Ok, this is a serious issue. Please be awear that I am going to post some YouTube videos and discuss some topics that may not be suitable for people under 15 years. (Given the subject matter, maybe not for 17 year olds, but I'll get to that.)
Anyway, the long and short of it is, that Australia does not have an R18+ rating for games. What this means that games that really should be classified as 'Adults only' are getting put into an MA15+ category, exposing children to things that can be unsuitable, such as sex, violence and torture. On the other hand, there have been some games that have been banned because they are unsuitable for children, but not for adults. A current example is that the Australian release of the game 'The Witcher 2- Assasin of Kings' has been modified. Instead of the character, after completing a certian task, being rewarded with sex, the character is now forced to decline the offer. Apparently, "sex as a reward" is not considered suitable for childern.
Um, hello, what about all of the mature adults who want to play the full game, unedited and whole?
"In the original version your character Geralt was given the choice of accepting sex ‘as a reward’ for successfully completing this particular side quest. The Australian Classification Board originally refused classification as they deemed the inclusion of ‘sex as a reward’ as not suitable for an MA15+ classification.
The change is only minor, in that the character choice is now made automatically for him. The character and the side quest are still in the game but presented in a slightly different context. No other changes have been made and this change has no impact on gameplay, storyline or character development." Namco Bandai told Kotaku why this modification was necessary.
source
"WILL THERE BE DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF THE WITCHER 2?
The Witcher 2 will have the same content worldwide. There will be no regional differences aside from
the languages. And no censored versions – so no wondering about importing the game, nudity
patches, etc." CD Projekt wrote in their April 2011
source
Now this also brings up this issue of Australia's ridiculiously over priced games. One walk into a game store and you will see PC games for over a hundred dollars, which is ridiculous. For a newly released game I wouldn't, and coudn't, afford to pay more than $80 at more. (I'm not the best example though, as I generally buy games that are pre-2006 )
It is far more cheaper for someone to import the game from overseas than buy it in Australia and are then able to get a whole game without censors or edits, which damages the economy.
In case you haven't realised, I, and most of the gaming population in Australia, are in full support of Australia getting an R18+ classification. In the same vein as other forms of entertainment, such as films, games can, and most definatly do, contain content that may be extreme. The biggest difference is that more often than not the player is actively contributing to the violence surrounding the game, impacting on the brain at a greater degree. There has been research surrounding children's exposure to violence at a young age, for example, here.
Ok, so I am going to leave you with some YouTube videos. =)
The first is the trailer for one of my favourite games and the second is the first trailer of three for the sequal to be released in June (So excited).
Now, see those numbers at the start?
Yes, take note, and of course enjoy.
What do you think? Should there be an R18+ rating for games in Australia?
xxx Lilly
Edit: I probably should point out that the examples I've mentioned aren't exactly the criteria for an R18+ rating. The criteria is most defiantly the important part. Like, whether drug use is included, or brutal murder. The decision to rate a game is based on it's impact on the viewer, so some games that are more violent may have a lower rating for reasons such as killing dead humans reanimated as zombies as opposed to killing living humans who are diseased. You get the picture.
There probably should, because games are getting banned for everyone because they aren't suitable for kids.
ReplyDeleteI didn't really like the " exposing children to things that can be unsuitable, such as sex, violence and torture" bit. Okay, so torture probably isn't that great. But... have you seen TV? Again with the violence. It's all over TV, the media, and kids get in fights all the time. And sex? According to biology it's okay for a 15 year old. Just because people have decided not to doesn't mean that it ends up that way.
I get why those things aren't suitable. You don't want them to get any ideas or whatever. But I don't think it works. I also don't think that kids need to be protected from it. It exists. So you should teach them about it properly. Not try to ban things that are going to show them it. You cannot rely of media to teach kids or to show them what is and isn't good or bad.
You shared a link about exposing kids to violence at a young age. I thought we were talking about teenagers. They aren't young. I really don't think that say... a 5 year old should be playing games are extremely violent in nature. They will see violence as something normal. But a teenager? They know. Or they should. Like I said, teach them. Don't let them learn from the media.
I obviously need to clarify. This was meant to be general, not specifically about children or teenagers.
