Tue, Nov 24, 2009 | 07:51 GMT
Atkinson to attempt MW2 reclassification in Australia
South Australian Attorney-General Michael Atkinson – Australia’s most visible opponent to the country adopting an 18 age rating for games – has confirmed he’s to appeal an OFLC decision to release Modern Warfare 2 with a 15+ rating in the country.
Speaking on radio show National Interest last week, Atkinson said he thought the ruling “is wrong,” adding:
“This decision doesn’t surprise me. The Classification Board in Australia does everything to try and get games in under the radar.”
If he’s successful, the game could be banned from sale in Australia.
In an email to Gamespot, Atkinson accused the game of “glorifying terrorism”:
“I worry about any game that encourages gamers to perpetrate extreme violence and cruelty on screen, but this game [Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2] allows players to be virtual terrorists and gain points by massacring civilians. Expecting game designers to be responsible by not glorifying terrorism will always lead to disappointment,” he said.
More through there.
6 
Posted in: Action, Activision Blizzard, Australia, Hot, PC, PS3, Politics, Shooter, Xbox 360
Tags: Michael Atkinson, modern warfare 2, OFLC
6 comments
#1
Johnny Cullen
24/11/09, 8:04 am
Is it just me, or am I the only one who finds Atkinson a pain in the arse? Even Jack Thompson was more bearable, but only because he was batshit insane.
#2
Roybott
24/11/09, 9:00 am
“…players to be virtual terrorists and gain points by massacring civilians.”
At any point in the game do you actually gain points for killing civilians? It sounds like he hasn’t really played this, but that’s no surprise!
#3
Freek
24/11/09, 9:17 am
Yeah, he obviously hasn’t even seen the game. At no point does it glorify terrorism, you don’t get a “high score” for it.
In fact, it’s horrible and that is the point. You’re witnessing a war crime, one that triggers all manner of terrible events.
#4
freedoms_stain
24/11/09, 9:53 am
He doesn’t have to play the game because he’s in the majority of dumb-fucks who’ll invent a correlation and tie it to a causation where none exists. Gives them that artificial sense of security.
#5
TJ
24/11/09, 1:26 pm
LOL, I love that the only reason 15 year olds are playing a game like MW2, a game clearly they shouldn’t be playing, is because fo Atkinson’s ban of 18+ games.
#6
mw2 australia
15/12/09, 12:37 am
instead of banning, what we really need in australia is a new 18+ rating. There was a rally for this in QLD recently. Although i am a huge fan of mw2, it most definitely is excessively violent. And un-necessarily so. our mw2 australia community will be rallying for a new rating system.