you can't say that on the internet

I haven’t been in the right mood to write another entry in the last few days, things have been going too well. Today is different for two very big reasons.

1) I have work tomorrow, and

2) I have work tomorrow

If you couldn’t figure out why I’m in the right mood to write here again, you should probably throw away your modem and bash your head against your desk repeatedly.

The Left 4 Dead 2 Saga

_{link directs to the OFLC classification report}

If we go back in time a month or two, we would see Australia filling in (read: complaining to) the rest of the internet about how Left 4 Dead 2 is going to be banned from their shores. Of course, their outrage was met by sarcastic bastards from everywhere else in the world (except Germany) who didn’t give us any sympathy, and why should they have? We here are backwards criminals! We don’t have a rating higher than MA15+ for video games for a reason I am yet to understand.

Actually, I lied. We know full well why we have not recieved the coveted R18+ classification, and it is due to the Honorary Michael Atkinson, the current South Australian Attorney-General. In order for Australia to get the higher rating, Australia’s Standing Committee of Attorneys General (SCAG) must all vote unanimously in favour. Atkinson, however, has been opposed to the higher rating for quite some time now, and has actually blocked several past attempts. He argues that computer games are special, and need to have a higher level of censorship than other media.

His argument for this is that video games are more interactive than film or television, and that it is more harmful to view the same material by virtue of it being a game. He has no evidence to support this claim, other than the fact that he may have seen his kids get a bit involved in the games they play. Search youtube for something like “Halo 3 kid rage” and you will probably get an example of this. Computer games are now consumed by more adults than children, even Atkinson accepts this fact. We all should realise that adults should have the right to consume material intended for adults.

In an interview with GamespotAU he stated “In cinemas, the age of moviegoers can be regulated, and at the video store people must provide ID to hire R18+ videos. Once electronic games are in the home, access to them cannot be policed and the games are easily accessible to children.” He seems completely oblivious to the fact that adults can hire out R18+ videos and bring them home, thus being “easily accessible to children”. The same goes for R18+ magazines and the like. This is the fucking internet Mr. Atkinson, you would be amazed at how readily available everything you wish to police is available, and all at the click of a button!

On 15 September, the OFLC released their classification report. In it, is reasons why it was refused classification. Yes, Atkinson wins again. L4D2 was given the fateful RC (Refused Classification) for a number of reasons. It is worth noting that Valve (the publisher) did appeal this decision, but lost. To allow L4D2 to be sold in Australia, Valve cut out some of the content that the OFLC commented on in their report. This new cut version of the game went through the screening process again and came out with a brand new MA15+ rating.

To sum up what has been changed in the Australian version read this link. To view the differences, go here.

Apparently people have gotten a hold of Michael Atkinson’s details and posted them on the internet, getting people to continually complain via mail and telephone, which I can only imagine would be really, really annoying. I would probably call up him up and ask him what year it is.

Seriously, this is the shit we have to put up with these days? I’m not going to scream dictatorship as that is what the uninformed masses of spastic dropkicks would / have been doing already. Its just a little bit stupid that the rest of SCAG can see the benefit of an R18+ rating for video games, yet one guy can’t. I knew there was a reason why nobody likes South Australia. Oh, before I forget, Germany has gone through the same thing we have.

It suddenly feels so Orwellian around here…