Public Lecture - Online games, censorship and the crisis of control

Dr Jeff Brand from Bond University will be presenting a talk on Wednesday 13 May 2009. Dr Brand has been closely involved with the IEAA, producing the annual industry reports. Dr Brand's research at the Bond University explores the effects of electronic media on audiences and the government policies that attempt to deal with these issues. His talk will cover the controversy surrounding the introduction of the R18+ rating in Australia and classification of online video games.

This sounds like a fascinating event for anyone in Melbourne interested in the R18+ rating issue. The description is listed below;

"Computer and video games are big business in Australia, just as they are in many other developed economies. In 2008, the retail sector traded AU$1.9 billion in hardware, software and peripherals. Of this total, approximately AU$15 million were MMORPGs such as World of Warcraft (WOW). Ongoing online game subscriptions such as WOW may have accounted for another AU$300 million and games downloaded through services such as Steam and Direct2Drive are not accounted for in domestic retail figures. Australia is unique among developed states in that it does not provide for an R18+ or "Adult" rating for computer game content. Yet demographic, behavioural and attitudinal data indicate that adults are a core market for games, are the heaviest consumers of massively multiplayer online games and are savvy consumers capable of considering the risks of playing games with challenging and confronting content while acting responsibly when using such games in homes with children. Recent controversy over whether games that are exclusively played online must be classified to be legally sold or exhibited in Australia has added to a growing chorus of criticism over the Australian content regulation regime. Most online-only games such as and including WOW have not been submitted by their publishers for classification by the Classification Board. James Beniger¹s (1986) notion of a ³crisis of control² will be used to contextualise the contemporary regulatory environment and its failure to accommodate the rapidly changing medium of computer games. Suggestions and probable scenarios will be offered and canvassed to evaluate the policy and technical trajectory of ratings and classification in Australia."

Wednesday 13 May 2009 @ 06:00 pm - 07:30 pm
Theatre 3, Alan Gilbert Building (bldg 104) Corner of Grattan and Barry Streets, Parkville
More details: http://events.unimelb.edu.au/event/5772/