I read his entire letter as saying "I'm a prude douchebag who chooses to emotionally cling to my beliefs despite the abundance of evidence that says I'm unfounded in doing so, and that I'm pretty confident that the number of prudes in my district outnumbers those driven by rational thought - and thanks to the idiotic way our government is setup with respect my role in the SCAG, I can constantly force my irrational viewpoint on the entire population"

It is equivelant to outlawing emotion and then training Christian Bale to dodge bullets and use swords.

You obviously don't get out much, but that's really not all that hard to do and is not some big secret. Contact the Electoral Commission SA as stated here for a copy of the electoral role. Then Whitepages is your friend. Some QGL members even have a copy of the Whitepages database on their computers. So while time consuming, someone with the will would be able to do what you wish.

Self-declared "gamers" are all horrible man-children with unrealistic world views and few convictions other than playing average videogames in their uncensored form. That much is clear.

A slightly censored version Valve's L4D2 is equivocal to the destruction of books (knowledge, culture, art). --QGL wisdom.

edit: Trying to oust a politician in a state you don't even live in over fucking videogames? Hell yes. Gamers unite.

The reality is that until something of actual fucking merit is prohibited from sale in this country nobody other than a select few impotently vocal nerds are going to care. No videogame to date has enough merit to warrant anything more than a passing glance in any official capacity.

Can we just ban hashy already? I mean seriously, why the fuck not.

can not be trusted with the contents of something that is not expressly illegal

Introduction
Australia is the only developed country without an R18+ category for interactive media (computer games).

The Attorney-General of each state is the Minister for Censorship. Their combined rules dictate how the Office of Film and Literature Classifaction (OFLC) Classifications Board can classify such media as literature, film and computer games.

A discussion paper has been tabled for release on the issue and was supposed to appear in April, with Attorney-General (ACT) Simon Corbell expecting it 'to be released soon'.

To introduce a new classification category (R18+) all Censorship Ministers must vote in favour unanimously.

The biggest opponent to an R18+ category is the SA Attorney-General, Michael Atkinson. In his recent communications ( http://drop.io/atkinson2010 ) Atkinson considers that other A-G's 'are content to let [him] be the lightening rod' - in other words, he is not the only A-G against an R18+ category.

Atkinkson raises two important points in his letter:
- he is aware the majority of games consumers are adults
- in 2008 the games industry turned over $2bil AUD (and is growing quickly)

However, so much of Atkinson's response is misguided there must be a rebuttal.

Issue 1 - Control of sale of R18+ restricted category media
Atkinson "cannot fathom that State-enforced safeguards could exist to prevent R18+ being bought by households with children..."

Like cigarettes, alcohol and MA15+ games (a restricted games category that already exists!) Mr Atkinson? Your point is grossly invalid.

Issue 2 - Content of proposed R18+ category games
Atkinson "is baffled why proponents of R18+ games are putting up their hands saying 'Give us more cruel sex and extreme violence!'"

I've never seen that as a mainstream argument of 'proponents of R18+ games' - and of course, just like with film classification now, there is certainly a place for a Refused Classification (RC) category. Noone is suggesting there shouldn't be. It's unfortunate that some of the examples that Atkinson refers to, like 'Rapeplay', would find the same fate that feature films that similar depraved sex acts currently do - a big, shiny RC in the OFLC database!

As for even mentioning 'Leisure Suit Larry:Magna Cum Laude' - a game featuring 'implied sexual activity', nudity and sexual references. I can't even begin to imagine the kind of world that Atkinson believes his constituency reside in if he holds reals concerns for such themes.

Issue 3 - Restriction of access
Atkinson states that Children are the "most computer-savvy group" in our society and that "if adults think they can devise a lock-out system to defeat children, tell 'em their dreaming."

Well, last time I checked, Children weren't running our Internet Service Providers, so I can't agree that they are the "most computer-savvy group" for starters.

As for lock-out systems on consoles (and even DVD players) - these have been around for a long time, and have been shown to work perfectly.

- XBOX: http://www.xbox.com/en-AU/support/familycentre/xbox360/console/familysettings-gameratings.htm
- PS3: http://faq.anz.playstation.com/cgi-bin/scee_anz.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?locale=en_AU&p_faqid=4396

If Mr. Atkinson is so worried about such filtering processes being inadequate then perhaps he should be more concerned with the Government's strategy for internet content filtering:

- http://www.netalert.gov.au/filters.html

If all else fails then surely some responsible parenting can fill the gaps. Although Mr. Atkinson doesn't seem overly confident in parents these days.

Conclusion
Finally, Atkinson's final paragraph may be his downfall. In challenging someone to stand against him for election in March, 2010, Atkinson states "I think you will find this issue has little traction with my constituents who are more concerned with real-life issues than home entertainment in imaginary worlds."

