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Australian R18+ Rating Petition Gains 16,000 Signatures
by Chris Remo [PC, Console/PC]
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February 22, 2010
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After gathering more than 16,000 signatures in support of adding an R18+ rating to Australia's game classification system, the organization Grow Up Australia is forwarding its petition to the attorney general's office.
The group partnered with major retailer EB Games to solicit signatures in favor of amending the system.
Through the end of this month, the attorney general is accepting proposals in support of adding an R18+ rating; a major trade group has already submitted its recommendation.
The Australian game rating system has long been a thorn in the side of game publishers. Unlike films, there is no game rating for corresponding to consumers 18 years of age or older, meaning games that would receive such a rating are simply refused classification, and cannot be sold at retail.
Earlier this month, the office said it had received some 6,000 submissions, according to a GameSpot AU report -- meaning the Grow Up Australia petition may have accrued more than three times the participation of the official submission request, possibly due to its presence on EB Games' Australian website.
The attorney general's office will continue to accept submissions until February 28, but any change to the rating system will require the unanimous consent of federal- and state-level attorneys general -- and South Australia attorney general Michael Atkinson has repeatedly signaled his strong opposition to such a move.
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It isn't a poll; that is, the government isn't looking for a "yes/no" response by a representative cross-section of the Australian populace. Rather, the government is holding an open call for proposals relating to the R18+ rating. Other organizations, like mainstream news outlets, have done actual polls, where they asked Australians if they thought the R18+ rating should be added (overwhelmingly, the opinion seems to be that it should be), but that is very different to what the government is asking for.