Australia bans 220 video games in 4 months as Government adopts new classification model - Polidicks

[quote]Australia has banned more than four times as many computer games in the past four months than in the entire period from 1994-2014, according to new figures from the Attorney-General's Department. About 220 computer games — with titles such as Douchebag Beach Club, Drunk Driver and HoboSimulator — have been refused classification since last March. Material that has been refused classification is illegal to sell, advertise and publicly exhibit in Australia. By contrast, the department's figures show the Classification Board refused classification of only approximately 50 computer games between 1994 to 2014. The huge spike in the number of games being censored results from a decision by the Federal Government to adopt a new model for classifying games sold through digital storefronts. From July 1, Australia will officially begin participating in a global pilot program that attempts to regulate the enormous volume of games being released online using the International Age Rating Coalition (IARC) tool, which has been adopted by the UK, the USA, Canada, Brazil, and most of Europe. Before the IARC model was adopted, video games released through digital storefronts did not have to be rated by the Classification Board.[/quote] Source: [url]http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-30/australia-bans-220-video-games-in-four-months/6582100[/url] I would suggest this time you guys read the article, and not just the main quote and the title since it provides way more information on the new format, which could also explain why 220 games were banned in 4 months. I'll give you a TL:DR though. The team for the classification is small so the amount they can classify is only 400 a year, but with this program they are using it can do more than that, and it judges what to rate it based on the information, so it won't be biased. If the person is caught feeding it misinformation, it's up to the player to decide on it's rating. [quote]"If you look at the Classification Board, they're doing about 400 Classifications a year, so you can see there is a big gap between what they are doing and what's been released." Mr Curry says if developers intentionally provide misleading information in the IARC form, the onus will be on players themselves to dispute the rating. "The good thing about IARC is because it's a global system, it doesn't need to be a family in Melbourne that sees a problem with it, it could be a family in Munich who highlight it," he said. "And if it's highlighted in Germany, for example, and the classification is changed in Germany, or anywhere else in the world, every other jurisdiction will be notified."[/quote] And like every program, it can fuck up...Also I will add, half of it was probably shitty Greenlight games, if it wasn't then I am sure it would have been in separate articles or just mentioned instead of Douchebag Beach Club.

Not the hobo simulator!

I'll be honest, I think it's a good system, 220 games is a lot in the past 4 months and that isn't good, but if you look past that, the system has potential. It's free for publishers to use, the games get rated faster, lot more games get rated, and if a guy puts in false information, the players can debate on the rating. For now it's digital only so if it's a triple A game then it most likely will go through the actual guys and not a program.

those fuckin video games

And if it stops people laughing at the Australian Classification Board outside of Australia, then go for it. Got a lot of people who likes to point out banned games in Australia to me. Ain't fun or funny. [editline]30th June 2015[/editline] My merge.

why ban games in the first place

[QUOTE=Headhumpy;48086982]why ban games in the first place[/QUOTE] Because stupid old men.

[QUOTE=RejectedPost;48087000]Because stupid old men.[/QUOTE] Soccer mums is probably more correct

I feel so bad for Australians

Why is Australia's classification system so moronic, of all places. You kinda get how Germany is somewhat sensitive to violence (though censoring it is dumb) but Oz has no real reason whatsoever.

You guys do know it's a program right? A computer program, not a thing done by actual people? Just asking since some people who messaged me on steam thought it was by people.

[QUOTE=Xonax;48087204]You guys do know it's a program right? A computer program, not a thing done by actual people? Just asking since some people who messaged me on steam thought it was by people.[/QUOTE] It didn't set its own parameters

[QUOTE=Xonax;48086880]And if it stops people laughing at the Australian Classification Board outside of Australia, then go for it. Got a lot of people who likes to point out banned games in Australia to me. Ain't fun or funny. [editline]30th June 2015[/editline] My merge.[/QUOTE] It won't stop us from pointing an laughing, this is just as stupid. There should be 0 games banned in 4 months.

