• Atkinson "won't surrender" anti-R18+ fight
    57 replies, posted
[url=http://uk.gamespot.com/news/6246574.html]Source[/url] [quote]South Australian Attorney General says lack of graphic game images in public discussion paper will result in "overwhelming response in support of R18+"; hints that his stance could change if gaming community engages in civilised debate. Australians are right now being asked to voice their opinion on whether an R18+ rating for video games should be introduced, with the Australian Federal Attorney General seeking public submissions into the issue. But while the consultation process won't conclude until February 28, 2010, one high-profile figure in the games debate has already decided that the majority of respondents will be in favour of an R18+: vocal anti-R18+ campaigner Michael Atkinson. The South Australian Attorney General had previously lobbied for the discussion paper that accompanies the public consultation process to include graphic game images. [url=http://uk.gamespot.com/news/6208246.html]In April last year[/url], the then Minister for Home Affairs, Bob Debus, made the [url=http://uk.gamespot.com/news/6242913.html]R18+ public consulation[/url] the concern of his office, taking power away from Atkinson and the other Attorneys General. In an exclusive phone interview with GameSpot AU, Atkinson said the public consultation is incomplete without [url=http://uk.gamespot.com/news/6206154.html]the pictures he first proposed in March last year[/url]. He says the majority of Australians don't care enough about the issue to have a say, and as a result, the discussion paper responses will mostly be from gamers. "I don't think the discussion paper presents a fair and balanced view of the issue without pictures of the games that would be rated R18+," Atkinson said. "I think the majority of the population are unfamiliar with these games and without images, they won’t be able to imagine them in their mind's eye. They’ll have no idea how violent or sexually depraved they are, and what kind of torture, drug use, and blood spatter they include. "I also believe that very few people outside the gaming community will have a say in this public consultation, which will mean an overwhelming response in support of R18+." Atkinson has also told GameSpot AU that a recent spout of personal death threats has made it unlikely that his opposition to the introduction of an R18+ classification for video games in Australia will shift or soften anytime soon. Atkinson talked of renewed death threats and a daily flood of abusive e-mails, letters, and correspondence from what he assumes to be those opposed to his current stance on R18+ for games. "It's unlikely I’ll change my stance [on R18+ for games] anytime soon, considering the last death threat I received was pushed under my door at 2am, presumably by someone who doesn’t like my stance on R18+," Atkinson said. "It was like something out of a Hollywood film--letters cut from magazine headlines arranged together on a page. I receive abusive emails from anonymous senders on a daily basis. I get called a paedophile every single day. But I won’t surrender," he said. Atkinson says only the start of a civilised debate between himself and the gaming community will make him consider changing his stance on R18+. Although the threats keep coming, Atkinson says he intends to continue actively replying to as many letters as he can and continuing to have his voice heard. "I'll consider changing my mind about all this when the gaming community decide to behave in a civil fashion and apologise for the theats to me and my family. But I don't plan to back down from the fight. I started my mission and I plan to finish it." he said. "Other Attorneys General regard this as a low-key issue. Others support R18+, and others oppose it. Others are indifferent. I personally try to reply in a reasoned way to everyone who writes to me about this issue, something that's become very hard lately with the daily flood of anonymous and abusive e-mails." Atkinson [url=http://uk.gamespot.com/news/6241211.html]made headlines in November last year[/url] when he appeared on ABC’s Radio National program National Interest and declared his intentions to appeal the Classification Board of Australia’s classification of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2--which was rated MA15+--because he was against "any game that encourages gamers to perpetrate extreme violence and cruelty onscreen…and allows players to be virtual terrorists and gain points by massacring civilians." Now Atkinson says he has no memory of what happened to this appeal. "[Federal Minister for Home Affairs] Brendan O’Connor was planning to appeal the same game I was, and I understood that he went ahead with this appeal so there was no reason for me to do the same," Atkinson said. "I don't know what the result of this appeal was." According to the Classification Board of Australia, the Classification Review Board has not received an appeal on any video game classification decision from O'Connor in 2009 or 2010. The board also told GameSpot AU in November last year that no appeal from Atkinson had been received, which indicates that neither minister followed up his intentions to appeal Modern Warfare 2. Although hurt by the tirade of personal threats to him and his family, Atkinson remains positive. He revealed that his son Christopher is an avid gamer and a participant in competitive gaming tournaments in South Australia. "I do sometimes discuss the R18+ issue with my sons, yes," Atkinson said. "I even bought them a Mario game for Christmas." Stay tuned to GameSpot AU for more news on Atkinson tomorrow. Meanwhile, check out [url=http://uk.gamespot.com/features/6242950/index.html]GameSpot AU's Aussie Games Classification FAQ feature.[/url][/quote] [img]http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sbr07vVCXe0/SwD-MurqvcI/AAAAAAAAGzg/Tmml4qjsesY/s400/michael-atkinson-mugshot.jpg[/img]
Damn, that's one stubborn jackass. But honestly, people should stop with the death threats, there are other ways of getting what you want.
