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Aussie Gamers Dress As Zombies To Raise R18+ Awareness
swandives writes "Australian gamers will dress as zombies to raise awareness about the lack of an R18+ rating for video games in the country. The protest will begin at Hyde Park Fountain on March 27 and lumber through Sydney, raising awareness of the need for a higher classification rating and hopefully causing a bit of havoc at the same time! Computerworld Australia has pictures of previous zombie protests in the lead-up to the event. Australia has a long history of lobbying for an R18+ games classification but, even after a decade, video games are banned from sale if they exceed the maximum M15+ classification. So far, the list of banned titles includes 7 Sins, Risen, Left 4 Dead 2 and Dark Sector. Others, like Alien vs. Predator, were initially banned but appealed the rating and are now MA15+."
I thought Left 4 Dead 2 was censored enough after its initial rejection to receive an M15+ in Australia.
GLaDOS for President 2016! "Well here we are again. It's always such a pleasure." -- GLaDOS, 2011
Dark Sector was banned? That's a shame. I know it amounts to nothing more than a Gears of War/Resident Evil 4 ripoff in terms of overall design, but it's seriously one of the most underrated games of this generation. Personally, I think it looks and plays better than Gears of War, and in some parts even ups the intensity (although it's scale is smaller than GoW). It has its problems, but it is still one hell of a fun game to play.
Screw the reviews you have read...if you enjoy third person shooting games in any capacity, you are doing yourself a massive disservice by not playing Dark Sector.
Living With a Nerd
Brains......
is to be done with this ridiculous system of rating and censoring everything. For fuck's sake, forcing every parent to agree with a committee on what is appropriate for their children is ridiculous.
I'd sooner ban idiots who tell my kids they'll go to an eternal afterlife of torment unless they have the same imaginary friend as the leader Third Twice-Reformed Baptist Church of the Three-Sided Square Circle than a game about a blue hedgehog who likes to jog.
Nothing lasts forever but the certainty of change.
I can't think of anything that will do more to reinforce the stereotype that gamers are a bunch of pathetic losers than their efforts to "raise awareness" to this issue by dressing up as zombies and "marching" in "protest".
If the general response to their efforts is "Get a life", they will have deserved it.
If they really want to draw attention to the issue, they also need to attempt the world's largest Thriller dance performance at the same time.
I'm amazed that the country producing so many crocodile-based alpha males has such a collective nanny-me attitude.
Where is that classic Australian manly-man stereotype? Where are the beer-swigging, rare-steak-eating, dingo-punching heroes of lore? Did they all get banned, too?
These guys don't seem to be very bright. They really need to get some brains.
Who would win this election: Andrew Weiner vs Andrew Weiner's weiner.
As one who is extremely terrified of the undead, and a possessor of a firearm, I'd shoot first and ask what they were protesting after none were standing.
I am Bennett Haselton! I am Bennett Haselton!
They should get a big DJ rig and run this L4D2 classic.
"We are Microsoft. You shall be assimilated. Competition is futile."
... how come is not anyone playing the "dictatorship" card yet! I mean, you change Australia for Venezuela in the news and probably you will have hundreds of comments about "dictatorship", "communism" and such.
But hey, I guess if it comes from Au is ok. rigth?
I noticed that only half of the participants had makeup on - the remainder simply relied on their basement pallor.
The US government have made it clear that we have no inalienable rights; any we do not defend vigorously will be taken.
If you refuse to give something a rating and content without rating may not be sold, this is a quite insidious way to censor it.
It's like creating a law that states that the "adults only" rating does not apply to porn and may not be used for porn, without introducing a new rating for porn, keeping it on the no-go list for non-adults and at the same time banning everything unrated. Presto anti-porn censorship.
Either do away with the "not rated - not allowed to sell" or make sure that EVERYTHING can get a rating. Failure to do either is nothing short of censorship.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
So a ban or a censorship rule of this magnitude basically means that an adult is not allowed to buy or play a violent video game. Or am I mis-understanding what their rating system implies.
What ever happened to parental responsibility and just basic common sense? Aussie leaders need to wake up and realize they are creating a police state.
Life takes interesting turns, but the most interest is when you're off the beaten path.
