Android News
Australia’s puritanical laws could squash Android gaming down under
August 19, 2010 | by Andrew Kameka
Android, Android OS
Android gamers in Australia may eventually find it tougher to discover good games if one member of the government has his way.
Home Affairs Minister Brendan O’Connor wants to force mobile game developers to go through the same classification process that console games face, which could lead to banned games, developers not releasing games in the country, or blocking the entire games section of the Android Market.
Australian regulations require that video games be reviewed by the Classification Board to see if they are suitable for sale. Inappropiate games are then banned. While there are few Android games that are likely to be banned for common reasons like digital gore or “sexual innuendo,” as reported by DailyTech, some game developers could pull out because of the economic burden that the review process would put on their efforts.
Minister O’Connor wants developers to pay $470 to $2,040 dollars to be classified. Given the meager financial rewards of most mobile games, if a game produces revenue at all, it’s likely that some game-makers will opt to not release their product in Australia. That could mean when Android finally does progress to the point where we see a decent first-person war game or something too racy for a 15-year-old, developers would block the Australian version of the Android Market from accessing it.
The instant publishing model of the Android Market could create massive headaches for Google and make implementing the classification process impossible. Similar problems with the South Korean Game Rating Board forced Google to remove the entire Games section from the Android Market in that country.
The Australian government will reach a decision on this issue at a later date.
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Bloody hell! I'm from Australia!! God damn over sensitivity assholes!
I was wondering how they handled iPhone games and if it was any different. According to the article they're considering this classification for both iPhone and Android apps. I wonder if the politicians know that there are browser based games out there too? Have they ever heard of side-loading? Not sure how long it will take for politicians to realize that censoring the internet doesn't work.
I'm sure China will be happy to give them a few tips. I'm also sure most Aussies will be pleased to be lumped into the same boat as China… not.
why stop there, why not charge every web page a fee to be viewed in australia?
Now do you understand why it is hard to get paid apps in all countries? Google has to deal with all the legal crap
It does seem like regardless of where you go people seem reluctant to blame their own laws no matter how rediculas they may be… I have a friend who has an ebay bussiness… he has had to stop shipping to certain europeon countries because customs holding packages and charging the customer crazy fees… mostly he gets blamed in these cases… hopfully that’s not the case in Australia and people put pressure on the government to stop doing these kinds of silly things
> hopfully that’s not the case in Australia Keep hoping, bud. Just today, an Aussie buyer told me it took him two weeks waiting, plus two visits and five phone calls (to AUS Customs), merely to obtain release of a single, medium-sized parcel. Why all the trouble? As they ‘explained’: because the value is > $1000. Yes, the pkg. is subject to special treatment – costing you guys a pretty penny, no doubt – because it’s worth a whole 4-figures. Why, of course! It’s so obvious. Silly us. Oh – and you may wonder what was contained in this tricky package. Military contraband? Blood diamonds? Fissionable material? Nope…just some antique auto parts; new & boxed, from way back in the ’60s. Go figure.
Whaddya expect for a country founded by expatriated outcast prisoners. I guess the gov'ment doesn't want those "criminal tendencies" to resurface by exposing their citizens to "crime-inducing" violence in video games. (Disclaimer–this comment is tongue in cheek–in no way to I believe that video games actually lead to a life of crime.)