55,000 Submissions made on video game ratings

PALGN News | Most. Submissions. Ever.

The Australian is reporting that the federal government has received over 55,000 submissions on whether an R18+ rating should be introduced for video games, upon the conclusion of the consultation period. Other outlets have reported that this is the highest number of submissions ever made for a public consultation in Australia.

The public consultation process started on 14 December 2009, and came to a close on 28 February 2010. It's now over to the federal Attorney-General's Department, who will prepare a report for the Standing Committee of Attorneys General, based on the submissions. It is expected that this will happen sometime in April.

"The submissions received in this consultation process will assist the Commonwealth and other censorship ministers' consideration about whether an adult classification for computer games should be introduced," Home Affairs Minister, Brendan Connor, said in a statement. "It is important to note that changes to the National Classification Code require unanimous agreement between the Commonwealth, states and territories." He further went onto say that the response to the discussion paper shows that there's a high level of interest in the Australian community.

Despite the high number of submissions, gamers shouldn't rest easy just yet. PALGN and EveryonePlays, in conjuction with GAME have set up a petition that will be available right up until the time that the AGs begin their deliberation in April. By signing a petiton, you'll be helping to ensure that children are being protected from mature games.

For more information, head to the new Everyoneplays website here.

Find your nearest GAME store by clicking here.

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22 Comments

NegativeZero

2 years ago

Call me cynical if you want, but that petition looks a heck of a lot like GAME are bandwagoning as a publicity stunt for their stores.

fatpizza

2 years ago

55,000 is all well and good. But when the oppostion side are allowed to say things like this with recourse what chance to we really have?

http://www.news.com.au/technology/video-game-cancer-group-funded-by-atkinson/story-e6frfro0-1225837330811

Fetidchimp

2 years ago

well all he has to do is blow us all a kiss my ass and it's all over again even with the weight behind it....then it's clobberin' time....you just know he will say get **** purely to shove this power in everyone's face....yes i believe he is that petty.

He has already been presented with rational arguments, he is a jerk mcjerkwad plain and simple, he is the neighbour that tried to bait your dog....the jerk that pushes in front of you in a line....
If it gets through though, and he does actually listen to reason, i will go leave a flower under his door at 2am so that he isn't scared of us anymore..

Scratch2k

2 years ago

I suspect that the public consultation shouldn't have been about whether we need an 18+ classification but whether the system where one individual can hold all the power over and entire system even when faced with an overwhelming majority of *his own peers*.

JackSlack

2 years ago

No, he's not.

Let's be clear on this. Michael Atkinson is a believer. I once believed he was an opportunist, using video games as a neatly niche hobby he could rail against for political points, but the recent Black Cover DVD issue proves otherwise.

Atkinson believes. He looks out at the world and is terrified by the way it is slipping into moral decay and disaster. Everything he does is aimed at preventing this terrible slide, mostly by doing his very best to protect children from the evils of violent media (and probably a bunch of other things) so that they can grow up with good hearts and a proper sense of right and wrong.

(He is a Christian, and Christianity is the framework within he sees this slide, but he could have come to that conclusion through any number of other frameworks.)

He's not a jerk, or intentionally mean. He perceives himself as a hero. To him, we're a pack of monsters who would jeopardise children's mental health and facilitate the downfall of society so that we can get our jollies with rape games and virtual violence.

I believe he is seriously wrong about the facts. I believe he is intentionally allowing himself to dismiss facts that are inconvenient to his worldview. He is in many respects irrational, contradictory, and he is absolutely wrong.

But he is sincere. Which is a frightening thing, because it means defeating him will be all the harder.

Marka

2 years ago

It's pretty clear were Mr.Atkinson stands on this matter and how firm his stance is on it. I doubt the submissions will change his mind regardless of their content.

Kikujir0

2 years ago

Well said Jack, well said indeed.

100% agree.

mesbot

2 years ago

My favourite quote from that link posted by fatpizza;

"Mr Atkinson is one of the most vocal opponents of introducing an adult rating for video games and last month said his family was more at risk from gamers than outlaw motorcycle gangs."

Really gives you an insight into the guys mindset it doesn't make sense to anyone but him and the people on his side but for extremists of any persuasion that's all that matters.

Fetidchimp

2 years ago

Yes, someone who equates cancer and video games, not a jerk at all.

b1o2b3456

2 years ago

There are just so many issues here... How does someone with such warped views of reality get to a position of such power? Why is a position of such power even in existence? Why has he been able to stay in that position despite overwhelming public disapproval? Why has he been able to stay in that position when he regularly demonstrates an inability to asses facts and act appropriately?

A lot of those problems are the system rather than him but most (if not all) other positions of similar power have a clause in legislation that allows the person to be fired if they act like this.

At the end of the day I can accept having games banned because there is no appropriate rating. Arguing that there should be no appropriate rating and banning is the best long term solution is just attacking civil liberties.

So much for democracy when one man can tell me what I can and cannot do.

oomlot

2 years ago

It's not a complex issue, seeing his point of view. Atkinson sees us as more of a threat because we are more of a threat. I'd happily wager that the number of times he's been threatened with death on a gamer forum is exponentially higher than the number of times a bikie has threatened him.