Nothing is stopping an aussie from buying L4D2 from Steam, correct? I would think local brick stores would be pushing this more than local gamers.
http://soylentnews.org/~tibman
Thanks for using my picture to illustrate the story http://www.flickr.com/photos/halans/137332282/
The very idea of making it illegal for adults to buy a videogame or to buy a movie is ludicrous. Why do Australians put up with this nonsense?
"If it's real, then it gets more interesting the closer you examine it. If it's not real, just the opposite is true." -
Aussie leaders need to wake up and realize they are creating a police state.
They have, they do, and they like it just fine.
Maybe these guys can hook up with with Jediism nuts from a few days ago.
It's the same in the UK - I find it ridiculous, but most people don't care if it doesn't affect them.
Recently, the law which allowed this censorship - the Video Recordings Act 1984 - was found to have never been enacted. Did we get a chance to redebate this issue, now that the "video nasties" scaremongering of the 80s (which led to this law) was no longer around? Hell no. Instead we got a load of media scaremongering again, about how this law not being valid would mean porn would be sold to small children (not just tabloids, even the BBC were at it). The Government then brought in "emergency legislation" to enact the law as quickly as possible - it was rushed through the entire process in just over a month!
(And things look to get worse with the Digital Economy Bill, which will allow the Government to revoke a rating even after it's been granted!)
Best. Reference. Ever!
If you don't know what this is, go here. Scroll down to "Thing a Week 2" and click the play button on "Re Your Brains".
Support a great indie game: http://www.abaddon360.com
Trying to record and id each protester on a given budget. :) ..
Just to remind the sitting member of what was done to their son or daughter in the name of censorship? :)
Running around looking for every licence plate and trying to make new friends on the day
Filling the protest chatrooms with new users, getting the ip track, trying to direct, provoke and sideline the protests.
Outside every ALP meeting, walkabout or shopping mall photo op, gamers will remind any ALP minister or candidate of their role as the game banning "Australian Taliban".
Hired private security and protective services will have to clear a path soon.
Every blow, gassing, beating, tasering, broken bone and running over will make youtube not just a few seconds on 7,9,10 and abc/sbs.
The feds, supporters and state task forces can smash or wipe all the video devices they want on the day, but images will always make it out.
When will the parents and grand parents show up
The ALP should think hard about Vietnam or 1980's South Africa.
Its starts small, vocal and local, but builds over time.
The stasi could not save the state, good luck stopping spontaneous individuals who love games:) Infiltration, smearing, media control and a well placed agent provocateur dont seem to work so well 1 on 1
Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
The thing that is most foolish about this no-R18+ stance is it causes games to be rated M15 that are rated higher everywhere else.
In the summary, they list AvP as one, but this is an example. I can't find the article now, but apparently there have been 50 games in the last 3 years or so that are released M15 here and are R18+ (or R17, depending on country) elsewhere.
No R18+ rating puts MORE violence in the hands of children (specifically teens) under the guise of being M15.
...or Ebay, or anywhere online for that matter. The only people actually affected by this are the retailers - there's nothing stopping anyone who wants to play a game from getting hold of it - practically everyone I know (I'm in the US) buys their games online anyway, simply for pricing reasons.
most of the hardcore gamers I know are zombies most of their life anyway :-P
This seemed like a reasonable sig at the time.
Yes you misunderstand what the Australian ratings system implies.
It does not govern what you can play, it governs what you can sell or distribute. You can play an RC game and not be arrested but you cannot do that whilst anyone else is in the room. Like parking on the wrong side of the street over here, you cant be charged for it but a cop only has to wait until you try to pull out and bust you for driving against the flow of traffic. The act itself is not illegal rather the act of getting there is and that has it's own burden of proof (an RC game simply fell from the sky, until they prove otherwise).
Second misunderstanding, violence is covered under M15, which is legal for video games, even sexual references and simulated sex is covered under M15. Only extreme graphic violence or graphic sex will drag it up to R18. Violent video games are fine.
The problem is not that the ratings system doesn't work, the problem is that the ratings system has been co-opted by extremist religious groups intent on enforcing their code on everyone. Changing the system will not eliminate the problem, we need to get rid of the Conroy's and Atkinson's (probably the Abbott's too).
Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.