Hurrah for Stephen Conroy! Hurrah for the filter!

[weemadando]

Sydney Morning Herald original story

Game Politics scree

The gist? The filter will be used to ban the playing of any games with a rating of MA15+ (as per OFLC regulations in Australia).

Any websites that sell games that are currently banned in Australia will get "filtered" (so no eBay, Amazon etc). Any online content or interactions which would rate about MA15+ will also get the game "filtered" (read: effectively banned) in Australia. This will apply to flashgames, multiplayer and downloadables

So, a game like "Don't Shit Your Pants" will probably get banned and that takes all of Kongregate with it.

Someone talking smack on XBLA? XBLA can get filtered.

Someone makes a level with a dick in it in Little Big Planet? Little Big Planet is banned in Australia.

And my personal favourite scenario which could arise - Steam sells games which aren't released in Australia as they were refused classification (Dark Sector in unmodified state etc). So does that mean Steam gets blocked? And does that then mean my Steam purchases are unusable/non-updatable/at the very least no multiplayer?

[Oskuro]

Really, what's with the Australian government and videogames? Did a videogame steal their high-school sweetheart or something?

[Vendetta]

Really, what's with the Australian government and videogames? Did a videogame steal their high-school sweetheart or something?

Naturally, since Australia was peopled entirely with deportees, criminals, and other riff raff, even the merest of triggers will send the entire population on a murderous rampage, and thus for the safety of the public, their minds must be shielded from this filth.

[thejester]

The gist? The filter will be used to ban the playing of any games with a rating of MA15+ (as per OFLC regulations in Australia).

No - MA15+ is fine, it's games that are considered excessive for this classification that would be banned. So you couldn't buy such games online and then play them online.

And all this is just bullshit political posturing to appease Fielding. And even if they do decide to fully carry through with it...it'd be on a very, very long backlog of legislation. There's a very real possibility Rudd's going to call a double dissolution FFS, he and the ALP have more important things to than protect the children.

[weemadando]

The gist? The filter will be used to ban the playing of any games with a rating of MA15+ (as per OFLC regulations in Australia).

No - MA15+ is fine, it's games that are considered excessive for this classification that would be banned. So you couldn't buy such games online and then play them online.

I meant to say above MA15+, but naturally the tautology filter in my head mis-interpreted it and banned it.

And all this is just bullshit political posturing to appease Fielding. And even if they do decide to fully carry through with it...it'd be on a very, very long backlog of legislation. There's a very real possibility Rudd's going to call a double dissolution FFS, he and the ALP have more important things to than protect the children.

Nonsense - do you realise how important the FF preferences are to prevent the social conservative votes from going back to the Liberals?

[thejester]

I wouldn't be so concerned about that. Turnbull is socially far more liberal than Rudd and may use that as a way of creating a difference with the ALP; and FF already seems to be falling apart at the seams, as the crazies separate from the really crazy.

This stuff is aimed at Fielding. I'm sure Rudd, schoolmaster that he is, probably approves of the idea of banning violent video games but he and the party as a whole would be politically smart enough to know that nobody gives a shit. Critical bits of legislation are coming up before the Senate and Fielding is the key to passing them. Ramping up the rhetoric on morals - as opposed to the actions - mollifies him.