We, as a community need to prove that he's wrong, and we can't do that by saying it, even saying it 55,000 times. We need to be the rational ones, the sensible ones.

Of course the trouble with that, is that our community is not made up entirely of rational mid-twenty to mid-thirty people. That group, of which I am a member, is the moderate group. The rest of the gaming community tends to let their emotions guide their decision making process. (the guy who slipped the threatening note under Atkinson's door, kudos, you've destroyed years of our work), not to mention the people who freak out into nerd rage when they can't play (WoW freakout kid, I'm looking at you), but he's far from the only one. How many PS3 gamers out there went ballistic when they couldn't play for a 'whole' 24 hours?

In short, we need to reign our extremists in, just like any group, if we want to be taken seriously.

People look at islamics and think they're all terrorists, and christians are all one step away from being in the KKK, bikies are tattooed layabouts who drink and get into knife fights, and gamers are marginal psychotics who may black out at any moment and go on a killing spree. All these things are stereotypes, because humans tend to look at things in general ways, and when the loudest voice in a group is the craziest, we think they speak for everyone.

Consider that the next time you don't get 5 straight kills in MW2, and throw your controller against the wall.

THEMAN

2 years ago

If this gets defeated. We need to vote the pollies out and some pollies sympathic to the cause.

macca macca

2 years ago

That's still 55,000 out of about 25 million people....

Sparq

2 years ago

Not all 25 million of us play video games... just making you aware of that. I really don't see how one person's decision against it is democratic at all... isn't a democracy where the majority rules pretty much? Australia seems to be heading up technological **** creek atm. Net filters there, expensive broadband here and now when we're close to getting an R18 rating on games, there's the minorities trying to get that stopped...

Furianshi

2 years ago

JackSlack wrote

Personally, I don't really care what his motives are. He's a little man who thinks it's okay to dictate to me and other adult gamers what is appropriate entertainment. He does so with an air of smug superiority. He is ignorant when it comes to games and gaming culture, and (so far) he has been dismissive of ideas and solutions that would benefit everybody involved.

Quote

2. Jerk

Noun. An idiot or stupid person. An insensitive, selfish, ignorant, **** person who is inconsiderate and does stupid things.

www.urbandictionary.com

Yeah, he's a bit of a jerk. Not that whether he is a jerk or not is important, but yeah... he's an ignorant jerk.

SHAKIRA

2 years ago

do we want kids to watch hentai, **** porn, bestialty and snuff?

How about we let them interact with these things? Games, by their interactivity, are far more powerful than movies, books...

I am all in favour of a prohibiting these things to children.

I know that I can download any game, movie or stuff I want here at home or in a net cafe or even at work. Last night I downloaded a game called Illusion real girlfriend. It is a hentai porn game. While I was reading the forums on how to install it, there were a surprising amount of questions about how to kill your girl.. "how do I strangle her" was one question. ProhiBiting these things for under 18's does not remove their availability, but it sends a message that our society - the society we live, work in - does not condone this stuff. meanwhile outside my apartment window in cbd melbourne a girl has been attacked and a guy has just been knifed and the police are once again nowhere to be found.

SHAKIRA

2 years ago

and how ironic given this debate that in my above comment the word r a p e porn has been edited out.

G3ck0

2 years ago

Well, considering that game was something you downloaded, and never a retail game, that's kind of a stupid argument. Retail games, made by proper developers for fun and not for some nerds to look at, don't have bestiality or **** in them, or even hentai.

Furianshi

2 years ago

To add to Sambo 's point, SHAKIRA, take a look at this list of games that have received the R18+ rating in NZ to get a proper idea of what we, as gamers, are fighting for. The list is a couple of years old and doesn't include recent titles (for example, Fallout 3 received an R18+ rating in NZ), but it gives you a better idea of what we're on about, outside of what Atkinson and just general media sensationalism seem to push. You might recognise a lot of them as games that have been rated MA15+ here in Australia. You'll also notice a couple of extreme games that have been refused classification there, even with an R18+ category.

Spanca

2 years ago

SHAKIRA wrote

Last night I downloaded a game called Illusion real girlfriend. It is a hentai porn game. While I was reading the forums on how to install it, there were a surprising amount of questions about how to kill your girl.. "how do I strangle her" was one question. ProhiBiting these things for under 18's does not remove their availability, but it sends a message that our society - the society we live, work in - does not condone this stuff.

No one in their right mind is suggesting that this sort of crap would be suddenly allowed in Australia by an R18+ classification category. Don't confuse an 'adults only' classification category with a belief that any and every 'game' will be granted classification. You'll have to stick to illegal methods for your **** fantasy games.

Quote

meanwhile outside my apartment window in cbd melbourne a girl has been attacked and a guy has just been knifed and the police are once again nowhere to be found.

Is that because of video games, or are you just making completely unsubstantiated and irrelevant statements?

Buttmouth

2 years ago

Even if a person exclaimed "THIS IS BECAUSE I PLAYED A VIDEO GAME" as he stabbed and killed someone. I still don't believe it would have anything to do with them playing a video game. If you're stabbing people, you've gone wrong in your mind-tank. Simple as that.

55,000 is pretty rounded. If it ends up having no effect whatsoever Ima be well-peeved.