Australia's iGEA Cautiously Welcomes New R18+ Guidelines

The Interactive Games and Entertainment Association (iGEA) has cautiously welcomed the final Guidelines for the Classification of Computer Games, which come into effect January 1, 2013.

“We, along with many other stakeholders, have worked for many years to have the classification scheme acknowledge that adults play and enjoy video games and are due the respect of a classification category that reflects ‘age appropriate’ content for adults," reads a statement released by the iGEA. "The new guidelines released today show that they have been crafted to try to balance the concerns of those who have resisted an R18+ classification and adults who want to play video games designed specifically for mature audiences and that are readily available in other developed democracies."

The statement, however, does goes on to criticise the new guidelines for holding games to stricter criteria compared to film and maintaining the interactive nature of video games increases the impact of various classifiable elements.

“Given the opposition to the introduction of an R18+ category from a vocal yet unrepresentative section of the community, along with a largely conservative group of Attorneys-General, it is no surprise the new guidelines hold video games to a higher standard across a number of categories compared to film and what originally existed for video games," continued the statement.

“As we have previously stated, we are concerned with the acknowledgment in the guidelines that interactivity has greater impact on players, despite the Federal Attorney-General’s office publishing a literature review in September 2010 that found no evidence to support these claims. There will be continued debate about whether the interactivity of video games has a greater impact than other forms of media, and we will continue to refer to the lack of the evidence to support these claims."

The iGEA expressed these same concerns on the release of the amended draft guidelines in November last year.

The iGEA will now "wait to see" how the Classification Board will go on to interpret and apply the newly revised guidelines and "trust that they will reflect the standards of morality, decency and propriety accepted by reasonable adults, not just the vocal ones."

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New R18+ Guidelines for Australia Finalised

Minister for Home Affairs and Justice Jason Clare has revealed the new finalised Guidelines for the Classification of Computer Games. The Guidelines will come into effect on 1 January 2013.

Mr Clare said State and Territory Ministers with responsibility for classification matters have agreed to the revised Guidelines after “extensive consultation.”

The guidelines still contain an acknowledgement that “computer games may have a higher impact than similarly themed depictions of the classifiable elements in film, and therefore greater potential for harm or detriment, particularly to minors.”  This, however, is not a new addition; this section regarding the “the interactive nature of computer games and the active repetitive involvement of the participant” has been carried over from the revised draft guidelines revealed back in November 2011.

The Interactive Games & Entertainment Association (iGEA) expressed concern at the time regarding this acknowledgment that interactivity has greater impact on players, despite the Federal Attorney-General's office publishing a literature review in December 2010 that found no evidence to support these claims.

Games that include violence with a very high degree of impact (that is excessively frequent, prolonged, detailed or repetitive), actual sexual violence (or implied sexual violence related to incentives or rewards), and drug use related to incentives and rewards will still be refused classification. These criteria have not changed since last November’s revised draft guidelines.

States and Territories are in the process of passing their own complementary legislation to ensure that R18+ computer games are appropriately regulated.

The ACT has already passed its Bill and NSW and Tasmania’s legislation has also been introduced into their parliaments.

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