AUS: Atkinson replacement supports R18+

The man who will be filling the shoes of the outgoing South Australian Attorney-General Michael Atkinson is said to be in favour of the introduction of an R18+ age rating for video games in the country – a move that would effectively legalise violent games.

Current Attorney-General Michael Atkinson became a somewhat notorious figure in the country thanks to his staunch opposition to the introduction of a new adult rating, preferring instead to stick with the current M15+ maximum.

Feelings have become so heated that Atkinson claimed to have received death threats from angered gamers.

The current law means that anything deemed unsuitable for the under 15s – such as Risen, Silent Hill: Homecoming, FEAR 2 and Dark Sector – has until now been banned from release unless publishers agree to edit out the offending content.

However, the president of the wonderfully entitled Gamers4Croydon Chris Prior told News.com, as spotted by VG247, that incumbent Attorney-General John Rau has indicated that the lack of an R18+ for games seemed absurd, and that it was really just common sense to introduce it, considering the vast majority of adult content is already available under the MA15+ classification”.

Government is due to discuss the issue once again late next month.