God, his teeth look TERRIBLE. How could anyone respect that???
WOW... He even bought them a Mario game for Christmas... I see it now... He's not an idiot, he knows everything about games... ...what an idiot.
[QUOTE=Communist Cake;19727712] people should stop with the death threats[/QUOTE] And start with the death makin'.
[QUOTE=GunFox;19727905]And start with the death makin'.[/QUOTE] I'm in for that.
[QUOTE=Dr Bob;19727664] [img]http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sbr07vVCXe0/SwD-MurqvcI/AAAAAAAAGzg/Tmml4qjsesY/s400/michael-atkinson-mugshot.jpg[/img][/QUOTE] Fuck you. Now my friend cannot play L4D2 due to you!
I guess he's a [i]complete dick[/i].
I reckon this man needs a metal slug accelerated at a very high speed lodged in his main processing unit.
I don't really understand what the big deal is here. What's wrong with putting a 18 rating on some games? I don't really want kids playing that sort of shit anyway. Ok, I just read the article and last few comments again. You guys are idiots. Why are you so upset about keeping this trash out of the hands of kids? That's fucked up. Why would you WANT them to play these games?
Some games are completely banned/nerfed beyond fun in australia, AngryAsshole.
[QUOTE=chaz13;19728315]Some games are completely banned/nerfed beyond fun in australia, AngryAsshole.[/QUOTE] Some games are completely banned here too, *insert comment advocating piracy but not really because we aren't allowed to do that*. That's pretty stupid, no game should be banned or have the censored bits stripped out.Honestly, if people can't handle that they shouldn't buy the game. They have ratings on the side for a reason! The new rating system makes sense though, maybe it would stop a game that would normally get banned from being banned?
[quote]He revealed that his son Christopher is an avid gamer and a participant in competitive gaming tournaments in South Australia.[/quote] I didn't know they had tournaments for Barbie games. :confused:
What a douchebag.
Thought they were talking about Rowan Atkinson then. [img]http://www.knowledgebase-script.com/demo/admin/attachments/rowan_atkinson.gif[/img]
While this guy is a pretty big dick, all the guys that want to kill him are proving his point.
I guess he really has a 1Up on these games thus far. [img]http://www.knowledgebase-script.com/demo/admin/attachments/rowan_atkinson.gif[/img]
[QUOTE=Vince323;19728900]While this guy is a pretty big dick, all you guys that want to kill him are proving his point.[/QUOTE] I don't want to kill him. I just want to stuff his fingers into empty light sockets, one at a time, while angry iguanas gnaw at his testicles. And maybe after that, stick his feet into pools of sulfuric acid, one at a time. I'll follow that up with a good old round of dental torture, followed by castration with a rusty knife and without anesthesia. But no, I do not want to kill him.
