The recent kerfuffle over the possible banning of Left 4 Dead 2 from the Australian game market has been tied to the fact that the top age bracket for classifying video games in that nation is 15+. Most American M-rated games fall into that range, but since coming up with a rating is a subjective process, every once in a while a game will be too violent, sexual, or otherwise disagreeable to the board, and thus cannot be classified. And when a game can't be classified, it can't be sold. The ratings board, which is under the bureaucratic umbrella of the attorneys general's office, is left with no real leeway in terms of allowing mature themed games to be sold to adults. Since this whole mess started, many have wondered why the country doesn't simply add another level to their ratings. Part of that answer may lie in the fact that the attorneys general themselves can't agree on the issue.

Recently, South Australia's AG Michael Atkinson, who has a history of opposing an additional rating tier, restated his opinion that there is nothing wrong with the current system, and that he doesn't support a change. Speaking to the Herald Sun newspaper, Atkinson said of the current model, "It certainly does restrict choice to a small degree, but that is the price of keeping this material from children and vulnerable adults. In my view, the small sacrifice is worth it."

However the attorney general for the state of Victoria, a Mr. Rob Hulls, disagrees with Atkinson and would like to see the rules changed. He believes that the current system keeps Australia "out of step" with the rest of the world. "It seems inconsistent that in Australia adults are allowed to view adult-only films which have been classified R18+ by the Classification Board, but not computer games with equivalent high-level content."

Sadly, as the AG's office is an appointed seat, rather than an elected one, comments like Atkinson's will never have to face the scrutiny of the ballot box. Although I don't know a lot about the demographic makeup of the Australian electorate, I can't imagine a lot of voters would support a man who clearly believes that censorship is part of his job description.

Valve has filed an appeal of the L4D2 classification refusal, but the results of that haven't come out yet. We'll let you know when they do.

[Source]