Australian Family Lobby Groups Pissed Off again *Sigh* - Polidicks

[release][B]Australia is one of the only Western nations without an adults-only classification for video games. Eamonn Duff discovers why an R18+ rating needs to be introduced.[/B] PETER BAEE enters a popular Sydney department store with trepidation - he wants to buy a video game which, by law, he's not supposed to have. Peter is 14 but aware he looks younger than his age. Not that the shop assistant cares. Ignoring the red ''Restricted'' warning sticker on the front of the game box, the assistant takes $100 from the boy without question. Peter walks out of the store with a violent game that the law says should only be bought by those older than 15 and accompanied by an adult or guardian. ''I'm shocked how easy it ended up being,'' Peter says later. With the permission of his parents, Peter conducted a video-game shopping survey around Sydney's CBD on behalf of The Sun-Herald. He visited six retailers, picked out games with an MA 15+ classification, then strolled up to the counter. Five out of six shops handed him graphic games involving murder, mass shootings, stabbings, drug dealing, sexual violence and child abductions. The results of our investigation outraged family lobby groups, who say not enough is being done to crack down on the practice. ''Our biggest concern with the proposed R18+ rating is children are going to get their hands on these products regardless and there's nothing parents can do about it, no matter how responsible they are,'' says Barbara Biggins, chief executive of the Australian Council on Children and the Media. ''The shops are being derelict in their duties. If the respective state governments don't come down hard on this, what message does it send? What's the point if the enforcement end of the spectrum isn't working.'' Interactive Games and Entertainment Association chief executive Ron Curry agrees that obligations must be fulfilled at the point of sale - ''and, more widely, that everybody is educated about the rating system in place''. Mr Curry said if an R18+ rating - for adults only - was introduced, there would be ''less confusion.'' The absence of the rating has seen 74 video games banned in Australia since 1995. ''If you'd told me you'd been into six specialist games shops and they'd sold the games, I'd be very surprised,'' Mr Curry says. ''When it comes to mass merchants, there can be a high turnover of staff [and] employee moves between departments, and there is potentially a lack of continuity in terms of education and knowledge of what the classifications actually mean. That said, there is no excuse.'' Peter says he has mates his age who play the same restricted games he bought. ''Games like these are becoming more and more lifelike,'' he says. ''If you play this sort of stuff regularly, the violence, the killing, the drugs and everything, I guess it just becomes normal.'' Research suggests exposure to violent games makes people more aggressive, less caring children - regardless of their age, sex or culture. A review of 130 studies on the subject - covering more than 130,000 young gamers worldwide - found exposure to violent video games was a causal risk factor for increased aggressive thoughts and behaviour and decreased empathy. Lead researcher Craig Anderson, from the Centre for the Study of Violence at Iowa State University, says such effects are neither huge nor trivial. ''If you have a child with no other risk factors for aggression and violence, and if you allow them to suddenly start playing video games five hours to 10 hours a week, they're not going to become a school shooter,'' he says. ''[But] it's a risk factor that's easy for an individual parent to deal with - at least, easier than changing most other known risk factors for aggression and violence, such as poverty or one's genetic structure.'' NSW Attorney-General John Hatzistergos has warned retailers that selling restricted games to minors is a criminal offence. Those caught selling MA15+ computer games to someone under the age of 15 face fines up to $5500 for sole traders and $11,000 if trading as a company. Selling RC (Refused Classification) games to minors carries a maximum of two years' jail or $16,500 fine for sole traders, or a $33,000 fine for a corporation. "The government takes breaches of classification compliance laws seriously and has given police full authority to enforce laws dealing with this offence,'' a spokeswoman for the Attorney-General says. ''Members of the public who witness retailers selling restricted games to minors are encouraged to report this criminal activity to police. A national review of computer game classification laws is currently in progress and work is also under way to develop proposals to improve compliance by retailers."[/release] [URL="http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/declare-game-over-on-video-violence-degrading-our-kids-20100313-q539.html"]Sauce is tasty[/URL] I guess you can say, Australia is Left 4 Rants

The parents are defenseless! They cannot take away the games from their children and parent them well! Games are evil.

At least they realise that playing violent vidya gaemz doesn't make you a murderer.

To fix the situation, Australia should ban video game censorship.

[QUOTE=Best4bond;20719937]''Games like these are becoming more and more lifelike,'' he says. ''If you play this sort of stuff regularly, the violence, the killing, the drugs and everything, I guess it just becomes normal.'' [/QUOTE] I remember the mission in gta vice city where you drank some moon shine and everything went blurry and you had to drive the car, but you couldn't you just crashed into stuff it was so realistic.

This kid is pretty smart, eh he convinced his parents to let him buy violent vidja gayms and got away with it.

"Peter is 14 but aware he looks younger than his age." oh, thank you mr. journalist for your objective opinion, aha he's 14, how shop keepers couldn't really tell the difference between a 14 and a 15 year old so they put that "he looks younger, honest!" shit in there to make the shop keepers sound evil for selling games.

I guess they could of included a picture of Peter so we could make a judgement for ourselves...

I don't really see a problem here. They broke the law by selling the game to a kid with no parents around. Australia makes sense for once.

Wait, Wait, Wait.. "Five out of six shops handed him graphic games involving murder, mass shootings, stabbings, drug dealing, sexual violence and child abductions." What game is this and why have i never heard of it?

Just put the fucking rating on there already so you can stop banning shit.

Most likely GTA... GTA check list Murder ✔ Mass Shootings ✔ Stabbings ✔ Drug Dealing ✔ Sexual Violence ✔ Child Abductions ✘

hey i read this in the paper today the absolute worst thing about this is our prime minister kevin rudd (the douchebag who lets all this stuff in) is going to wait until AFTER the election to pass the filter. And since there hasn't been a one term prime minister since the 1920's, it looks like we are fucked.

[QUOTE=CivilProtection;20738101]hey i read this in the paper today the absolute worst thing about this is our prime minister kevin rudd (the douchebag who lets all this stuff in) is going to wait until AFTER the election to pass the filter. And since there hasn't been a one term prime minister since the 1920's, it looks like we are fucked.[/QUOTE] But Kevin is such a smug bastard

I thought Australia was on east

[QUOTE=Best4bond;20737857]Most likely GTA... GTA check list Murder ✔ Mass Shootings ✔ Stabbings ✔ Drug Dealing ✔ Sexual Violence ✔ Child Abductions ✘[/QUOTE] Bioshock.

Why are parents never blamed for this stupidity

I'll be voting against Rudd

I don't think any game in history features child abduction. Unless it's an indie game spread in private chat rooms that I haven't, and hopefully never will, hear about [editline]09:03PM[/editline] [QUOTE=GunsNRoses;20738462]I'll be voting against Rudd[/QUOTE] Rudd's not doing this. The no R18 law has been around since before him, as far as I know

[QUOTE=teeheeV2;20738797] Rudd's not doing this. The no R18 law has been around since before him, as far as I know[/QUOTE] I meant about what that other guy was saying.

Shit! Thank god the family lobby! I, too, can empathize with the evil of violent video games. I heard game developers created a device inside their discs, which sends out evil waves to the parents that make them blind, deaf, and dumb enough that they forget their kids exist and makes them forget to educate their children between reality and fantasy! praise jesus!

Pfff.Here in germany every game with guns is 18+ and censored.