Australian R18+ Game Rating System Ends Mature Game Embargos

Australian legislators voted in a new game rating system that expands choice for gamers, allowing them to play ESRB-Mature games, which often get restricted or banned in the Australian market. Called R18+, the new rating marks games restricted to consumption by people aged 18 and above. Before it, the highest game rating marker for the Australian market was M15+ ("mature", above the age of 15), which let through titles with depiction of violence, but blocked out quite a few that in the eyes of the powers that be, were "too violent" (eg: Mortal Kombat, with its gory critical hit animations). Like with every other government, in every part of the world, it took a lobby to move the Australian House and Senate (Parliament) and make R18+ a reality. Go ahead and score fatalities in style, mates.