of injuring others for the sake of it. Apparently my 22 year old son is also hanging around with kids under the age of 15 to the extent to which he has first hand knowledge of how the acquire their video games”

      I can only assume your advertising for a nanny/carer?

    • Conrad says:

      08:09pm | 14/12/10

      I’m glad nobody else could make sense of Michael J’s crap. 

      Pacman is where it belongs, in the hearts and minds of retro gamers, because we’ve evolved from the 80’s, but the censor friendly Christian and Family groups of Australia haven’t evolved from the 50’s it seems.

      I have never understood why Australia enforced bans on video game violence yet it allows Google to show you whatever you desire. 

      I’m not saying we should enforce a ban on Google, it just seemed strange that I couldn’t shoot zombies but if I wanted to watch insurgent videos I could liveleak it all day long.

      Maybe its morons like Michael J’s son who this rating serves to protect, because obviously the basic skills in communication have gone straight over his UFC ambitious head!

    • Voteless says:

      02:19pm | 14/12/10

      “and they’ve decided to wait a little longer to make a decision. “

      The PEOPLE whom in which are your BOSS, have already decided that they want an R18 classification.  If you dont like your job, leave!

      Reply

    • TRM says:

      02:20pm | 14/12/10

      Isn’t this whole argument moot point? Modern parents pander to their children and will get little johnny what ever he wants anyway. The few parents who actually take an active interest in who their children are killing online and decide to refuse buying will just be circumvented.

      These proposals cost the tax payer a lot of money. Personally, I’d rather see the government use the money to subsidise sporting facilities and physical activities.

      Reply

    • Steve Smith says:

      02:50pm | 14/12/10

      TRM you make a great point… in the end 18+ classification stops children buying these games… which are usually bought by adults. So that’s a great waste of time.

      IMO: the only benefit for gamers is the ease of access to games which get blocked/modified because we do not have the 18+ classification. Otherwise looking to the Internet for games legally or otherwise is not rocket science anymore.

    • Rossco says:

      02:31pm | 14/12/10

      The problem is ACL has too much clout with the government and it’s decision making. This needs to stop.

      Reply

    • Ash says:

      02:36pm | 14/12/10

      It’s emabrassing that the state AG’s a dragging the chain on this. These Dinosaurs are so out of step with reality, yet they feel they know better than us. Made worse by the fact that the Australian Christian League is whispering sweet nothings into their ears.

      The hypocrisy of those with faith to preach to us how we should live our lives, ignoring completely the horrific events that have taken place in the name of “God”. Apparently its all right if your pretend character brings down upon his enemies most holy wrath if its in the “Bible” or the “Koran” etc etc; but if the same thing happens in a video game “oh please somebody think of the children… i have the vapours!!!”

      Reply

    • Chris L says:

      08:31pm | 14/12/10

      Indeed Ash, as a child I was horrified by the depiction of the crucifiction. It really affected me and gave me nightmares. The reason for this, though, was it was touted to me as truth whereas I’ve never had any problem understanding that the zombies I destroy in Left4Dead are fictional. On that note, I’m finally old enough to realise the crucifiction (at least this particularly gruesoe one) was also fictional. I feel a lot better about it now.

    • Daniel T says:

      10:50am | 20/12/10

      @ Chris L
      well the crucifiction could have actually happened. Maybe not the resurrection, but the actual crucifiction could have definitly happened. After all, if you nailed someone to a couple planks of wood and let them hang there for a few days they would definitely die eventually. Then they stuck a sword in his side to make sure he was dead. if the crucifiction didn’t kill him then that definitly did. the gruesome crucifiction is entirely within the realms of reality. It’s the resurrection which is the part that’s more likely to be fictional.

    • CABAL says:

      02:45pm | 14/12/10

      I just want Manhunt 2
      is that so much to ask?

      Reply

    • Zeta says:

      03:16pm | 14/12/10

      Sup. Just playing Manhunt 2 in X rated mode on my hacked Chinese PSP. It’s a phone too.

    • Shifter says:

      03:28pm | 14/12/10

      I just want games like Fallout 3 to not be modified for ludicrous reasons.

      And the reason why I can’t? Because the game distributors are profiteering. Seriously? I bought the game anyway. There’s no extra profit in it.

      And before the obvious rebuttal comes through, yes, my enjoyment of the product was lessened because I couldn’t shoot my virtual self up with morphine.

      On the downside my IRL-self seems have developed a dependency on mentats. Seriously addictive. And tasty.

    • AnthonyG says:

      06:33pm | 14/12/10

      what ever gets your rocks of zeta

    • Wes says:

      02:49pm | 14/12/10

      “We’ve got to stop asking politely, and start demanding change right now. “

      And how do you suppose we do that??? We have no voice anymore. Petitions do nothing, blogs do nothing.