[QUOTE=JerryK;48087320]It didn't set its own parameters[/QUOTE] Never said it was, I was just saying in case people got confused. When I first saw the article I thought it was a human program, I was wrong which is why I recommended people to read the article.

The scariest part about Australia aren't the insects and animals, it's your fucking government. Why ban any games? It will only make people curious about the games you ban and people are going to find a way to play them.

[QUOTE=Headhumpy;48086982]why ban games in the first place[/QUOTE] old men running the electronic world

Because fuck fun

[QUOTE=RejectedPost;48087000]Because stupid old men.[/QUOTE] [QUOTE=Tasm;48087059]Soccer mums is probably more correct[/QUOTE] Por que no las dos? Seriously it's probably both.

How about you don't ban anything? Just be a fucking parent and don't let your kids play games you don't want them to.

Boy I'm sure glad all these violent gamers are going to be kept off the streets. :downs:

so what? people will just pirate it anyway lol this doesn't achieve the objective they want to achieve

I still don't understand outright banning the games and making it illegal to import them. In the US, if it is too offensive or explicit to be in stores, we simply slap an AO on it and it goes it's merry way. Or the devs know it won't be rated and just release it anyways. Considering it will now be illegal to have a game sold in Australia that is offensive beyond what is comfortable is idiotic. That and this will make it illegal to sell a game that hasn't been rated either, if the article is understood right.

Australia is probably the worst country to be a gamer in. First the outragesly expensive games and now this

[QUOTE=Tasm;48087059]Soccer mums is probably more correct[/QUOTE] Football mums to be more correcter. ESRB is voluntary though in the US and does not cover online which is like now 90% of console games and they barely cover mobile so its pretty useless these days, not that it ever was useful since its ratings were pretty arbitrary.

I feel like Australia as a country is going to get fed up one day and some real shit is gonna happen. Serious rioting. Maybe when they come for their booze, Australians like that stuff.

[QUOTE=Sableye;48089382]Football mums to be more correcter[/QUOTE] Cunts to be the more correctest

[QUOTE=MILKE;48089349]Australia is probably the worst country to be a gamer in. First the outragesly expensive games and now this[/QUOTE] + shitty australian internet FML

aussie government really seems to enjoy banning things [editline]30th June 2015[/editline] good place for a moderator to work lol

Australian governments have and always will be fucking pathetic when it comes to video games. The Gaming Development industry is borderline dead (my friends who are doing Game programming/Art design for video games have been told if you want a job, move overseas), our internet sucks (and it will continue to suck thanks to Abbott) and no one gives a shit about our government banning video games couse "muh violence." While the R18 rating has stopped violent video games from being banned, it does NOT protect from games having drugs as a reward or something hinting towards sexual violence (if a game has either it will be flat out Refused Classification). With the Copyright Act bill coming in to block websites hosting "illegal content", it could easily spread to websites selling or merely host things about Refused Classification items (as the attempted 2009 Internet filter would block websites containing RC things). Christ this country is fucking pathetic, no wonder it is a nanny state and we're a laughing stock (if the Germans are pointing their fingers and laughing at us since they flat out ban things with Nazi symbols, then holy shit we're pathetic). With Fallout 4 I'm holding the breath because I am expecting it to be censored or something, that's what happened with Fallout 3. [QUOTE=hrak;48089385]I feel like Australia as a country is going to get fed up one day and some real shit is gonna happen. Serious rioting. Maybe when they come for their booze, Australians like that stuff.[/QUOTE] Some Christian cunt (Fred Nile who can drop dead and the world would be a better place) in the Australian Senate (or parliament can't remember) wants to raise the drinking age to 21 (which would piss the fuck off a lot of people, myself included since I'm 20).

[QUOTE=ironman17;48087603]Por que no las dos? Seriously it's probably both.[/QUOTE] I'd say it's stupid old men catering to the cries of soccer moms. Best of both worlds!