SA Attorney-General to appeal Modern Warfare 2 rating

PALGN News | He's not a big fan of the Classification Board.

Michael Atkinson, the South Australian Attorney-General and outspoken campaigner against violence in video games, has revealed that he will be challenging the MA15+ rating given to Infinity Ward shooter Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

"I’ll be appealing against that classification, I think it’s wrong," Atkinson told Radio National (via Kotaku). "[The classification] doesn’t surprise me. The Classification Board in Australia does everything to try to get games in under the radar. But just because the system is not being applied properly, it does not mean that the principles of the system are wrong.

"What I want the Classification Board to do is to apply the guidelines properly. What I don’t want is the extremely violent, sexually depraved, drug use games in Australia at all. At the cinema, we can stop people under 18 going in to see R18+ rated movies. We can’t stop these games that are extremely violent and depraved from getting into the home or getting into the hands of children."

Atkinson didn't hold back on his opinion of the Classification Board either, stating that, even if a R18+ rating would eventually come to pass, he would use his role in drawing up for the guidelines for the rating to make sure that "extremely violent, sexually depraved, drug use games" wouldn't slip through the cracks.

"I have no trust in the Classification Board to apply the guidelines sincerely and correctly...thus to draw up such guidelines would be to do so in sure and certain knowledge that they would be stretched and then broken."

When asked about the Commonwealth discussion paper on the R18+ rating, due to be released to the public in April earlier this year, Atkinson said that he did not know why it had not been released.

For the latest on the R18+ debate, check out the EveryonePlays Blog.

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100 Comments

Nic_231

3 months ago

Well his logic is flawed as usual but I have to agree with his application. MW2 should not be sold at anything under an R18+ rating (nor should many other MA15+ games), and I am not even sure I would be comfortable with it being sold at that.
The terrorism scene is simply grotesque and out of context. I am all for thought provoking artistic expression that tackles difficult issues, but in this case it is so poorly implemented that it completely misses the mark. Provocative and disturbing material needs to be presented in the right context to ensure it stimulates contemplation, not just as a crass sales booster.
It's just a shame it had to be Atkinson who made the application. I am sure many people will see this kind of content as proof of his point rather than as a sign that it could be better managed with a revised rating system.

RKulen

3 months ago

PALGN wrote

"Iâ€™ll be appealing against that classification, I think itâ€™s wrong," Atkinson told Radio National

If that's the case...then why not support an R18+ classification?

Sambo110

3 months ago

Nic_231 wrote

The terrorist scene sets up the whole story for the game. It would have been a bit hard to do it without showing it, considering it's the most important part of the story.

A13x

3 months ago

The Russian version doesn't have it Sambo

devonuto

3 months ago

I think everyone knows that little johnny is more likely stumble upon dad's adult movie collection.

Hopefully the next person who eventually fills Atkinson's electorate is not as ignorant as him, and has the brains to understand the difference between an R18+ an X rating and what would still be RC in Australia.

Qbert

3 months ago

What a stuborn small minded little man. After gamers bitching about it for years, he realises that the ratings system is wrong. But he can't admit he was/is wrong, so he find an ass backwards way of 'fixing' the situation.

Love democracy.

James Varoutsos

3 months ago

I don't think this guy has ever heard of DVDs, or CDs for that matter. If he wants to apply his draconian logic of an inability to apply the classification system to point of sale. Then why just lambast videogames?
Last time I checked there was nothing different in the sale of DVDs/BluRays or CDs to that of videogames. To say that you cannot enforce the law in that instance as your excuse to restrict the sales in one medium and not the others is completely flawed.

The fact of the matter is this guy is another closed-minded, conservative **** that really doesn't deserve the seat he sits in. Then to be arrogant enough to say 'bring it on' because he thinks it won't affect his re-election just shows his level of arrogance and the contempt the holds for the seat he has governing the classifications board.
There needs to be a consorted effort to get him thrown out come next election, because as a society, we really don't need these close-minded, arrogant and misinformed individuals making the decisions at your local McDonalds, little-lone the Australian government.

I could go on with how flawed his concepts are, and how flawed he is on a human level. Though I'm too angry, I'm going to play Assassin's Creed 2 for a few hours to calm myself down (Holy ****, there's a new concept for the average conservative ****).

daishogun

3 months ago

And he is the captain. 'nough said.