      A group of random people did what you are saying (however in relation to wikileaks) and took direct action, in a way that would be noticed…

      They DDoS’d the website (not the servers or infrastructure or personal details) of a few companies to make a point, and have since been labeled hackers and terrorists… they are neither, they are normal every day people like you and me who just got over not having a voice, and getting pushed around by those on high (the government, big organisations etc.).

      So, again - How do we have a voice? How do we demand change? How do we make them listen?

      Reply

    • Tombowler says:

      03:41pm | 14/12/10

      Are you suggesting cyber-terrorism attacks on the respective Attorney-Generals? Really?

      And the point of this is to prove that long term video-game use does not make us adult gamers anti-social?

      F#cking wow man….

      On the basis of your comment I’m maybe thinking of holstering the controller and seeking some sort of therapy before the brain-rot you are clearly suffering hits me.

      I mean honestly dude.

      Man your as bad as that “michealJ” dude whose son is clearly some sort of violent deranged imbecile. (20 hours in the Gym and UFC?? F#$ me man, violent video games are gonna be the least of the worries for that slightly-less-than-coherent family… )

    • AndrewK says:

      03:56pm | 14/12/10

      Vote for the Sex Party?

    • St. Michael says:

      04:06pm | 14/12/10

      Mention to Gerry Harvey that he’s losing out on sales because there’s no R rating on games.

      That ought to fix things up very quickly.

    • LC says:

      11:44am | 15/12/10

      @Andrew K

      I did!

    • michael j says:

      12:57pm | 15/12/10

      Wweell don’t get involed in saturating websites with properganda because they will find you and jail you,
      remember wikileaks is a professional orginizasion with
      many hundreds if not thousands of members and at a
      basic level they are acting in the public interest ,
      wherease you are acting out of some sort of perveted pleasure
      that you get from breaking moral standards that are the basic
      of our socity, why you would want to do that is i suppose a
      little bit like the games that you play,a bit sick i think,, 
      some of these sicko games should not be allowed in the country and any one fround in possesion of them should result in a jail sentence

      On the basis of your comment I’m maybe thinking of holstering the controller and seeking some sort of therapy before the brain-rot you are clearly suffering hits me.
      and i am very pleased to see tommy-boy is going to seek some form of treatment for his perversion and i know that it
      won’t be easy for him after years of killing raping and maiming
      on his 60 inch tv screen,it must be hard for him to compeate in the real world,so i wish him all the best with therapy and hope he can get his kids to take up a wholesome activity
      like going to the gym

    • Elphaba says:

      01:21pm | 15/12/10

      @ michael j - Your posts amuse me.  However, I respectfully disagree.  You think gamers are the brain dead ones - I’d say anyone who spends 20+ hours at the gym is the one struggling to socialise…

    • Shifter says:

      06:35pm | 15/12/10

      @Elphaba - is it Mikey J’s posts that amuse, or the fact his posts encourage other posters to get creative that amuses? Because I’m loving Tombowler’s comment up above.

    • Elphaba says:

      07:49pm | 15/12/10

      @Shifter, it’s definitely a bit of both.  ‘micheal j’s’ word salad is pretty amusing.  I’d attack his completely unfounded paranoia, but I think the known universe has worked out where I stand re: the R18+ class. 

      I can’t get over the fact that his son spends 20+ hours a week at the gym.  How much do you not want to go to a dinner party with that bloke? grin

    • Shifter says:

      12:10pm | 16/12/10

      @Elphaba - To be honest, I’m really curious if he’s one of those roided up guys you see with a bum bag. Then I’d like to ask what the bum bag is for. I don’t get it. Is it because they are so huge they can’t reach certain parts of their body, and a bum bag is the most convenient location to store things?

    • LC says:

      03:35pm | 03/01/11

      @michael j

      Funny coming from a guy claiming to spend 20 hours a day in a gym.

    • Flying X-Station Wii says:

      03:00pm | 14/12/10

      “Computer games don’t affect kids, I mean if Pac Man affected kids, they’d all be running around in darkened rooms, munching pills and listening to repetitive music.”

      P.S. maybe we need to pwn n00b AG’s with our l33t intellects.

      Reply

    • Shane From Melbourne says:

      04:24pm | 14/12/10

      I suspect that the governments of Australia will stand up to the ACL on issues like R18+ computer games, gay marriage and euthanasia about the same time that U.S Congress cracks down on Wall St. Not in my lifetime, maybe never….

      Reply

    • Daniel says:

      04:26pm | 14/12/10

      Australia should have had this R rating when Howard was in government. He failed to act as well.

      Reply

    • TimB says:

      04:57pm | 14/12/10

      Like many of the things the Howard haters blame him for, this issue had bugger all to do with Howard. The power rests soley with the Attorneys General of the states.

      Blame Michael Atkinson.

    • iansand says:

      06:14pm | 14/12/10

      Barry O’Farrell and his nutter religious mates are going to be right on your side.

