Laws of Play recently took a bit of time to outline the Australian debate over whether an R18+ rating should be allowed for video games. In case you missed it, head here to read about the debate and South Australian Attorney-General Michael Atkinson, the sole opponent of introducing the R18+ rating.
ABC Radio’s National Interest (clearly inspired by Law of Play coverage) recently hosted a mini radio debate between Mr. Atkinson and David Doe, founder of political party Gamers4Croydon, concerning the addition of an R18+ rating for video games. There was no back and forth between the men because Atkinson’s interview was prerecorded, but each man was individually interviewed by host Peter Mares and allowed to argue one side of the debate. The full show can be found here and is definitely worth a listen.
A very civilized and interesting debate. It’s nice to hear a host that sounds like he has some idea of what he’s talking about. I have to agree with Doe that what games make their way into a household for children to play should be the responsibility of the parents, not the government. However, this would also require that retailers be responsible and not sell R18+ games to children. Overall, though, the r18+ rating is definitely needed.