Australia: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 12:49, 15 April 2009

Australia is a country in the southern hemisphere, a neighbour to New Zealand.

The country's OFLC provides the age classification of all media in the country, including Grand Theft Auto releases. The majority of the GTA series is rated MA15+, however some editions of the games have drawn the RC rating ("Refused Classification"). Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was famously re-rated after the Hot Coffee debacle, the OFLC changing its original MA15+ rating to RC. The re-release of San Andreas saw it obtain the the MA15+ rating again, after the Hot Coffee material was edited out. Australia has a different version of GTA IV to the rest of the world.

Media that receive a "Refused Classification" rating are banned from sale; it is particularly easy for games to receive this rating, as there is no 18+ classification for games. Games which do receive this rating must be edited to meet MA15+ standards to obtain an Australian release.

Note that the OFLC do not decide ratings policy, but merely enforce it -- changes to the classification system, such as providing an 18+ rating for games, must be authorised with a unanimous vote from all state attorneys-general. Attorney General Michael Atkinson of South Australia is the lone dissenting vote regarding an 18+ category for video games.

Australia within the Grand Theft Auto games

Within the GTA III era games, references are made to a war between the United States and Australia, usually in AmmuNation commercials and radio shows. It can be presumed that Australia lost the war -- San Andreas AmmuNation promotions mention weapons "from when we whooped Australia's ass", and an adoption service commercial in GTA IV mentions "...an Australian baby which loves to play war but always loses."

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 [[Image:Flag of Australia.png|thumb|right|200px|The Flag of Australia]]
-'''Australia''' is a country in the southern hemisphere of the globe and is a close neighbour to [[New Zealand]]. The country uses the [[OFLC]] rating system to rate all [[Grand Theft Auto]] releases. The majority of the series is rated MA15+, however some have been given the RC rating. [[Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas]] was famously re-rated after the [[Hot Coffee]] debacle, and the OFLC changed its original MA 15+ rating to RC, although the re-release of San Andreas saw it obtain the the MA 15+ rating again. Australia has a different version of [[GTA IV]] than the rest of the world.
+'''Australia''' is a country in the southern hemisphere, a neighbour to [[New Zealand]].
-RC typically means "refused classification" and means that the game is banned from sale unless a modified version is made.
+The country's [[OFLC]] provides the age classification of all media in the country, including [[Grand Theft Auto]] releases.  The majority of the GTA series is rated MA15+, however some editions of the games have drawn the RC rating ("Refused Classification").  [[Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas]] was famously re-rated after the [[Hot Coffee]] debacle, the OFLC changing its original MA15+ rating to RC.  The re-release of San Andreas saw it obtain the the MA15+ rating again, after the Hot Coffee material was edited out.  Australia has a different version of [[GTA IV]] to the rest of the world.
-Australia has no "adult" rating in its game classification system, even though the ratings were updated to match the film and television ratings in 2006.
-In-game references include references to a war between the [[United States]] and Australia, usually from [[Ammunation]] commercials.
+Media that receive a  "Refused Classification" rating are banned from sale; it is particularly easy for games to receive this rating, as there is no 18+ classification for games.  Games which do receive this rating must be edited to meet MA15+ standards to obtain an Australian release.
+Note that the OFLC do not decide ratings policy, but merely enforce it -- changes to the classification system, such as providing an 18+ rating for games, must be authorised with a unanimous vote from all state attorneys-general.  Attorney General [http://www.agd.sa.gov.au/about_us/ministers.php Michael Atkinson] of South Australia is the lone dissenting vote regarding an 18+ category for video games.
+==Australia within the Grand Theft Auto games==
+Within the [[GTA III era]] games, references are made to a war between the [[United States]] and Australia, usually in [[AmmuNation]] commercials and radio shows.  It can be presumed that Australia lost the war -- San Andreas AmmuNation promotions mention weapons "from when we whooped Australia's ass", and an adoption service commercial in GTA IV mentions "...an Australian baby which loves to play war but always loses."
 [[Category: Countries]]