Australia’s new game classification system could still expose minors to violent and sexually explicit games, warns John Rau, Attorney General from South Australia.
Rau claims that despite a government agreement earlier this year to introduce a new R18+ mature rating and enforce the country’s MA15+ classification for games, several titles with adult ratings overseas, including Killer is Dead, The Walking Dead and Atlus’ God Mode, have gone on sale in Australia with the less stringent MA15+ classification.
Rau expressed his concerns in a statement, “These particular games have been assessed as having intense violence, blood and gore, nudity and suggestive themes.”
“It is concerning to me, particularly as a parent,” Rau added, “When I see that thirteen games have been released in Australia as MA15+, whilst exactly the same game attracts up to a R18+ classification overseas.”
Rau has also stated that he might take the issue to the government’s regulatory authority. “If the standards are not more rigorously applied,” he said, “I will be referring each of these games to the South Australian Classification Council for review.”
