OFLC and Government Considering R-Rating for Games
It’s late yes, but I was away for two weeks without access to a computer (I am recovering, thanks for your concern). Wednesday’s (13/03/2002) Financial Review had an interesting article regarding the release of redrafted guidelines for entertainment classification.
The draft aims to standardise classification across film and gaming mediums, introducing an R-rating to the gaming industry. The draft acknowleges, at long last, that gaming is increasingly an adult recreation.
While some “do gooder” groups are crying foul, the rational among us (incduing the government) can see it’s an excellent and long overdue inclusion. A win for classification over censorship.
Unfortunately the article is not available online (unless you’re a financial Review subscriber).
Financial Review
posted by booker · at 1:55 am · filed under News
In related news, the OFLC has uploaded an assessment (composed by Dr Jeffrey E Brand, Co-Director Bond University New Media Research and Education) of public submissions to the 2001 Guidelines Review. This assessment can be accessed (in .pdf format) at http://www.oflc.gov.au/PDFs/brand.pdf . For those with an interest in such matters (every gamer who considers the ability to play whatever they choose to be a basic right should be interested), the assessment is well worth checking out.
And while it presents a balanced review of all submissions, it does reveal the disappointing fact that there was but one submission to the OFLC regarding the classification of videogames. As Campaign Coordinator of the Campaign for the Introduction of an R Category for Videogames in Australia, I wish to thank BigKid once again for its support of the campaign. I also wish to thank all the BigKid readers who took the time to sign the petition, and extend a special thanks to those who urged others to do likewise. Without the support of all the aforementioned parties, the campaign would not have been nearly as successful.
Brett Robinson