The Australian Government has finally passed the R18+ legislation for video games. This means Australia won’t ban as many games as it did before…
Jason Clare, the Minister for Home Affairs made the announcement earlier today. The legislation passed through the Federal Parliament without amendments from the Senate.
“The R 18+ category will inform consumers, parents and retailers about which games are not suitable for minors to play, and will prevent minors from purchasing unsuitable material”
This new R18+ rating will mean Australia will be more in line with New Zealand and most other countries when it comes to censorship for video games.
For the longest time, adult Australian video gamers had to miss out on games such as 2011’s Mortal Kombat as it was banned in the country. Now with the “new” R18+ rating, these types of games won’t need to be banned or heavily censored.
The R18+ legislation should come into effect from January 1st, 2013.
Source: Kotaku
Ryan
June 20, 2012 at 10:48 PMHi,
It’s good that Australia has finally seen reason and passed this.
Pieman280
June 21, 2012 at 11:39 PMGreat! Have always wanted to move there, but as a gamer It sounded like the market was under some punishment. This will help make it more gamer friendly.