Video Games Industry Welcomes Proposed Classification Guidelines 

Sydney, Australia – Friday, 4th November 2011 – The video games industry welcomes the proposed Guidelines for the Classification of Computer Games released today by The Minister for Home Affairs, Brendan O’Connor. These Guidelines open the way for the introduction of an R18+ category for video games. 

According to Ron Curry, CEO of Interactive Games & Entertainment Association (iGEA), the new guidelines appear to exercise a high level of caution and balance the range of views towards classifying video games. 

“We are pleased to see this process moving forward and understand that great care has been taken to balance the concerns of those who have resisted an R18+ classification and adults who want to play video games designed specifically for mature audiences and readily available in other developed democracies.”  

Of some concern is the acknowledgment in the guidelines that interactivity has greater impact on players, despite the Federal Attorney-General’s office publishing a literature review in December 2010 that found no evidence to support these claims. 

“There will be continued debate about whether the interactivity of video games has a greater impact than other forms of media, and we will continue to refer to the lack of the evidence to support these claims. With that being said, we welcome the commitment from all parties involved to seek a reasonable outcome to address this longstanding issue. 

“We now look forward to the Commonwealth, States and Territories implementing these guidelines in an expedient manner,” said Curry.