When the R18+ system came into play in Australia, gamers jumped for joy; finally, we wouldn't have to deal with censorship bogging down games and making us an anomaly in the global world of video games. Originally, the highest rating that could be attained was MA-15+ and that was stretching it - Left 4 Dead 2 had to be resubmitted on the grounds of it being gory (sounds reasonable until you realise that the first game had almost the same amount of gore in it) so feeling like we get an equal hand in classification of games was something that was praised by all.
Except nothing changed. Nothing changed at all.
Except nothing changed. Nothing changed at all.
Let's face it; as adults are making up a big demographic of video games (the good old days of playing my censored Left 4 Dead 2 with someone who was in their late forties) and no one likes being told what they can and can't consume in a media. Generally, I don't really take to old people telling me that I'm not allowed to play a game because the main character whips out a bong for half a minute and lights up on camera (see Saints Row IV) or the fact that a sequel of a game based off brutally chaining murder combos of people gets outright banned because of a (fake) portrayal of a sexual assault (Hotline Miami 2). Freedom of expression and art is the name of the game here and I would consider video games to be art. Look at how they express various aspects through an entire new medium.
Don't get me wrong though, like violence I know any sort of sexual assault is bad and despicable. Even in video games I cringe a lot whenever the topic is broached. Whether or not the inclusion of such in video games can be justified is another topic altogether (it really depends on context), the fact that it is censored despite the prominent '18+' sign we now officially have under our belt perplexes me.
Video games are not toys for children anymore. It was something we played with as kids, and we grew up watching it evolve into a hobby that is bigger and better than ever. The classification board shouldn't have to tell me what's appropriate for me or not (I can make that judgement call myself, thanks) - I'm sure they wouldn't like another adult coming up to them and slapping their hobby out of their hands and giving them a watered down version instead.
Personally I feel that games are less 'complete' when censorship is added into the mix. Speaking on behalf of myself, gamers don't really care for getting all the sex, drugs and violence of video games but if you dare omit anything from the finished product in favour of protecting children of parents who are too ignorant to read the classification label on the box of 'Grand Theft Auto', then you have a real riot on your hands. I like games full to the brim with content. Visually speaking, I felt that Left 4 Dead 2 was lacking without the gore and gibbing and it took me a while to acquire a patch that unlocked the gore before I eventually managed to obtain an overseas copy.
Censoring can also mean limitations of freedom of speech. If video games cannot express themselves, where will we go in the crazy step of evolution? Ban movies and books for showing sex scenes or scenes of violence? How preposterous!
Although to their credit, it seems that the Classification Board has been loosening up as of late; we've been allowed to see glimpses of sexy content and violence and drugs aren't that big of a deal anymore.
Don't get me wrong though, like violence I know any sort of sexual assault is bad and despicable. Even in video games I cringe a lot whenever the topic is broached. Whether or not the inclusion of such in video games can be justified is another topic altogether (it really depends on context), the fact that it is censored despite the prominent '18+' sign we now officially have under our belt perplexes me.
Video games are not toys for children anymore. It was something we played with as kids, and we grew up watching it evolve into a hobby that is bigger and better than ever. The classification board shouldn't have to tell me what's appropriate for me or not (I can make that judgement call myself, thanks) - I'm sure they wouldn't like another adult coming up to them and slapping their hobby out of their hands and giving them a watered down version instead.
Personally I feel that games are less 'complete' when censorship is added into the mix. Speaking on behalf of myself, gamers don't really care for getting all the sex, drugs and violence of video games but if you dare omit anything from the finished product in favour of protecting children of parents who are too ignorant to read the classification label on the box of 'Grand Theft Auto', then you have a real riot on your hands. I like games full to the brim with content. Visually speaking, I felt that Left 4 Dead 2 was lacking without the gore and gibbing and it took me a while to acquire a patch that unlocked the gore before I eventually managed to obtain an overseas copy.
Censoring can also mean limitations of freedom of speech. If video games cannot express themselves, where will we go in the crazy step of evolution? Ban movies and books for showing sex scenes or scenes of violence? How preposterous!
Although to their credit, it seems that the Classification Board has been loosening up as of late; we've been allowed to see glimpses of sexy content and violence and drugs aren't that big of a deal anymore.