The Australian legislature has passed a bill that allows an R18+ rating for video games at retail. Speaking with News.com.au, Home Affairs Minister Jason Clare said:
These are important reforms over 10 years in the making. The R18+ category will inform consumers, parents, and retailers about which games are not suitable for minors to play and will prevent minors from purchasing unsuitable material. The reforms also mean that adults are able to chose what games they play within the bounds of the law.
Most of Australia's bans have come from high levels of violence. Games like Left 4 Dead 2, Manhunt, and Postal have bee banned previously. The most recent ban was handed out to the reboot of Mortal Kombat last year. Lesser expected bans were handed out to Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure (for glorification of grafitti) and NARC (for drug references).
Many titles (like the Grand Theft Auto series) underwent self-censorship to get a classification in Australia and make their way to store shelves. With an R18+ rating in place, gamers will be able to make their own decisions at the register.
