R18+ Rating Approved!

Howdy folks!

Possibly the biggest news in Australian Gaming History, after months and years of debate and indecision, Australia finally has an R18+ rating system.
Originally this took place back in February this year but the offical signing of the document recently just took place. Ron Curry, CEO of Interactive Games and Entertainment Association was glad to see the change.
"But what does all of this mean Fatman?"
Well, I'm glad you asked.
Since this new bill will come into action January or August 2013, this will irradicate the MA15+ rating on both video games and DVDs. While many people are worried about this change of pace, this means that the rating system will go as such:

G: General - Permitted for all audiences
PG: Parental Guidement - A parent must be present for under 15's
M: Mature - 15 Year olds and higher are permitted to watch, under 15s may no purchase this product
R18+: Very mature - No person under the age of 18 are allowed to purchase/rent this product
X: Highly mature content - No person under the age of 18 are allowed to purchase/view this product.
(Note: X rating is only available in the Territories of Australia)

As I have said in previous posts, R18+ ratings have been asked for by the community for nearly 15 years and the Attorney-Generals of the past have refused this request. Michael Atkinson, the most popular A-G in this retrospect, has been the only member to refuse for a number of years until his retirement early last year. (Note: In Australian Law, to pass a law under the IGEA, the votes must be unanimous. If even a single person refuses, the law will not pass). His overused excuse to refuse classification was due to the R18+ rating to, quote, "open the floodgates" to "show the general public and our children unecessary and vulgar images"
I said this before and I'll say it again: I think the internet bet him to that back in 1994.
Since then, talks of the R18+ rating has been vigorously encouraged.
Studies have shown that the average age of Australian Gamers are 32 and that women take 47% of playing a console. It's also shown that 9/10 homes have at least one console device.
Since February this year, over 47'000 letters, e-mails and such have flooded the offices of the Attorney-General and 98% compleley supporting the use of the R18+ rating.

Personally, I think this is the smartest thing to do. Since not having this system and simply banning games, kids these days are finding the loopholes to exploit and gain from this. Xbox Accounts are being changed to American and kids are getting adult content, ordering banned games from other countries ect ect. While part of the blame rests with the government, the rest of it lays with the parents. Many parents these days buy games such as Call of Duty, games with an MA15+ rating and yet not showing any care until scenes such as "No Russian" in Modern Warfare 2 shows up.
With the R18+ rating finally in place, many parents may finally start to notice the giant red marks atop games and movies and take a second thought on what they are purchasing for their child.

For the gamers of Australia, this has been a huge victory and will surely go down in history either as a positive move in the right direction or opening the floodgates.
In the words of this gamer: Bring on Manhunt!

To see my previous rants of the R18+, follow the link: http://fatmanxviii.blogspot.com.au/search?q=R18%2B
Al Fatman