Games Censorship in Australia

The Australian Censorship Board (ACB) has announced new censorship rules about gambling content in video games. The ACB writes:

Over the last decade, video games have increased and so has gambling-like content in these games. This includes:

• In-game purchases with an element of chance, such as paid loot boxes. These are mystery items players can use real money to buy, without knowing what item they will get.

• Simulated gambling including casino-style video games.

Research has found that gambling-like content in video games is linked to problem gambling in real-life, as well as psychological and emotional harm. To address these findings the Australian Government has introduced new classifications for video games containing gambling-like content.

From 22 September 2024, the Australian Government has introduced new classifications to video games that contain gambling like content. These changes are in response to growing community concern for children and research findings that links gambling-like content in video games to problem gambling in real-life, as well as psychological and emotional harm.

The new classifications that will be displayed for video games with gambling-like content are:

• M (Mature, not recommended for children under 15) for computer games containing in-games purchases linked to elements of chance, including paid loot boxes (these are mystery items players can use real money to buy, without knowing what item they will get)

• R 18+ (Restricted to adults 18 years and over) for computer games containing simulated gambling.

The changes will apply to games on computers, gaming consoles, phones and tablets.

The consumer advice for new video games that contain gambling-like content will say:

• Chance-based in-game purchases for video games containing in-game purchases linked to elements of chance, like loot-boxes.

• High-impact simulated gambling for video games containing simulated gambling.

• Gambling themes for video games containing content which may resemble gambling, but does not meet the threshold for simulated gambling.

The new classifications will be applied to new video games. The new classifications will not be applied to existing games, unless they are updated with new content and need to be reclassified.

Ultreia is a 2021 adventure puzzle game by Olivier De Rop

A little robot becomes a pilgrim and crosses a wild post-apocalyptic world to find the meaning of life.

Australia's game censors have banned another video game. The game was 'refused classification' by the censors random rating generator known as the IARC, so could well be overturned oncr the human censors take over.

The censors have offered no explanation for the ban.

The game seems to have fallen foul of the censors over a release on Nintendo Switch.

Disco Elysium: The Final Cut is the latest video game in a long line of censorship casualties in Australia.

The game launches on March 30th 2021 for PlayStation and Stadia owners but the Australian government has banned it from sale in the country.

The Australian Censorship Board hasn't specified exactly why Disco Elysium's been banned and developer ZA/UM has yet to publicly respond on this. However the core gameplay mechanics prominently include drugs and alcohol and which is a bit of a no-no for the country's censors.

 

Update: Criticising Australia's archaic games censorship

29th March 2021. Thanks to Daniel. See article from theguardian.com

The banning of video game Disco Elysium from sale in Australia has renewed calls for the Australian government to overhaul the classification system to move away from the moral panic associated with video games.

The chief executive of the Interactive Games & Entertainment Association, Ron Curry, told Guardian Australia:

Games are treated differently and the classification guidelines do not hide it. In spite of the government's own research to the contrary, when an R18+ classification was introduced for games they still insisted on making interactivity a determinant in classifying games, unlike film and publications.

There are also other restrictions levelled at games around violence, sex, drug use and incentives that aren't applied to film.

The sad reality is that the national classification system applies a stricter set of rules for video games than it does for pretty much every other kind of content, reflecting the early 1990s era in which those rules were written, when video games were associated with a moral panic and certainly not treated as the mainstream medium and artistic discipline that they are.

The Australian Lawyers Alliance said in a submission to a public consultation on the government's upcoming internet censorship bill named the Online Safety Bill:

The online classification system needed review, which should be done before the online safety bill passes. This bill should not be reliant on such an outdated classification system. The ALA therefore submits that this legislation should not proceed until such a review into the [classification scheme], incorporating community consultation, has been undertaken.

Blood and Guts Bundle is a 2020 trilogy of arena fight games from Digerati

The Blood and Guts Bundle for Nintendo Switch has been banned in Australia under the automated International Age Rating Coalition (IARC) system. Decision was in March, but has only recently been added to the National Classification Database.

The automated system is pretty much a random rating generator, so perhaps the delay is down to going back to the old manual way of rating games.

In the US the game is M (17) rated by the ESRB for blood and gore, use of drugs, violence.

The Promotional Material gives a flavour of the game:

Satisfy your lust for carnage with three gloriously gratuitous games! This bundle contains:

Slain: Back from Hell . A heavy metal inspired arcade combat game with stunning pixel art visuals, challenging old school gameplay and gore galore. Plus the most metal soundtrack you've ever heard!

Slayaway Camp: Butcher's Cut : A killer puzzle game and darkly comic homage to 80s horror movies where you control Skullface, a homicidal slasher hell-bent on revenge.

Super Blood Hockey : Arcade sports gaming gets a shot of adrenaline in this violent homage to classic 8- and 16-bit ice hockey games. Use fast-paced skills and bone-crunching brutality to dominate.

In the light of Australia's Classification Review Board overturning the Classification Board's ban of the video game We Happy Few , the Australian government is now considering whether games censorship rules need 'modernising'.

The Department of the Communications and the Arts has confirmed that talks have begun to modernise the classification guidelines. Any adjustment to the classification guidelines for computer games must be agreed by classification ministers in all Australia's states and territories. The department also said it will consult extensively with industry stakeholders and communities.

We Happy Few an indie game, was initially banned over the prominence of the drug Joy, which underpins the game's dystopian society by being used as a method of controlling the populace. The Board's initial finding found that the presence of Joy violated the clause on incentivised drug use:

The games developer appealed against the ban and the Classification Review Board - a separate statutory body the unanimous overturned the Classification Board's original ban resulting in an adults-only R18+ classification.

The department did not provide a timeline as to when said discussions might take place.