Game Receives First R18+ "Adults Only" Classification In Australia

angry tapir writes "Australia's Classification Board today announced the first video game to receive the new R18+ classification which came into effect at the start of 2013, indicating the title is to be sold only to adults. Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge, developed by Team Ninja, is published by Nintendo for the company's new Wii U console. The R18+ classification was created after a long campaign by gamers and game publishers. Previously games had a maximum rating of MA, and titles that didn't meet the criteria had to be reworked or not released in Australia."

Irony

[thegarbz]

The family friendly console developer is the first to release a game that receives an R18+ rating. This is the very definition of irony.

Re:Irony

[Mitreya]

The family friendly console developer is the first to release a game that receives an R18+ rating. This is the very definition of irony.

There is absolutely no irony here
I have no idea what makes R18+ different from MA, but I have to assume that this is not the first game deserving of R18+ rating. And so, the family-friendly developer is the first one to mark a mature game as such.

Re:Irony

[RivenAleem]

I don't know. I usually equate doing something ironic with negativity, as if Nintendo was being hypocritical. You forget (or ignore) that when 2 people get married, they become a family. There does not need to be kids. And the saying "Fun for all the family!" should also include people over the age of 18, otherwise it's just "Fun for the younger children!"

The average age of console gamers is over 18.

The best bit of this...

[RogueyWon]

This is a good thing. By all accounts, the game is awful. However, it is also squarely the kind of game that wouldn't have been given a 15 rating under the old system (and hence would have been denied release). So it's an indication that the new 18 rating is an actual 18 rating, rather than an excuse to just mark games that would previously have been 15s even more harshly, while still keeping many games out of the country.

Re:Irony

[jamesh]

Or, irony will be that kids want to get their hands on this game now . . . just because it has an R18+ rating. Doing anything that is illegal or a sin is more fun. Like, sex before you are married, sneaking into a movie with an adult rating, buying beer when you are under aged, etc.

The R18+ sticker is a big red, blinking "Buy Me!" sticker on the box for kids.

Like supplying alcohol to a minor, I assume there are enforceable penalties for supplying a minor with an R18+ game (it's my country, but i'm too lazy to rtfa).

Still... it's not the publishers problem if an outlet sells a game to a minor. They still get the money, which is more than the nothing they would have received if the kid had just downloaded the game instead (which they probably will anyway).