This has been something that has been on Australian gamers' minds for years. The lack of an R Rating in Australia for video games is quite perplexing. With the recent ban of games such as Mark Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure and 50 Cent: Bulletproof, the lack of an 18+ classification has occupied my mind once again. There are several problems with the lack of an 18+ rating.

The first, and most obvious, is that adults should be able to choose what they play. If this applies to movies and other forms of media, then why not video games? The classification system has been revised so that videogames have the same ratings system as movies, so why not bring it further into line by providing an R rating? Secondly, games deserving of an 18+ rating sometimes just get the MA15+ rating applied. Thirdly, the lack of an 18+ rating can send the message that video games are for kids. If an R rating ever comes into effect, this problem could also be a problem with an R rating. People might still falsely assume that only children play videogames and believe that 18+ material is being marketed to kids.

Will the OFLC ever give an R rating to videogames? What will it take for them to do so?

50 cent bulletproof is banned??

Well, it was, but it appears as though it has been re-classified by the OFLC after it was submitted with a few changes.

and mark eckos getting up is banned but will come back after a few months. as for the R rating u wish its not gonna happen but who cares as long MGs4, DMC4 and final fantasy XII comes out i dont give a .....

We had a chat to the OFLC about this very issue in the latest issue. We also got Ecko's thoughts and tried to work out why the R18+ still isn't with us: so much damn red tape... bloody suits

Something that occurred to me, if, hypothetically, we ever did get an R rating for video games, do you think they would be sold at retail?

I know in the US, the equivalent of 18+ is an AO, as San Andreas was re-classified to after Hot Coffee, and the big retailers refuse to sell AO games. Would this happen in Australia? I would think it would be unlikely as R rated movies are sold at all the big retailers.