Queensland Government confirms that R18+ games will not be sold in the state until sometime after February 7, 2013; legislation delayed due to committee consultation.
The Queensland Government has confirmed that it will not join other Australian state and territories in introducing an R18+ classification for video games when the law is officially implemented at a federal level on January 1, 2013.
Instead, the Queensland Government will await the result of a Legal Affairs and Community Safety Committee report--due to be released on February 7, 2013--before debating the R18+ legislation in parliament and officially amending the state's law to include an R18+ classification for video games. (The R18+ legislation was introduced in the Queensland Parliament on October 31, but was referred to the committee.)
According to a spokesperson for the Queensland Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie, all Bills introduced in the state's parliament undergo this process.
"All Bills introduced to the Queensland Parliament, with the exception of Bills that are considered urgent, are referred to a committee to ensure the appropriate consultation can occur," the spokesperson told GameSpot Australia.
This means that R18+ games will still be illegal in Queensland from January 1, 2013, until that time when the R18+ legislation has officially passed through the state's parliament and the law amended accordingly to include an adult classification for video games.
"Between January 1, 2013 and when the Bill passes in Queensland, R18+ computer games will continue to be caught by the definition of 'objectionable computer games' under the Classification of Computer Games and Images Act 1995," Bleijie's spokesperson said.
"This means R18+ computer games cannot be publicly demonstrated, made, or sold until the law is amended in Queensland."
According to Bleijie's office, once the Legal Affairs and Community Safety Committee reports back on the R18+ legislation on February 7, the Bill will proceed to the Queensland Parliament to be debated.
The ACT was the first Australian territory or state to officially pass the R18+ legislation. South Australia and NSW have also officially passed the R18+ legislation, while the remaining states and territory have introduced the legislation in their respective parliaments.
The Australian Government officially introduced the R18+ rating for games legislation after it passed both Houses of Parliament on June 18 this year. The decision to put the new legislation to parliament was made at the July 2011 meeting of the Standing Committee of Attorneys General.
The R18+ rating for games legislation will come into effect at a federal level on January 1, 2013.
Laura Parker is the Associate Editor of GameSpot Australia. She loves adventure games, sparkly stuff, Trivial Pursuit, cake, Master Chief, earthworms, and rhetorical questions. She once stole a sandwich from Peter Molyneux.
Then again, Censorship won't have any effect on me anyway..Just I am waiting to join the rest of the world, especially being a developed country, this had embarrassed us. but if they are going to reclassify games then also RC games like Mortal Kombat should get a reclassification because what is the difference ..Even if parents had bought M15+ games for their kids, it does not matter today anyway.
from Kotaku mark senate - " Since Australia has previously had no R18+ rating for video games, there is absolutely nothing in current legislation that prohibits the sale of R18+ games. Retailers are forbidden from selling 'unclassified' video games, but, in this case, the games will be classified ? they'll be classified under an R18+ rating that simply isn't referenced in any legislation. This means that R18+ games can be sold, but there is literally no law to manage that process ? no details on punishment for sale to minors, no set rules on how the games can be displayed. Nothing.... Great article here- http://www.kotaku.com.au/2012/11/queensland-set-to-miss-r18-deadline/
3 Like No one had problems getting R rated games before it was legal. No one will have problems getting R rated games in QLD for this brief period either.
Ohh, that's a shame. I guess no one is getting naked over this (I'm kidding of course!). The Queensland government needs to go on a diet. Perhaps eating cheese from now on.
@johnnyauau QLD government is already falling apart.
Everyone's more concerned about reaching the crisis point in this circus, at least those that are from the inside of the government.
But really, who cares? If you buy physical games from a store in QLD, let alone Australia... you are a chump. Plain and simple.
You're supporting a system of overpriced games in retail chains that promote nothing beyond whatever the AAA publishers tell them to.
I understand the value/impact of getting rid of the censorship for regional restrictions (like L4D2) overall, so don't think I'm saying that's not important.
And if we still had the small family owned game shops around I'd say it's a definitely different story in how you vote with your $$$, but the current chain stores drove them out of business... so I say again...
