Legal Niches

EA: No 18+ Rating in AU is Form of Censorship

By james_fudge

In an exclusive editorial written for GameIndustry.biz, EA Games label president Frank Gibeau calls Australia's lack of an 18+ rating for games in the region a form of censorship against adult players. Australia has a ratings system for games that is capped at the 15+ mark, which means that 18+ content is not allowed.  To get in stores, developers and publishers are forced to make serious changes to meet the standards of the lower rating. Gibeau says that this is unfair to mature players, who are forced to play content that has been watered down or completely altered for the wrong audience.

"There is also a real danger that by not supporting the local development community, Australia will miss out in the growth of the medium and detract investment in the region," argues Gibeau.

The thrust of his argument is detailed in this particular paragraph: Read More

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Full post as published by GamePolitics.com on May 06, 2010 (boomark / email).