It’s been a rough week for the Australian video game industry but fortunately, it’s not all bad news. In an unprecedented move, every single Attorney General from all states in Australia have now put their support behind an R18+ rating for videogames. After the Standing Committee of Attorneys General meeting in July, New South Wales Attorney General Greg Smith abstained from voting while his counterparts all voted “in principle” for the rating to be introduced. In a recent interview with the ABC, Greg Smith has now formally stated he will do the same.
If you’ve been following the long, long, long journey to introduce this rating in Australia, you can imagine that Australians who enjoy videogames are overjoyed that their country can now join the rest of the world in being treated like adults by their government. For those who are unaware, this vote had to be unanimous between all the Attorneys General for it to be even agreed upon to go ahead. This is the first time they have all decided to vote together, for or against the rating, since the vote was first suggested in 2002.
NSW Attorney General backs R18 category for games [ABC]