Nic_231

3 months ago

They could have shown the terrorist scene it without it being interactive. It is the interactivity that makes me uncomfortable. I agree that this might lessen immersion, but clever writers could have set the plot up and evoked a similar response without the need for the player to engage in the wholesale slaughter of civilians. The fact that the scene able to be skipped doesn't really allay this either as most players are likely to play through it for fear of missing important plot points or for sheer shock valueâ€¦

Nietzsche

3 months ago

I wish him success. If MW2 gets banned gamers won't be able to ignore it. Not with the numbers where speaking of here

Sambo110

3 months ago

A13x wrote

The Russian version doesn't have it Sambo

I don't get that. It is honestly one of the most important parts of the story, how can they just not have it in there?

ANDYBALLINA

3 months ago

Sambo110 wrote

A13x wrote

The Russian version doesn't have it Sambo

I don't get that. It is honestly one of the most important parts of the story, how can they just not have it in there?

Well in our version you can either play it or skip it, if you skip it, it doesn't effect the campaign at all.

GooberMan

3 months ago

My views on the matter can be found over here.

canetoad

3 months ago

I had enough trouble following the campaign plot as it was, let alone with a large chunk of it cut out.

Kikujir0

3 months ago

Call me bitter and a little selfish, but I don't care. I have the game on PC anyway, so if its banned, I have my copy anyway. Then again I'll also be glad its banned just so its some sort of hinderance for IW in some way.

Yes I'm still THAT annoyed they took out dedicated servers and crippled the community, and yes I know it is ironic that I play it still anyway.

On a brighter note, could be a side step, perhaps a diagonal step or even a small suggestive nudge towards an R 18 + rating anyway.

Fetidchimp

3 months ago

This has become a circus now, everything that needs to be said was said by spanca.
Boggles my **** mind.
Who is he representing exactly?

oh right what i meant to say was, meh don't bother me none i don't like CoD anyway.

JackSlack

3 months ago

He's representing the Christian right, of course.

And I'm not convinced he's wrong.

We like to trumpet stats that say 80% of Australians support an R rating for videogames, but I wonder how many would be with him on this one. Show them the No Russian level, and ask if a game like this should be legal.

I'll bet you 60% say no.

Guys? You want fair censorship. Move to New Zealand, or wait. And I'm unconvinced option 2 will work.

Fetidchimp

3 months ago

yeah i know how you feel, while i was reading american psycho while masturbating to the porn i got from canberra, i was just thinking, god that russian terror level is just going to far.

JackSlack

3 months ago

Man, you were able to maintain an erection while reading American Psycho? My hat's off to you. Unless you're just a fashion fetishist.

I swear, that book spends more time geeking out about men's fashion than it does depicting violence. Seriously.

I should mention, I'm not one of those who think MW2 should be banned. I don't think it should at all. Be rated R18+, yes. But not banned.

But let's not pretend there isn't a gap between the question, "Should an R18 rating exist for games?" and "Are you comfortable with games like this being legal?" There is, and we shouldn't assume the public are on our side here.

ashlar

3 months ago

How about he just STFU and let me play my uncensored left 4 dead 2 in peace. Asshole made me get it from the UK... 100 year old man in charge of video games ratings.... Pfft, what a country.

Camm

3 months ago

As much as IW gets a D- for storyline in MW2 (which is such a shame considering the expose on COD4:MW here on palgn...), and as much as IW missed the mark on having something this controversial, this stuff really needs to be shoehorned into R18+ to keep it away from the thousands of kids rocking up in eb and buying the game. And Atkinson, YOUR STOPPING THAT!!!! I feel appalled that your stopping important law reforms which can keep this sort of material out of the hands of my siblings.

Fetidchimp

3 months ago

JackSlack wrote

I don't assume the public is on our side, i don't assume it is on his either.
However having lived thorugh the QLD censor debacle some years ago, you would be surprised at how the public, especially in this country will go, hey yeah, thats **** stupid when you give them a chance to hear about it properly.
I don't remember anyone gasping when the QLD censor board got the chop because they realised we were being protected from freddie krueger and pinhead and said to themselves, what a load of cobblers.
Books have never been rated and quite rightly so, for all the "immersion" you get in a game, that's got nothing on a good book.

JackSlack

3 months ago

The easy unlocking of the gore in L4D2 may be the best argument yet for the need of an R rating, since as far as I can tell, people unlocking the game aren't breaking any laws.

In other words, editing it down to MA15 hasn't stopped the gore from being seen by young people. An R rating might have better luck.

RXWAG

3 months ago

Does he realise how easy it is on the net to get access to sexually depraved content? A simple google search will show it up...

Maybe google should be rated R18+....This guy is such a joker. Should just start a rumour about him....Isn't it the parents duty to stop their children from playing or seeing this kind of content....?