As someone that lives in the United States that reads every now and then about Australia banning or other wise limiting the sales of a darn video game I ask why do the people living there frankly put up with such a huge limit on freedom? I know of it's gun laws and hate speech laws that aren't really ideas limited to Australia, but it's policy on Video games is much closer to that of China than it is with the rest of the west such as the UK or US. Why can't people make stuff with shooting in it with blood and gore or what not without the government of Australia trying to suppress it? If someone wants to make a video game even a highly morally questionable one why does Australia have the right to ban it and throw people in jail up to 10 years for having it?
It would be easier here to get a video game with porn than one with overt violence. Mind you one of the categories that are banned is pedophilia and you would have a better chance of selling fresh sewage to the Australian public than allowing THAT classification to be relaxed
And what's so freaking bad about "overt violence" in a video game? I get why some sexual stuff is banned like you said though Japan's culture seems to be the inverse in that area to a level that kind of unsettles me at times. But bans due to some BS limit on "violence" in a darn video game is just stupid to me. If I want to play a video game where I can cut people in half with a chain saw I should be allowed to do so, If I want to play a video game where I play as a terrorist blowing folks up the government of Australia shouldn't have any part in trying to limit or ban that video games existence. If I want to buy a video game like hatred then that should be fine. Give me a actual reason as to why the freedom to own such things should be limited by the government.
There's so much available I don't see why you specifically need the bloodiest and goriest video game on the market. But in 2011 they introduced R18+ which allowed previously banned games to be reclassified and made available.
And I don't see why it should be banned. I really don't get why the government needs to ban a "bloody" game. That isn't a good reason in the slightest and it points to overly suppressive government. As to why "I" need it because it's fun and it doesn't harm any real persons, animals or even plants. I want to see the levels of blood go up much more than the current standards as I view most of it as very weak. Gore needs to go up as well, games like call of duty has been too weak on this partly because of governments like Australia and Germany throwing fit's over it.
I am unsure if it is the fact that we do not have this level of violence in video games or the lack of easy access to guns but we have only had one mass shooting fitting the FBI definition since 1996 - before then we had approx one per year
It's all very new technology, they may stop some of the "violence" restrictions after more science like below. in the meantime there's not really enough people complaining. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/03/170308081057.htm
I know people complain about it quite a bit when ever a game heads to the ban list. Luckily many just VPN and buy what ever they want. It honestly just cost local retail and the government tax money at this point. How is it very new, people have had video games for nearly 40 years or more and the most resent 25 of them had violence on the higher side. To me it looks like a government stuck in the dark ages using fear to control people into not looking at anything that doesn't conform to the culture. What reason is there to have ANY restrictions on violence outside of the sexual stuff? I couldn't even legally buy a copy of Grand theft auto 5 if I lived in Australia and that's just BS. Many of your own people that actually enjoy video games and are under 50 likely think this system needs to be thrown out the nearest air lock but fear going to jail for speech that paints the government in a poor light.
Australia has a very family orientated culture, the majority of Australians prefer to keep it that way. I'm not a gamer so unfortunately can only comment from the outside looking in. As a parent I don't mind the banning of extremely violent games, makes my job easier.
I got to play Doom when I was about 6. Honestly "extremely violent games" make many parents jobs easier in the US, I played against 10 year olds on call of duty all the time when I was in high school and it was cool to me, when I hear of parents wanting to limit video games it reminds me of the parent that bans a TV show because things evolve. If it really is a family orientated culture I wonder what the gays think of Australia as those normally saying that also really don't like homosexually or transgenderism. It only makes a parents job harder if said parent has backward ways at looking at issues because they didn't "do that" when they grew up. Older people need to get over some stuff, it's only going to get more violent and likely sexual in entertainment products such as films and video games. Banning one but not the other for the same thing doesn't really do any good. I mean 5 year old kids play call of duty all the time and I haven't heard of any 10 year olds shooting up a school yet just because of a FPS game. Video games are no different than movies and people that think other wise are stuck in the 1800's. Many gamers are liberals but are also sick of the kind of older Liberals that wish to suppress there freedoms and are frankly sick of the PC culture as well. I know it gets old hearing from a bunch of 50 year tight wads trying to run a PC holy crusade against video games that aren't "family orientated". I say so what if it has people ripping finger nails off and beheadings the government should stay out of it like they do in the US. If something is too much then people here can protest and throw a stupid little fit. In the past game makers have caved in but now at lest in the US it seems people realize it doesn't matter and so we now just need other nations of the world to jump on the bandwagon and be the good progressive they claim to be.
