Australians have been given the chance whether or not to impose an R18 rating on video games. Unlike films, video games in Australia only have a maximum rating of MA15+. The Federal Attorney-General’s department has released a public discussion paper on the issue. With the average age of Australian gamers being well over 25, it seemed like a wise decision to reconsider changing the classification.
“Were an R 18+ classification introduced, the RC (refused classification) category would still exist for games with… gratuitous or exploitative depictions of sexual violence, such as the sexual assault simulation game Rapelay,” the paper says.
“It could also include games that included violence with a ‘very high’ impact that offends against the standards of morality, decency and propriety generally accepted by reasonable adults to the extent that they should not be classified.”
Gamers all across Australia are hoping the change does go ahead. Australia is one of the only countries in the world that does not have an R18 rating for video games.