    • Shane From Melbourne says:

      06:42pm | 14/12/10

      The blame actually rests with Keating. He was Prime Minister when the relevant Commonwealth Act was enacted- Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Act 1995. Part 1, Section 6 slipped in a particularly nasty clause requiring the consent of all states to modify the legislation. Not that Saint Howard would have had any desire to modify the legislation, anyway.

    • Daniel says:

      07:15am | 15/12/10

      Any government can act to change a bit of legislation. Its not hard. There is no political will and no votes in this so noone cares.

    • James1 says:

      10:19am | 15/12/10

      Wrong Shane.  I blame Alfred Deakin for not fixing this in 1911.

    • Tripper Smurf says:

      11:44am | 15/12/10

      I blame the authors of the constitution, most notably that bastard Samuel Griffin for not having the forethought when they were writing the consitutuion, that the computer game would become available in the later part of the next century, and that adults would want to play these games in such a manner that would not be benefical for kids to witness.

      How dare they!

    • Fatphil says:

      07:14am | 15/12/10

      @ Bookbuster..spot on. snail mail (not printed form sign here ones) and talking to the member or his electoral assistant is a very effective way to get a point across.  A game-geek protest fest has the same cachet as a Star Trek convention. Every time you meet your member (State or Federal in this case) mention it.

      Reply

    • PeteGeek says:

      09:52am | 15/12/10

      Commenting because Steve wants me to raspberry

      Now is the time for us to scream louder and longer than the Australian “Christian” Lobby. I’m an adult dammit and I’m not going to take it any more!

      Reply

    • TheRealDave says:

      11:28am | 15/12/10

      Here Here!

      I would like to congratulate Western Australia and South Australia for proving, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that they are more backwardly retarded than Tasmania.

      Kudo’s to you all.

      I agree with the clarion call of the author. Its time for the mature gamers of this nation to heed the ‘Call to Arms’ and take to the streets in battle for what is right. I mean really people, with the combined virtual combat experience of us all we should form the most formidable fighting for the world has ever seen. The Spartans might have been trained from birth, but have they ever tanked Onyxia in the old 40 man raid days?? We’ve perpetrated genocide on a mass scale of various trolls, orcs, dwarves and the stench of Murloc will be forever on my guild tabard. Most of us have trained not only in conventional warfare but can also boast many hundreds of hours in the cockpits of various fighter aircraft, helicopter gunships, main battle tanks etc We’ve spent thousands of hours marshalling thousands more virtual minions across maps in strategic deployments and conquered more fantasy civilisations than you could possibly imagine. We’ve also bunny-hopped and rocket jumped ourselves across many gaming franchises and virtual battlefield spanning the globe and many periods of warfare. We can easily switch from sword and board to electric miniguns throwing thousands of rounds downrange in a second.

      Lets get organised people! We can take down anyone and anything!

      I’ll bring the Doritos and some patch leads.

      Reply

    • Steve says:

      04:24pm | 15/12/10

      Spent the weekend running around Rome climbing buildings, running under the city and thru the Vatican with my sword, hidden blade and crossbow. Assasianating anyone who tried to stop me. So bring on the AG’s I think i’m ready.

    • LC says:

      11:42am | 15/12/10

      Despite these recent, and quite promising news from the AG’s meeting, I simply cannot shake the feeling that we will only get R18 games with generational change.

      Reply

    • Robert says:

      08:23pm | 20/12/10

      Yes that seems like the way it is going to happen.
      But we can speed up the process by not voting for the right-wing baby-boomer conservative/religious politicians that control both Labor and Liberal parties.
      The Greens, Australian Sex Party & Secular Party of Australia are all truly progressive options who will help enforce a real Secular State free from religious lobby group interference and enshrine Freedom of Speech in our constitution.

    • Biggles Prime says:

      11:01am | 23/12/10

      “I disagree with what you say sir but will defend to the death your right to say it.” did not emanate from Francois-Marie Arouet’s agile mind but is a quote mistakenly attributed to him in the 1906 biography of Voltaire by English author Evelyn Beatrice Hall. But it is entirely consistent with the great man’s progressive sentiments.
      For myself, I view the thrills to be gleaned from hours of gratuitous slaughter, mayhem and pillage in imaginary circumstances to be somewhat childish
      To be absorbed in such antisocial machinations was never to be one that I could admit aspiring to and one that seemed more to do with mental masturbation.
      I would, however, defend almost to death an adult gamer’s right in indulging such unproductive fantasy for by doing so I defend the freedoms Voltaire cleaved to so passionately.
      Censorship sponsored by religious bigotry is an iniquitous device disguised as social responsibility, it is the valuing of superstition above the rational, the pre-positioning of blind faith before reason.
      And while rationality and reason seem distantly, even tenuously, related to R18+ e-games, the farthest reaches of human intellectual pursuits should not suffer neglect for such pursuit has been proven time and again to be a benefit, to human advancement in ways unthought of at the time.

      Reply
 
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