Gays have families too, just because you are gay doesn't mean you're not family orientated. Seems you are accusing Australia of choosing their progressiveness when you indeed are doing the same on other topics
We have no serious commitment to free speech in Australia. The people aren't passionate about it and are happy to throw it under the bus for whatever flashy issue jumps in front of their faces. It doesn't affect me, I just pirate the US version or get a patch on the Aussie one. We throw free speech under the bus for no benefit whatsoever.
If we imprisoned all Australians there would be absolutely no crime of any sort. A utopia. Who cares about freedom.
People likely just use cars instead. In any case it seems only backward technophobia explains that actions of the Australian government in the matter so far. I am not the one claiming to be a progressive and policy wise my stance with marrige is the government should have nothing to do with it at all. So basicly I have personal views on gays and then what I support policy wise. They aren't the same things. As for trans people they can do what ever they want in there house but they shouldn't expect people to buy into falsehoods and while in public obey the simple rules that people shouldn't have an issue with. I view it the same as my liking for heavy metal, I have the right to play it in my car or at home but not in a public restroom. Tell me why you think it's right to support a policy that takes freedom away just becuase you don't want some people to be able to do something in there own homes such as playing video games you have a beef with?
Well, for example take libel and Slander it's illegal so why don't you have the freedom to say whatever you like. I don't believe you should have the freedom to smear other people and write whatever you want, because it violates the freedom of others to simply exist without harassment. Therefore to provide as much freedom as possible to all we need to set guidelines or it will only provide freedom for the abusers.
Personally, I don't give a damn what laws Australians want to enact for their self rule, it's none of my business, not my concern. They do seem to have a clue that unfettered immigration is a losing proposition, and they have the oceans to make it happen as far as protection. So if they want to ban stupid games where the kids could be enjoying the outdoors doing sports or surfing, that's their call. I just wish some of the knuckleheads from other countries would mind their own business when it comes to our country's affairs.
That can directly harm a person other than them selves and at lest here they would have to prove that what that person said actually did damage. That is a very weak argument, there is more data on gays being more likely to spread stuff like HIV then there is that any kind of video game does harm to anyone other than like in video if the screen is flashing. If we take this where it really goes the government should build everyone housing that wouldn't allow self harm and no one would be allowed to leave for there own safety along with no face to face contact as people might get into a fight and hurt someone. I guess the point I don't get is why on earth are people so freaking afraid of an entertainment product that is much less risky than gay sex or going transgender. Sounds like mostly older people that have technophobia against gamers to me. To me this seems to be highly rooted in some BS feelings than in any factual basis that such laws against video games exist.
Technology is both good and bad. When I was a kid, we played violent fantasy games like cops and robbers, cowboys and Indians, etc and managed to get some exercise in the meantime. I don't really see any difference today other than lack of cardio and better graphics. But whatever Australia wants to do, it's their call. But we are doing things our way here in the US, no more politically correct crap. I think we've turned the corner there.
I guess I am just sick of people from other nations complaining about how we aren't perfectly politically correct but then pull stuff like this and act like they are still better than everyone else while USA bashing all day. I figured it was a fair debate/question as this is a international forum and really it's not all about the US. As someone in collage I also get sick of some of my peers, but those younger than me seem to be very anti-liberal and make fun of all this politically correct stuff all the time. I also as a side effect wanted people from other places to talk about the issue of banning video games. I know in the US we have had a view games that people really didn't like such as six days in Fallujah where they got canned because people that aren't even into video games made a huge public ordeal out of it and the publisher didn't want all the hate mail so they dumped it.
Interesting. So the mid to late teens are very anti-liberal? I wouldn't know, that ship sailed for me long ago. Six Days in Fallujah? Sounds interesting, I can just imagine. My dad is 88, he'll get a kick out of that.
Well I guess it depends but yeah kids love making fun of this stuff. A number of game makers really got on the make ___ great again bandwagon to market to the younger folks. The funniest one was make space great again. They allowed all kinds of governments to be used in space, even the "bigoted" kind. I did buy a game that was fairly liberal bias and then everyone on there forum complained about it. Honestly I think most people want video games to keep out of politics unless they make it clear that is what the subject matter is meant to be. I can't say I know for sure about how those 5-10 years younger than me really think as things have changed but based on what I see when playing online it's the vibe I get. I really think there mostly anti-political correctness than truly anti-liberal but yeah it's kind of funny how they make jokes about throwing taco people back over the wall and what not. Yeah it's childish but I know if I was 15 again I would likely do the same thing just because it's far too easy. People complained about six days in Fallujah because it painted the middle eastern war in a dark light and that it was "too soon" even though I don't know how many movies had been made on the subject by then. It really shouldn't have been an issue, but people get kind of stupid sometimes when it's a video game instead of a movie.
Yeah there is no defense for Australia's laws on video games is there, Australia is bigoted against gamers own it.
