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San Andreas Banned In Australia
UoNTidal writes "The Sydney Morning Herald reports that following the revelation that the 'Hot Coffee' sex minigame was included in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, the Office of Film & Literature Classification has revoked the game's classification, making it illegal for the game to be sold in its current form in Australia. As the highest classification available [PDF link] for computer games is MA15+ (as opposed to R18+ for films that can be sold in all states and territories), the sex scenes in 'Hot Coffee' pushed the game outside the permitted content for that rating, effectively banning the game."
Only outlaws will have games!
A fine is a tax you pay for doing wrong and a tax is a fine you pay for doing all right.
I'm consistently confused.
Why is blowing people's heads off considered less serious than sex? I San Andres I could conduct a drive-by shooting, or otherwise brutally murder someone. But having sex results in an older age limit?
Even if this is sex with a prostitute, or going several steps further if it is rape, then surely that remains less serious than murder, or mass murder.
It is said that murderous video games don't make murderers (on the whole, for the millions that play). Is the assumption different for other crimes, if so is there any evidence, and if not why restrict them?
It could be said that minors (however defined) shouldn't be exposed to sex (or sex in a violent context), but then why is it more OK for them to be exposed to murder? Does anyone have a rational argument either way?
Technically Oz was founded by Brits (just like the US), first as a penal colony when the prison ships anchored on the Thames started to stink up the London gentry's riverside properties. Later waves of immigration (mainly in Victoria) accompanied the Australian gold rush. Of course, long prior to this there was a wave of immigration during the melanesian expansion that led to the Aboriginal population.
Anyways.... I personally am rather surprised that the Aussie government is complaining about GTA; after all, they have a fine tradition of road warrior fiction.
At least there is a specified rating guide for content instead of an arbitrary one. According to Australian rating codes from TFA, the mini-game pushes it beyond the acceptable rating in the sex category. A mini-game is a little bit more than implied (although it is still modified in order to access the content).
MA15+: The impact of material classified MA 15+ should be no higher than strong.
THEMES: The treatment of strong themes should be justified by context.
VIOLENCE: Violence should be justified by context. Sexual violence may be implied, if justified by context.
SEX: Sexual activity may be implied.
LANGUAGE: Strong coarse language may be used. Aggressive or very strong coarse language should be infrequent.
DRUG USE: Drug use should be justified by context.
NUDITY: Nudity should be justified by context.
R18+: The impact of material classified R 18+ should not exceed high.
THEMES: There are virtually no restrictions on the treatment of themes.
VIOLENCE: Violence is permitted. Sexual violence may be implied, if justified by context.
SEX: Sexual activity may be realistically simulated. The general rule is "simulation, yes - the real thing, no".
LANGUAGE: There are virtually no restrictions on language.
DRUG USE: Drug use is permitted.
NUDITY: Nudity is permitted.
Seriously, there have been like fifty stories about Hot Coffee on Slashdot, and yet each time the same comments get modded up:
1. Violence and crime are worse than consentual sex.
2. The sex minigame wasn't even accessible without modification/it's very difficult to access it.
3. Parents who bought a game called "Grand Theft Auto" for young kids shouldn't be able to yell at other people about irresponsibility.
4. It's much easier to get real porn than to get this mod.
5. All this is just politicians trying to gain support among the "think of the children" crowd.
6. (this one doesn't apply so much to Australia) The difference between its old rating and its new rating is only one year of age.
So moderators: I'm only half kidding when I say that these posts should be marked "Redundant", not insightful or interesting. Not anymore.
it is particularly ironic as prostitution is legal in Oz...
Assume that you're either a) government official or b) the elderly.
What is the last thing you want to see? Of course, more mouths to feed. What do you want to see? Less mouths to feed.
Thus we have legal abortions, outlawed sex, encouraged violent games, needless ground wars that can't be won, ipso facto, et cetera, et cetera...
"I assumed blithely that there were no elves out there in the darkness"
Selling hardcore pornography in Australia is still perfectly legal, even in the form of a game, so long as it's name is not GTA: San Andreas.
I wonder if Australia knows about the vile sexual imagery I was able to unlock in Mario Paint?
I am an Australian, but I moved before this happened. One of the many reasons I left is because of what I would describe as the political climate of the country.
Frankly I don't like where the country is going and politically I seemed to be in a minority. There are other places in the world that seem to better fit what I feel is right. Like I said though, there are many other reasons I left.
People have brought up the whole Adult game rating issue several times in Australia, but the Government has clearly indicated that they believe no adult in Australia actually plays video games, and therefore there is no need for adult games.
There are worse things happening legally in Australia than this - I was certainly more pissed off about the so called free trade agreement than the potential to not play a few video games.
If any country is the first to ban or censor anything it's always good old Australia.
Not exactly everything, just anything to do with computers and sex. Its more technophobia and a mistaken belief that adults don't use computers (except at work) rather than prudishness.
Hell, just last night there was an expose on streakers, and on the recent series of Big Brother any indication whether one of the girls was a natural blonde had been eliminated with a razor, not with pixellation...this is free to air television, mind you. They can even show penises after 9:30pm, if that's your thing (provided they're more than 45 degrees from horizontal...no really, that's the real classification guideline!).
Another example, recently one TV station, the Special Broadcasting Service (specializes in non-English programming) ran an ad that went something like this: "SBS wishes to advise viewers that the coming season of movies contains adult themes, sex scenes, violence, horror, coarse language, drug use, and nudity. So there's something for everyone". Truly special...
Blank until
Can we assume you live in the "impeach the president because he got an illicit blowjob but don't worry about the current bozo launching a war based on lies and pushing the economy so far into the toilet that waste treatment plants will see it twelve months before any economists do" US of A?
Or is it the "massive furore over a nipple shown on TV during a sports game that lead to huge penalties and red-faced hypocrites everywhere just about crapping their own pants in anger" US of A?
Yes, in Australia we've banned guns without permits (that are hard to get) and some politicians have gone down the "porn is on the Internet therefore the Internet must be regulated here" path (and their attempts have been total and utter failures as anyone barely cognizant of technology could have told them before they wasted millions of tax dollars on their vote-buying furphies).
Got any info on what we're banning first? Or is this just a knee-jerk reaction from an anonymous coward too gutless to bring their name to the table?