ReplyDeleteAnd, no, I don't watch TV, with exception of the Simpsons. Violence is bombarded into children and teenagers, but often in entertainment they're not the cause of it. In games it is different, because they are actively part of it, creating the violence, physically sawing heads off. In regards to sex, sure it is a natural and healthy part of life, but the sex presented in games and movies is unrealistic and not what teenagers should expect when it comes to sex. The Sims 2 as an M rating for their 'WooHoo' and that's about as clean as it gets.
Sex can be, both in games and real life, violent, aggressive or akin to the BDSM culture and I do NOT think that 15 year olds should be exposed to it in that way. Perhaps TV in America or other parts of the world shows soft core p**n and graphic sex movies around prime time when teenagers watch most of their TV? I don't know.
(oh and do you want your 15 year old brother causally playing a game like The Witcher in the living room while the rest of the family is around? I wouldn’t want to. )
In regards to violence, games that should be R18+ and are not are EXTREMELY violent. Far worse than any MA15+ movie I've seen.
Oh, and you say 'you' as if you're accusing me of these things. I am not in a position alone to do any of those things. It needs to be done collectively, as a community.
I do agree with you when you say that the education needs to be changed, but I believe that over exposure to things is somewhat backwards.
I encourage people to check out the links above and read through the comments to see what other Australian gamers think. Mostly, their opinions are essentially the same.
x
I'm sorry, I mean 'you' in a general sense.
ReplyDelete"In games it is different, because they are actively part of it, creating the violence, physically sawing heads off." I see your point there.
"...the sex presented in games and movies is unrealistic and not what teenagers should expect when it comes to sex." Sex is never presented in a realistic way, whether in the media, school, or The Talk. People are too uncomfortable with it to present it realistically.
"Sex can be, both in games and real life, violent, aggressive or akin to the BDSM culture and I do NOT think that 15 year olds should be exposed to it in that way." I... both agree and disagree. It depends on the context of the violence, whether it is consensual or not.
"(oh and do you want your 15 year old brother causally playing a game like The Witcher in the living room while the rest of the family is around? I wouldn’t want to. )" I don't know that game. I'm assuming that it's something that he shouldn't be able to buy on his own. Which would mean that an adult would most likely have bought it, and it is there decision if it's appropriate or not. Also, a 15 year old is in 9th or 10th grade. I remember that in 7th grade people were starting to get into sexual things.
I do agree with what you're saying. I just... think that the proper response to something that isn't good is to get rid of it. You make it better.
I'm sorry because this is the only thing I can think of to relate it to: The porn debate. A lot of porn isn't good, so there are people who want it banned. Or because kids can see it. My thoughts are "1. It's bad? So make it better, don't ban it. 2. If you don't want them to see it then block in on your computer." Or something like that.
I'm going to restate that I feel that the censorship should be changed. I don't believe that you can tell an adult what media and themes are suitable, and censor things from them.
Censorship is always an interesting debate. I live in South Korea, which has a very different attitude than my native U.S. Violence is always censored - for example, a bleeding wound is just about always covered over with a big fuzzy spot - and sometimes so are knives, even if someone is just holding one. Also, they censor smoking. You can see the cigarette in somebody's hand, but as soon as it nears their mouth, it's just a fuzzy dot. But on the other hand, boobies are totally allowed. I have to admit that I prefer this kind of censorship, because I think graphic scenes of violence are far more damaging to children than sex scenes, particularly consensual sex scenes between adults. I mean, sure, you don't want your five-year old watching soft-core p**n, but on the whole I think a glimpse of nipple should be considered less traumatic than graphic torture scene - yet in the U.S., most people hold exactly the opposite viewpoint. Anyway. My point is, I agree that a R18+ rating is needed, and I think that the Australian Classification Board should reevaluate their criteria. Yup.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Becky. Violence is far more damaging that a photo of a lady's brest, or even more extreme nudity. Sex in Australia is treated as something that is not normal and a women who has sex or shows off her boobs is a 'slut', but violence and agressive behaviour, on the footy pitch for example, is common. Sex is often regarded as a masculine activity, and well, that's foolish. Many, many things really do need to change, including the Classification Board.
ReplyDelete