Like the local gaming community needed any more issues with our games classification system, it seems the next huge controversy revolves around the sales of Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs) which include the immensley popular titles such as World of Warcraft, Age of Conan, and Warhammer Online. A loop hole existed for online games which were exempted from classification because of their online focus and lack of a single-player component, and it's an argument that is also repeated by the Interactive Entertainment Association of Australia.
All that is set to change as a spokesman for NSW Attorney-General John Hatzistergos has said the NSW Classification Enforcement Act prohibited the sales of such games, and that video game publishers and retailers were at immediate risk for selling them. A spokesman for NSW Police Minister Tony Kelly has urged the community to report on unrated online games to their local police, which could possibly include every single game retailer in Australia.
From the Sydney Morning Herald...
The spokesman (for NSW Attorney-General John Hatzistergos) added that enforcement of the act was the responsibility of police but penalties for breaking these laws ranged from $1100 to $11,000 for individuals and/or 12 months' imprisonment. For corporations the fines were approximately double."If there is any suggestion that any business is trading illegally, police need to know, and it should be reported," he said.
Why World of Warcraft doesn't have a classification
Ausgamers has a brilliant article on exactly why World of Warcraft doesn't have a classification.
To sum it up briefly, it was never submitted for one because it was considered "a waste of time" for the OFLC. It's the same argument given by the Interactive Entertainment Association of Australia - exclusively online games are not submitted to the OFLC for classification.
Ron (from the OFLC) let me know that World of Warcraft was not rated by the OFLC - in fact, was never even submitted for classification - it was a "waste of time" as the game is exclusively online, exclusively multiplayer, and has no defined start and end. Thus it is inherently unclassifiable.
http://www.ausgamers.com/features/read/2614953
Fair enough
I mean, the classification standards for any MMOG would require constant revision upon every single update to be perfect. MMOG's are also more prone to quite differing user experiences than most other games, making classification almost unique to the way the person rating it would play it.
That's at least how I would see it.
Hmm
Also, did you know that any patch will nullify any existing classification? Different thing I suppose, being that you only sell vanilla games at retail.
Thats just ridiculous now,
Thats just ridiculous now, personally im not an MMO player but to restrict sales of them on this basis is just stupid.
In general
For every step forward NSW takes with games, it seems to take two steps back to some prehistoric politician who believes the only good computer is a calculator.
When will Australia take itself out of the stone age concerning the internet and games? That's the question I'd love to ask politicians.
12 Months Jail?
"What are you in for?"
"I killed someone"
"And you?"
"Armed robbery"
"How about you, kid?"
"I was playing wow."
Retailers
They're not really after the gamers (this time), but the retailers who are selling the game, and the publishers of the game. But yeh, being locked up for selling a game that hasn't gotten a proper classification is pretty petty.
In any case, that spokesman for NSW Police Minister Tony Kelly has just made my "list". I've got to write out an article one day outlining the most ridiculous statements made by local politicians and people of authority on games... and there have been quite a few over the years.