-snip-
[QUOTE=AngryAsshole;19728023]I don't really understand what the big deal is here. What's wrong with putting a 18 rating on some games? I don't really want kids playing that sort of shit anyway. Ok, I just read the article and last few comments again. You guys are idiots. Why are you so upset about keeping this trash out of the hands of kids? That's fucked up. Why would you WANT them to play these games?[/QUOTE] I suggest you read it once more
Yeah, they're actually refusing to give games an 18+ rating and just banning them instead. Keeping them out of the hands of kids is fine. Keeping them out of the hands of adults is not. [editline]06:04PM[/editline] [img]http://i48.tinypic.com/dvn0p3.jpg[/img] Problem, Australia?
[QUOTE=AngryAsshole;19728579][B]Some games are completely banned here too[/B], *insert comment advocating piracy but not really because we aren't allowed to do that*. That's pretty stupid, no game should be banned or have the censored bits stripped out.Honestly, if people can't handle that they shouldn't buy the game. They have ratings on the side for a reason! The new rating system makes sense though, maybe it would stop a game that would normally get banned from being banned?[/QUOTE] That still doesn't justify it. If Australia is going to be crazy over games, at least allow the R18 rating so that people can buy games.
I can't believe you Aussies have to live in the same country as this guy. You have my condolences.
[quote] [b]"It's unlikely I’ll change my stance [on R18+ for games] anytime soon, considering the last death threat I received was pushed under my door at 2am, presumably by someone who doesn’t like my stance on R18+," Atkinson said. "It was like something out of a Hollywood film--letters cut from magazine headlines arranged together on a page. I receive abusive emails from anonymous senders on a daily basis. I get called a paedophile every single day. But I won’t surrender," he said. [/b][/quote] [img]http://www.worldfamouscomics.com/tony/images/crying-baby.jpg[/img] MOMMY! ANONYMOUS PPLZ CALL ME BAD NAEMS OVER EMAIL AN-AN-AND THEY CALL ME A PAEDOPHILE!!! AN-AN-AND THEY R THREATENING MY LIEF!!! :crying: [QUOTE=AngryAsshole;19728023]I don't really understand what the big deal is here. What's wrong with putting a 18 rating on some games? I don't really want kids playing that sort of shit anyway. Ok, I just read the article and last few comments again. You guys are idiots. Why are you so upset about keeping this trash out of the hands of kids? That's fucked up. Why would you WANT them to play these games?[/QUOTE] 1. It's the parents duty to make sure that THEIR UNDERAGED KIDS AREN'T PLAYING THESE "OMG SUPER VIOLENT UR GONNA GO OUT AND KILL SOMEONE NOW!!!" VIDEOGAMES 2. Before you say "but parents aren't always around their children 24/7 and they have friends with these games" ^^^^^^^^ 3. Idiots because we stand against this form of tyranny and dictatorship? Yeah, that makes sense.
[QUOTE=w1z v2;19732656][img]http://www.worldfamouscomics.com/tony/images/crying-baby.jpg[/img] MOMMY! ANONYMOUS PPLZ CALL ME BAD NAEMS OVER EMAIL AN-AN-AND THEY CALL ME A PAEDOPHILE!!! AN-AN-AND THEY R THREATENING MY LIEF!!! :crying: [/QUOTE] err.. you trying to make him look like a cry baby isnt working well.. if you got death threats everyday (someone actually walking up to your house and slipping it under the door) i'm sure you'd be pretty on edge.
This isn't really about ideology anymore. Now it's more about getting Atkinson out of Office because he's an absolute tosser. I don't think it matters about anything else now, he's probably not going to survive another election.
He's a cunt with an evangelist agenda... It's only a matter of time until the Australian people give him the middle finger in the election.
Atkinson is a hero.
Hey, Atkinson! [IMG]http://i50.tinypic.com/2iijsk8.jpg[/IMG]
This man is a cunt
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