Well, I'm sure we've all heard about South Australia Attorney General Michael Atkinson by now. If not, this article sums it up nicely. He's the one man preventing Australia from getting an R18+ rating for games.

In a recent interview with Gamespot AU, Atkinson said the upcoming public consultation on video games won't present a "fair and balanced view of the issue" as the people involved will likely show "overwhelming" support for an R18+ rating for games, because the only people who care enough to get involved in the debate are gamers and people directly affected by the rating.

Australians are right now being asked to voice their opinion on whether an R18+ rating for video games should be introduced, with the Australian Federal Attorney General seeking public submissions into the issue. But while the consultation process won't conclude until February 28, 2010, one high-profile figure in the games debate has already decided that the majority of respondents will be in favour of an R18+: vocal anti-R18+ campaigner Michael Atkinson.

"I don't think the discussion paper presents a fair and balanced view of the issue without pictures of the games that would be rated R18+," Atkinson said. "I think the majority of the population are unfamiliar with these games and without images, they won’t be able to imagine them in their mind's eye. They’ll have no idea how violent or sexually depraved they are, and what kind of torture, drug use, and blood spatter they include."

"I also believe that very few people outside the gaming community will have a say in this public consultation, which will mean an overwhelming response in support of R18+."

Miss Razz via au.gamespot.com »