The Australian Office of Film and Literature Classification (OLFC) has declined to rate Silent Hill: Homecoming, essentially banning the game in the land Down Under.
Source: XBoxOz360Gamer.Com [ more info ]

Now, I've heard of quite a few games getting banned in Australia for no better reason than the country currently has no rating higher than "MA15+" which equates games that are deemed "unsuitable for viewing or playing by persons under [the age of] 15". In my view of the gaming world, this is crazy. Australian gamers are basically suffering because the guidelines by which their games are classified is outdated.

Of course the cynic in me sees the "18+" rating available for classifying films and starts dancing around with the idea that there's a bit of a blowhard conspiracy going on. Anti-gaming stuffedshirts don't want the games there so they intentionally allow the game ratings to lag behind.

I'd really like to hear from the Aussie gamers in the crowd though. I don't live there; so, it's not fair of me to jump to judgement.

they're just worried that violent video games will activate their long dormant "Criminal Gene"

The guy at Zero Punctuation is going to be pissed...he's been waiting for Silent Hill: Homecoming.

Kind of sucks that they may not be able to play, But then again who knows, different country means a different set of sociological values. In some ways I'd like to see a government that could be fair and impartial about what it thinks is safe for it's people without the corruption of politicians and sycophant's.
Think I'd really like to hear from some aussie's on this too.

Not saying their government is, but one can hope there's atleast one out there.

Aussie gamers and our local industry is trying to get a 18+ game rating introduced here but it has so far been blocked by a single government official

For more info about the situation in Australia I recommend reading these couple articles:
[more info][more info][more info]

The rating issue plus the local price disparity and the long waits for PAL versions of some games have caused a large game import scene in Australia...

I am an Aussie and the reason there is no 'R' rating for video games in Australia is because of one man, the Attorney General for South Austraia Michael Atkinson.
Under Australian law all the states Attorney Generals must agree to effect a change to the ratings system, all bar the dickhead from S.A. want to introduce the rating but Michael Atkinson doesn't seem to live on the same planet as everyone else.

Couldn't he just buy it online and have it shipped?

also my buddy thiri says they have R18 in australia for video games and movies.

Originally Posted by Gyvon:

they're just worried that violent video games will activate their long dormant "Criminal Gene"

True story. Australia was based on the foundation of criminals. That is to say that it was pretty much a giant prison. Perhaps they don't want this daunting past to come back and haunt them. Still, they should instead trust that their citizens aren't criminals anymore and give them some of the best video games around.

Now, I don't know much about the new Silent Hill game, but since I have played the other ones....mostly, it's not going to be the worst thing in the world to have Aussies playing a horror game. Silent Hill doesn't condone violence in the same way that GTA does. But, rather, it condones defecating in your pants out of shear terror.

The land down under will stay down under if they don't get their gaming act together.

Did that last sentence make sense?...... who cares.

I'm actually an Australian myself, from Melbourne if that means anything.

Now, I'm seventeen, so by logic, I wouldn't be able to legally buy the R18+ games myself, but seeing as my parents are aware that I'm actually capable of differentiating between fact and fiction, they've bought "mature" rated games for me since I was around ten or younger.

I suppose what bothers me is that the OFLC (and a few other outspoken politicians) are incapable of grasping the concept of an adult (or at least mature) gamer: their arguments all seem to be centered on protecting their children from harmful material that's apparently being thrust upon their children.

They did some surveys in Australia a while back, I think our average gamer age is something along the lines of thirty four years old.

So despite that overwhelmingly large amount of older gamers, there's still no such thing as an R18+ rating!

Fantastic.

This country's responsible for the Saw movies, for the love of god (in fact, one of the creators went to my current high school), I suppose it was a little too much faith on my behalf to expect that those in power could look at things in a sensible manner.

Garr.

Two links that some people might be interested in.

"Censory Overload"
It's an April 2008 Gamespot Australia article that looks at video game censorship in Australia as a whole, why it's not yet been changed (from a pure mechanics standpoint), and who's responsible. It's an interesting, if long-winded read.

and

A panel commenting on the lack of an R18+ rating in Australia.
Source: YouTube [ more info ]

They talk about Fallout 3's banning in this (Fallout 3 has since been permitted sale, with modification), and notice that guy's awesome Vault Boy t-shirt.

Anyway, I'm sure I won't be the last Australian to comment, seeing as I DID post fairly late (3am over here).

Registered JUST for this, don't you feel special!

See you.

once again you definitely found the funny, woody.