this post was submitted on 19 Sep 2024
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Games featuring paid loot boxes will soon receive a mandatory 'M' rating in Australia (www.gamedeveloper.com)
submitted 1 month ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago (2 children)

As clarification I meant: "do people in Australia care about the tiny black and white sticker on the box which says "M - rated for mature audiences" now?"

and not: "why should the global community give a damn about Australia...".

I remember cinemas were always strict with entry into movies, but game shops never used to ask for ID. Has this changed?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Penalties will vary between states but for NSW the maximum fines for selling games with restricted classifications to underage customers are:

. MA15+ R18+
sold by individual $5.5k $11k
sold by corporation $11k $22k

https://www6.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/cfacgea1995596/s30.html
https://www8.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/cpa1999278/s17.html

These seem steep enough to encourage compliance.

But G, PG, or M? The customers age is none of their business and I wouldn't expect them to take an interest.

Edit: to put those penalties in perspective the sentencing for supplying alcohol to minors scales up a maximum of $11k and/or 12 months incarceration.
https://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/la2007107/s117.html

While for tobacco the maximum penalties are:

. first offence subsequent offences
sold by individual $11k $55k
sold by corporation $55k $110k

https://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/pha2008178/s22.html

So it looks like it is penalized significantly more lightly than alcohol or tobacco.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago

Ah, that is not how your initial comment came across. Though I guess you realise that now.

I honestly don't recall ever encountering any bars on buying video games as a kid, or even knowing that ratings existed, though it could just be because my parents bought most of my games. I think you're right that very few people in Australia care about ratings. To me, it's clear that ratings are almost entirely arbitrary. It's obvious that big developers get more leeway in how their products are rated than smaller developers anyway.