South Australia's Attorney-General Michael Atkinson has long stood in the way of efforts to gauge public opinion on whether or not Australia should have an R18+ classification for video games, but finally it looks like the federal government has decided to take things into their own hands. Residents of Australia can submit a comment to the Commonwealth government on the topic of the R18+ classification, the first time that public opinion has been solicited directly on this topic.

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Again in keeping with my previous post, the entry below was a re-print of a letter-to-the-editor I sent Bruce Steele at The Advocate; coming off of the previous entry about this subject, I contacted him with my concerned over an image I felt that his magazine and much other popular gay media was perpetuating. This entry was dated May 13, 2006. Unfortunately I don't feel that the particular situation has gotten any better in the time since.

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As per this earlier post, the entry below was originally dated February 26, 2006. Although the article mentioned in the first sentence is no longer available online, it pertained to a group advocating the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell and I found some of their marketing to be a bit offensive and marginalizing towards gay people who happen to be effeminate, thus the inspiration for this entry. Yes, the title was a Kelly Clarkson song lyric.

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Last week Ars Technica ran an interesting article discussing ways that PC gamers can make their voices heard to game studios when they're upset about decisions those studios have made. I'm not sure why they narrowed in specifically on PC gamers, since I think their advice would work equally well with respect to console releases or even customer/company interactions that have nothing to do with gaming whatsoever. Perhaps it's because the majority of what they touched on was regarding anonymity within internet communities that led them to keep their focus on PC players– I'm not sure.

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A new political party has been formed in Australia with the goal of ousting South Australia Attorney-General Michael Atkinson and finally getting an R18+ classification for video games passed in the country. While this is commonly (and incorrectly) attributed as being a moral judgement on the part of the Australian population, most Australians are for such a classification and Atkinson is the sole opponent in government to getting one implemented.

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Attaching special bonuses to an upcoming release, serving as a magical enticement to get you to fork over cash before a title comes out, is not a new practice– nor is it reserved to the gaming industry. I'm personally well familiar with receiving all sorts of solicitations for buying a CD before its release date, from bonus songs to videos to promo concert codes. With games, bonuses come specific to the retailer you're purchasing from too, with GameStop in particular usually running away with the lion's share of consumer "gifts."

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Australia's Office of Film and Literature Classification has had a contentious history when it comes to handling violent video games. Unlike the United States' ESRB, video games require a mandatory rating before they're qualified for sale in this country and many of the more "adult" titles routinely come into problems when they skirt too close to the line. The most recent title to come under fire is Valve's gratuitous zombie action/thriller Left 4 Dead 2. Although the original was classified without incident, its sequel has been denied at present.

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