So Fallout 3 has just been refused classification (RC) by the OFLC in Australia, possibly the highest profile game to be RC, but by no means the first. Every single GTA game since III has been censored by the OFLC, largely due to the lack of an R18+ rating here. There have been calls for this for years, but lately more and more people have decided things need to change.

Films and books all have an R18+ and even X18+ category, but the highest rating a game can get without being RC is MA15+. Why is this? Do video games suffer from an image of being purely the domain of teenage boys? Does the interactive nature of games make it more "real" than if the same content was just watched or read? Does the government fear a backlash from concerned parents if they make a change? There are many factors influencing any change in government policy, some related to the issue, some not at all.

In the last few years, in Australia at least, the average gamer has moved from being the adolescent boy staring at the computer monitor in his room to a much broader audience. The mean age of today's gamer is well into their twenties, if not early thirties, and the new generation of consoles, the Wii in particular, has made video games accessible to a much larger audience. With this change in demographic needs to come a change in censorship ratings. Adults should be allowed to make choices about what they read, watch and play without the OFLC deciding what's alright first.

I can understand when people say that killing someone in a videogame is worse than watching an action movie. You don't actively participate in a film or book, but rather just spectate from the outside as events unfold. But this does not mean that violent games or games with drug use should be banned. Maybe given a higher rating than the equivalent book or film, but not banned or modified.

Changing the government policy on the rating system would be a controversial decision. Sure it would be welcomed by many, but howls of protest would be heard from every parenting and religous group in the country seeking to protect the children. I've got friends who's parent's didn't care about what games they played when they were ten or twelve. And I know people whose parents would not even let them play a violent video game at a friends house. The thing is, you will get little to no support from the parents who allow their children to play violent video games for this change as, frankly, they don't care. But you will get fierce opposition from the other parents as they do care.

Ultimately, it comes down to adults being given the choice to play what they want. Game ratings need to come into line with the film and book system, and while this change is long overdue, I wouldn't be expecting it any time soon.