Electronic Arts is applauding the Australian government's plans to implement a R18+ game rating in the country. EA Asia Publishing vice president Mark Bradley told GameSpot Australia yesterday that the publisher is encouraged by the Australian federal government decision to bring the country's game rating in line with other countries in Europe and North America.
"Australia needs a rating system that recognises that millions of adults play video games," Bradley said. "The current policy of the Australian government forces an arcane censorship on adults who play games--cuts they would never impose on movies, books or other forms of artistic expression. This year, the American Supreme Court voted overwhelmingly to affirm that game developers deserve the same creative freedom as film makers and authors.
EA has had its fair share of hardship in Australia thanks to the lack of an adult rating for video games. In September of 2009 the company struggled to get Left 4 Dead 2 classified in the country. The game was refused classification but EA appealed the ruling. To get the game into the country EA and Valve had to remove "decapitation and dismemberment” from the game. After re-submitting the censored version of the game, it was approved with an MA15+ rating.
At the time, EA lashed out at the government's handling of the game:
"It’s funny that a place like Australia, which has come up with some pretty violent material in the past with something like Mad Max, can effectively ban video games for the same reason. EA believes that adults should have the right to make their own choices when it comes to the content they consume."
But that's all water under the bridge now -- or in a couple of months when the new classification gets approval.
Source: GameSpot AU