If this issue had such 'little traction' he wouldn't be receiving the mass of emails and letters that drives him to write such response letters in the first place. This statement is arrogant, disdainful and unfit for a Censorship Minister to make. Yes, Mr Atkinson, you have a lot of responsibilities as an Attorney-General - but it's your tax-payer funded job to care about this issue.

It's very simple. This is about freedom of choice. It's about the same choice that adults are able to make with films and literature. We can only hope that in March 2010 a candidate that actually represents the views of that constituency will be available for election.

P.S Computer games aren't art. They're computer games.

No, it's not besides the point. You are comparing books, a key element in the advancement of mankind, to computer games, programs created to stave off boredom. When the library of Alexandria burnt down a huge collection of books, scrolls and other records were lost for ever. Imagine if the same happened to steam servers and the games were lost for ever.

You're not an adult, you're a huge man child who can't make a proper analogy about why his precious computer game should not be censored.

Is it only video games that apparently affect people? I've spent a great deal of my free time watching horror films. I haven't run out and murdered a bunch of topless hoes yet. Stupid argument is stupid.

Is it really "bad logic" to discriminate between watching someone being tortured violently and participating in it? Intent is also considered in any classification process, and many games glorify and encourage the act they're portraying.

The effect this kind of shit has the effect on ANY mind at all is completely unknown and frankly pretty scary. Who are you to draw the lines between what is and isn't dangerous to a range of developing minds?

No amount of anecdotes on gaming forums by gaming dads will change the fact that the majority of parents will gladly buy the latest GTA installment for their kids without a second thought.

It's a matter of ignorance, and it's pretty unique to video games as a medium.

... the overwhelming majority of games rated suitable for 15 year olds in Australia are rated higher elsewhere in the world. Over 90% of games classified MA15+ between June and November '09 were rated 17+ in the US. All but one was rated either 16+ or 18+ in Europe. The "trifling" impact is that games intended for adults - recognised as such internationally - are available to Australian children. This is a failing of a classification system that says - first and foremost - that "adults should be able to read, hear and see what they want", while not providing an appropriate classification for that content.

...

It is true that edits can be made to prevent a game from being refused classification. But this usually means games are slightly edited and made available to teenagers. When Fallout 3 was edited to be allowed an MA rating, the edited version was distributed worldwide. Still, it was rated 17+ or 18+ in the US, Europe and New Zealand.

.fucking politicians

we'd be better off without them

or, 5 year lifespan, Nexus 6 style. Then we send Chopper out to collect.

It doesn't happen nearly as badly in any other medium. Joe Parent is much less likely to let their 10 year old kid watch a movie with tits in it than play God of War. It's UNIQUE to video games because outside of your geeky ass social bubbles video games are for children.

It doesn't happen nearly as badly in any other medium. Joe Parent is much less likely to let their 10 year old kid watch a movie with tits in it than play God of War. It's UNIQUE to video games because outside of your geeky ass social bubbles video games are for children.

yeh right - cos the media produce their content where a dire social need for responsible information exists. not cos something relatively new is coming up more frequently and it makes for advertising dollars to turn it into as much of a circus as possible.

3 in a row, pow!
that's why people are discussing it and doing what they're doing

This is the real problem.

Atkinson is so settled on his position that he isn't going to change. Our only hope is that he drops dead of a heartattack, or the opposition is elected new time around.

(unlikely given his last poll result)

In a stunning display of debating prowess, jim banned me.

I mean, my father plays games on his mobile phone, my mother has a Wii, my brother relaxes on the weekend playing Halo 3 or Brutal Legend on his XBox 360, and I can guarantee you that there is no possible way any member of my family except me could be considered part of nerd culture. Games have progressed beyond being just something nerds or geeks play with, and they're becoming part of everyday life, but the systems for classifying them aren't keeping up.

ABC link okay pinky? - http://www.abc.net.au/elections/sa/2006/results/croy.htm It's also on the Gamers4Croydon website.

Are you suggesting that the creativity and effort that goes into making video games is somehow different to that which creates oil paintings or novels? Are animators, graphic designers, programmers and creative directors somehow less worthy of creative freedom because their medium isn't canvas?

Well, I'm not a huge man child. I'm a father and general upstanding member of the community. The ridiculous idea that video games don't get classified in the same way as movies is just bad logic. It gives parents better information to decide what their kids play.

I agree. So perhaps, the debate should be framed in those terms instead of tears about the average gamer being 30. Think of the children Hogfather ;)

Then why is it in the purview of the AG office?

The Attorney-General is the minister responsible for legal affairs, national and public security...

Some people get a bit caught up in the whole reality vs. computer game thing.

ou should know this considering how you harped on about it being artistic expression and what not.

so are you saying it is normal and expected to get as emotional about a purely fictional story as a real life event?

it's hard to take anything you say seriously when you can't spell basic words