Australian ‘18+’ Rating Still Won’t Allow All Games

Developers and gamers alike have cursed the lack of a rating higher than 15+ in Australia. Various titles have had to be retooled to get a release down under, the latest of course being Fallout 3; censored due to its portrayals of real world drugs. Gamers have been calling for an R18+ rating for some time now in the hopes that upcoming games will have an easier time getting through the OFLC’s strict guidelines.

Unfortunately even if an R18+ rating is created, that won’t give developers carte blanche in the nation. While Australia’s Home Affairs Minister Bob Debus (whose duties involve game classification) has made it known that they are considering creating an R18+ rating, it’d still have some of the same guidelines as the lower ratings. There might be less difficulty getting games with adult language or content through the censors, but they’ll still be cracking down just as hard on any supposed positive incentive of drug use.