In a piece written for gamesindustry.biz, EA president Frank Gibeau has criticised the lack of an adult rating for games in Australia, saying that such decisions “effectively censor entertainment choices for adults”.
“What will be next?” asks Gibeau. “Will adults be forced to see edited versions of mature films? Read books with certain chapters removed? As policy measures increase restrictions on available content, so too will consumers increase the practice of parallel imports from neighboring or same-language markets, depriving their home country economy of the associated industry revenue.”
The decision to refuse an R18+ rating for videogames in Australia is an oft – criticised one; but it’s rare to see such a high profile figure from the games industry speak out so strongly and publicly on the matter. Recent events do seem, however, to conspire in favour of an adult rating being introduced.
The main obstacle such a rating needed to overcome was South Australian Attorney – General Michael Atkinson, who was strongly opposed to its introduction. Atkinson resigned in late March however and his replacement, John Rau, has indicated support for such a move. In addition, it has been announced within the last week that a pro – R18+ petition reached the stunning figure of 89000 signatures.
Gibeau’s article can be found in full at gamesindustry.biz here.
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