You are a chump. Buy Steam, Xbox store, Playstation whatever.... Ebay people. Just don't waste your time with EB games and the others.
1 Like @eriktkire Despite the fact that EB games have a 7 Day no questions asked exchange/return?
@eriktkire But EB Price match Also a great deal is you can exchange or 'refund' the game or games within 7 days of the purchase with no questions asked. Exchanges can be 3 times (3 weeks in a row) then you have to wait two weeks. Even if you bought 10 games. Not to mention any game you buy on a different day has it's own 3 exchanges irrelevant to the first purchase. JB don't offer any refund or exchanges by JB policy.
@SIDEFX1 that's not enough to justify the price tags they sell games at. And do they do that for PC games too?
What about their trade in values? I remember the family owned stores used to be great for that. You'd be able to get a fairly decent amount of credit for a popular/good title... OR you could get cash. You could trade in PC games to boot, but console games usually got you a better deal. EB Games, last I saw (which I think was around when Black Ops 1 was released), offered ridiculous trade in promotions.
WOW, get 10% off the retail price tag of this newly released game ontop of the $15 credit we give you for a fairly new game you just bought from us for $80... we'll resell it 2nd hand for $40-$60.
The service at places like EB Games is a pitiful shadow of the small businesses they destroyed.
You really shouldn't jump the gun just because I'm a chump. After all, calling names like isn't kind. By the way, what is chump? Is it a 1970's cliche? I don't know if people use this word nowadays so you better let it slide.
Ok that's good enough. Just watch what you're saying next time. Anyway, I'm not sure how Queenslanders like to celebrate their Christmas? It's not like staying home and waiting for all the gifts to arrive via internet. Oh well, Christmas might not be the same anymore.
@johnnyauau I didn't mean you personally, I was speaking figuratively. Buying from retail stores in this country does nothing good for the industry these days... if anything it justifies the status quo that's already set up.
1 Like So you're saying that if you buy AAA games from JB for $69 instead of $99 via PSN you're a chump?
I know who the chump is.
1 Like @NBurrows @eriktkire @johnnyauau Let's take this even further. You can get new release triple A games from online stores for around $50 or less. And if you're a patient sort of person, you can get them for around $30 or less a few months after release. I like JB HiFi, but man, they're only good for the movies and TV boxsets (during sales). They just don't offer decent prices for games. Oh well, better than EBGames at least.
This will mean any games released the January- February that are classified R18+ will be delayed in Queensland then? not that I can't wait for something, but what crap is this.
Well, as long as they actually get the R18 in the end then that's still a good thing. Sometimes the sun can still shine on the dogs ass.
1 Like ...and this is why the system sucks. Simple matters like this should take a week, let alone several years. The British system a lot of places use: it's the way we've always done it, so it must work!
This is pathetic. QLDers just come down to NSW and smuggle the games like they are illegal drugs while crossing the border.
slave/sl?v/ : A person who is the legal property of another and is forced to obey them.
1 Like liberty/?lib?rt?/ : The state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life.
That sux for Queensland but at least we finally get R18+ rating for games!
now they wont be ban!
@GH05T-666 There will be banning still. Anything with extreme themes such as violence, hate-crimes and sexual assault will all still be banned. All that's going to happen is games that are currently being classified as MA15+ will now be R18+.
@3Z3K13L08 Letting parents of Australia rise to sue the government for a game that should of got R18+ the first time. lol.. parents and money grabbers would only wish
@3Z3K13L08 @GH05T-666 The scope for acceptable content has increaased while MA15+ titles that were shoved into MA15 because they didn't want to ban the games will get their proper R18+ catagory.
@3Z3K13L08 @GH05T-666 extreme themes\violence will be let though as for the sex part of things it can now be a reward of something, so assault would be aloud only though audio
1 Like Well isn't that just spiffy. A fine example of a well coordinated government in action.....
National Rifle Association vice president Wayne LaPierre says violent video games like Bulletstorm and Mortal Kombat partially to blame for last week's deadly shooting in Connecticut.
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