Australia may receive R-rating for games, fewer bans
Luckily for gaming Aussies (50 percent of which are over the age of 18), government officials are considering the addition of an R18+ rating, allowing the sale of more mature titles. This proposition will be discussed at the next Standing Committee of Attorneys-General on March 28. Should the system undergo the change, for the first time in Australian video games, there will be blood, nudity, and strong language. You know, the good stuff.
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(Page 1) Reader Comments
It's about bloody time.
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Isn't it time you thought of a better joke?
It's quite sad really; the ignorance.
Or at least deadly reptiles and spiders?
boy, now i know how the simpsons writers felt after they made fun of australia. next up, new orleans!!
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I'd take that over Manhunt 2 any day of the week.
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on second thought, that was kinda grammar douchy
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This really isn't about getting a very small selection of (mediocre) games down here, it's to create more room to be able to rate games. We've gotten a lot of games that are complete and uncut that have been rated MA15+ which probably could've easily gone R18+ just to be safe.
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I happen to like my crappy Wii games :p
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Australia's pretty relaxed for the most part, but they do get a few games that tend to exceed the MA-15 rating a bit.
Also, the MA15 is the Aus equivalent of the ESRB's M rating. PG is the Aus equivalent of the T rating.
One thing that the Aus rating has that the ESRB doesn't have is the "M" rating that is a middle ground between PG and MA15 (ie. Between T and M is ESRB standards)
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That being said, there are exceptions to that rule. For example Dragonball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 2 (and 3) and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. These games require a more traditional approach which Nintendo has been all too happy to cater to since they allow you to use the Classic Controller and GCN Controller with these games and even encourage it. (Of course all of this has already been said...)
With all of the Wii games I own, in my opinion, it's far from being a gimmick or a joke. There are certain games which use the Wiimote in such a way which are wholly shallow and stupid, but there are other games which use the functions available in extremely clever ways. It's enough to bring a smile to my face because I know that Zack & Wiki would never be able to function on any other console and that because of the alternative that Nintendo has given us, this game DOES exist.
There are many traditional games which have benefited from Wiimote + Nunchuk functionality. The easiest example to cite is Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition. Also, I personally felt that the Wii version of Twilight Princess is superior to the GCN version. I own and have finished both versions of the game 100%.
As for the next generation, Nintendo will continue with the Wii's motion based and IR pointing functionality, you can count on it. But they would NEVER try to do anything like the SIXAXIS. They would have to give up two independent motion sensors which is available with the Wiimote + Nunchuk option and they would also have to remove the IR pointing function as well. There are very good reasons why the Wiimote is designed the way it is.
I mean no offence by this, but I think you have missed the entire point of Wii. But that's fine, most people don't really get it at all.
On the other hand, I do :p and I get to enjoy Wii games along with everything else.
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"most people". I mean more traditionalist gamers... sometimes they're referred to as "hardcore" gamers for some reason I'll never understand.
And you're right, Wii isn't "next-gen" in terms of how traditionalist gamers perceive "next-gen" to be. I think that Wii is a completely new generation of gaming, which it has been proven by the new kinds of audiences it has attracted. You've said that A LOT of people have bought Wii, and the majority of those people is made up of this new audience which Wii has reached out to pretty successfully so far.
It's obvious that Wii will never bring more traditionalist gamers the experiences they'll be having on the PS3 and 360, but that is the entire point of why Wii was created. Otherwise, if Nintendo went the "me too" route, they'd be struggling right now and a lot of games that have been born out of Wii would never have come into existence.
As for Wii's progression on motion + IR based controls. I've had the system since launch and have been buying games for it steadily since then. I can say with absolute certainty that there has been an improvement in quality in terms of motion + IR controls and I am extremely positive about the future.
And of course, you are right about the motion controls not feeling perfect, for a lot of games they really are far from being perfect, but for other games, they're tight and extremely responsive and I can't imagine them without it... furthermore, they'll get better. It's still very new technology in terms of console videogames so it's not as if everyone can come up with the greatest controls over night. There is a level of complexity with all of this that I don't think a lot of people appreciate.
I think this is a great step for Nintendo to be taking because no one else will. The need to experiment with control interfaces is extremely important. So, as long as developers are smart about the way they make their games and put some good thought and effort into them, I can't see how Wii will fail to bring us fun and interesting games.
I wouldn't hold my breath for gaming getting their R rating finally.
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Yeah, I see your point. I mean, it won't matter to me, because I'll still be able to visit any website I want, but it'll really suck that kids won't be able to see 2girls1cup anymore.
And Labor has tried mandatory filtering in some states. Sure it was a complete failure but that's never stopped politicians before.
No love for our southern Aussie's the island state? :P
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On the attach rate issue, it has been pretty clear that Nintendo has been aware of the issue since before Wii was even released. It's not enough to make a console that will attract a new audience, there has to be a plan to make that audience come back for more... and that's why Wii Fit exists.
The average gamer HATES the very existence of Wii Fit, or so I've noticed, but it's a great idea. When it does get released in North America, Europe and Australia, it's going to be extremely interesting to see how it sells. I believe Nintendo is going to be very aggressive with the way it markets Wii Fit to that new audience and they'll do everything they can to make them aware that it exists.
With all of that talk about the new audience, we have to also realise that Wii's overall audience is still made up of Nintendo fans and regular gamers as well. And while I do agree that the software attach rate is low at this stage, I've found that I've bought so many Wii games in less than a year that I've come to half of the amount of GameCube games I've bought in its entire lifetime... which is quite big step in the right direction.
To add to that, there are more games on the way for that new audience, casual audience and the more... "hardcore" audience if they're not the kind to choke at the very sight of Nintendo in the first place...
The attach rate may be low, but at the rate Wii's are selling, I don't think Nintendo minds at this point... but it seems to me that they do have a lot planned for the future. They've got Wii Fit ready to go outside of Japan, they've got Brawl, Mario Kart and other more traditional Nintendo games ready to go. They're about to launch WiiWare and are continuing with their expansion of Virtual Console titles and system support, and they're reaching out to third party developers as best they can. I mean... who knew that Fatal Frame/Project Zero would be coming to Wii, or that Capcom would bring over Monster Hunter 3.
There are obvious challenges with Wii, and Nintendo really needs to be smart with the way they handle things because some of what they're trying to achieve is in unknown territory... and you're right, things could go badly for them in the long run, but I'm glad they tried to do something different in the first place.
I'd hate to be playing the same damn thing on all three consoles.
~ Lynk
Oh and I've forgotten to add this to all of my previous posts, but I love to shamelessly advertise...
http://forums.thecrisiscenter.net/
:p
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(Hey atleast it wasn't knifey-spoony!)
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I don't get the whole knify spoony joke but I did get that it was meant to be funny, which it was.
I also hate the fact that you all think we all drive around in kangaroo's and what not, but I can't talk because I still think that the Lions, Elephants, Hippo's etc. run around Africa and the people wear no clothes and live in trees ;)
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As far as I'm concerned It hardly makes much of a difference, because I've gotten versions of games from Australian stores that were said to have been edited and it wasn't and if you ask me, if you live in NSW in Australia and you are 16 you legally are able to have sex but your not allowed to watch it? Like what's up with that.
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