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Made in us
Wise Ethereal with Bodyguard




Catskills in NYS

or, why I'm glad to live in a country with freedom of expression.

The Australian government has banned four times as many video games in the last four months than it has in the last twenty years.

According to ABC Australia, figures from the Attorney-General's Department confirm that 220 games - including Hotline Miami 2 - have been refused classification in Australia since March 2015, compared to just 50 games between 1994 and 2014.

Being refused classification means that developers of unclassified games are unable to sell, advertise or publicly exhibit their games in the country.

The increase in censored games apparently arises from the introduction of a new pilot program commencing July 1.

"Due to the online explosion, there are hundreds of thousands — if not millions — of games currently available online," a department spokesperson said. "It is not realistic or practicable for the Classification Board to manually classify each of them."

"In preparation for the pilot, a large 'back catalogue' of games has been classified — more than 150,000 to date."

From July 1, Australia will participate in a 12-month pilot program using the International Age Rating Coalition (IARC) tool, which has been already been adopted by the UK, the USA, Canada, Brazil, and most of Europe, a move that has been "welcomed" by the Interactive Games and Entertainment Association (IGEA).

The tool asks game developers to complete an online form to categorise explicit content such as violence and nudity, breaking the disclosure down into "hundreds" of sub-categories, such as: "Does the game contain any bodily functions such as belching, flatulence, or vomiting when used for humorous purposes?"

The Australian Greens recently secured a Senate Inquiry into the Australian game development industry.

The creation of a $20 million program to help support Australian developers was announced by then-Arts Minister Simon Crean back in 2012, before being axed and repossessed by the Abbott government last year, much to the disappointment of the Australian games development sector.

sauce

Seriously Australia, what is wrong with your government?

Homosexuality is the #1 cause of gay marriage.
 kronk wrote:
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 sebster wrote:
Yes, indeed. What a terrible piece of cultural imperialism it is for me to say that a country shouldn't murder its own citizens
 BaronIveagh wrote:
Basically they went from a carrot and stick to a smaller carrot and flanged mace.
 
   
Made in us
Did Fulgrim Just Behead Ferrus?





Fort Worth, TX

I'd be curious to see the list of banned games, to see how many of them I've played.
IIRC, Fallout 3's "Med-X" item was originally just going to be morphine until they ran up against Australia's regulations against drug use in games do Bethesda renamed it to Med-X.

"Through the darkness of future past, the magician longs to see.
One chants out between two worlds: Fire, walk with me."
- Twin Peaks
"You listen to me. While I will admit to a certain cynicism, the fact is that I am a naysayer and hatchetman in the fight against violence. I pride myself in taking a punch and I'll gladly take another because I choose to live my life in the company of Gandhi and King. My concerns are global. I reject absolutely revenge, aggression, and retaliation. The foundation of such a method... is love. I love you Sheriff Truman." - Twin Peaks 
   
Made in nl
Decrepit Dakkanaut






 Tannhauser42 wrote:
I'd be curious to see the list of banned games, to see how many of them I've played.
IIRC, Fallout 3's "Med-X" item was originally just going to be morphine until they ran up against Australia's regulations against drug use in games do Bethesda renamed it to Med-X.


NVM. was thinking about Rad-X.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2015/07/04 20:56:11


 
   
Made in de
Decrepit Dakkanaut





Banning games in the age of the internet...what year is it? 1999? You're only hurting your country's economy.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2015/07/04 21:31:26


   
Made in au
Owns Whole Set of Skullz Techpriests






Versteckt in den Schatten deines Geistes.

Our ratings board is backwards and has been backwards for years.

Industrial Insanity - My Terrain Blog
"GW really needs to understand 'Less is more' when it comes to AoS." - Wha-Mu-077

 
   
Made in au
Lady of the Lake






 Co'tor Shas wrote:
Seriously Australia, what is wrong with your government?

This guy got into power.

   
Made in us
Consigned to the Grim Darkness





USA

Tony Abbot happened.

The stupid reigns supreme.

The people in the past who convinced themselves to do unspeakable things were no less human than you or I. They made their decisions; the only thing that prevents history from repeating itself is making different ones.
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My blog
 
   
Made in au
Owns Whole Set of Skullz Techpriests






Versteckt in den Schatten deines Geistes.

That literally has nothing to do with our the ratings board functions...

Industrial Insanity - My Terrain Blog
"GW really needs to understand 'Less is more' when it comes to AoS." - Wha-Mu-077

 
   
Made in au
Lady of the Lake






 H.B.M.C. wrote:
That literally has nothing to do with our the ratings board functions...

He just asked what was wrong with our Government.

   
Made in au
Norn Queen






 n0t_u wrote:
 H.B.M.C. wrote:
That literally has nothing to do with our the ratings board functions...

He just asked what was wrong with our Government.


He's the recent encumbant. Mr Sheen and the ranga were better, but not by a whole lot.
   
Made in au
Lady of the Lake






 -Loki- wrote:
 n0t_u wrote:
 H.B.M.C. wrote:
That literally has nothing to do with our the ratings board functions...

He just asked what was wrong with our Government.


He's the recent encumbant. Mr Sheen and the ranga were better, but not by a whole lot.

Indeed, we actually need people to vote for that doesn't feel like we've just voted to save the $50.

   
 
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