R18+ Passes Senate!

In some outstanding news last night, the R18+ legislation passed through the Senate without amendment. It is now in the hands of the the states and territories, expected to pass their own complementary legislation by January 1st next 2013. The announcement was made by Jason Clare, the Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Justice, who said in a statement:

The R18+ category will inform consumers, parents and retailers about which games are not suitable for minors to play, and will prevent minors from purchasing unsuitable material. The reforms also mean that adults are able to choose what games they play within the bounds of the law."

You can read the full statement by the Minister here.

The path is not clear for everyone of course - South Australia's Attorney-General has some odd ideas about classification which will no doubt provide a fair deal of facepalming over the coming months. And the odds of a company attempting to re-classify a currently refused game are incredibly slim - so don't expect to see Mortal Kombat or Syndicate hitting our shelves at any point next year. Nevertheless, celebrations are in order - so let's smoke, get drunk and look at naked ladies and dudes to show the government just how Adult we can be!

(GameArena advocates drinking responsibly. Cigarettes are harmful to your health. Looking at naked ladies and dudes can give you the vapours and cause befuddlement.)