Video games don't enjoy the same freedom down under as they do here in the United States. While the Australian government and even retailers have always been touchy about certain games, this latest government initiative takes things to a whole other level.
According to ABC Australia, citing figures from the Attorney General's Department, more than 200 video games have been "refused classification" in the country in since March.
For comparison, between 1994 and 2014, only 50 games have been refused classification. When a game is refused classification, developers are unable to sell or advertise their game in the country. In other words, the games are effectively banned.
So, why are so many games being banned? It's part of a new 12-month pilot program in the country that started on July 1 as part of an effort to classify digital games. The country will now be using the International Age Rating Coalition tool, something that is already used by most of Europe, the U.S. and Canada, to rate games. This tool allows developers to classify their games by breaking down explicit content, like violence, into numerous sub-categories in the form of an online survey. A questions a developer might have to answer include, "Does the game contain any bodily functions such as belching, flatulence or vomiting when used for humorous purposes?" Previously, games sold on digital store fronts in Australia didn't require a classification.
In preparation for the program, a 150,000 digital game "back catalog" has been rapidly classified, according to an Attorney General's Department spokesperson. It is from that pool of 150,000 that 200 games, many of them small-time indie titles with names like Drunk Driver and HoboSimulator, have now been banned.
"After 12 months, classification ministers will determine whether the IARC tool should be a permanent part of the Australian classification scheme," the spokesperson says.
More than a few Australian gamers reacted negatively to a decision by Target Australia to pull Grand Theft Auto V from store shelves in response to a petition from concerned parents late last year. Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number, an indie game sold digitally, was banned by the Australian government earlier this year for implied sexual violence.
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