South Australian Governor-General confirms his intention to appeal MA15+ game

South Australian Governor-General Michael Atkinson has confirmed his intention to appeal the MA15+ rating of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 yesterday in an emailed statement to GameSpotAU

He mentioned on ABC's National Radio program National Interest last Friday about his intentions, but the Classification Board has yet to receive the official appeal.

In the email statement, Michael Atkinson confirmed this intent.

"I worry about any game that encourages gamers to perpetrate extreme violence and cruelty on screen, but this game [Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2] allows players to be virtual terrorists and gain points by massacring civilians. Expecting game designers to be responsible by not glorifying terrorism will always lead to disappointment,"

It's interesting to note that you do not gain points in the level "No Russian", as it is entirely skipable.

The Classification Review Board have told GameSpotAU "in order for the South Australian attorney-general to carry out his appeal to seek a new classification for the game, he must request the Federal Minister for Home Affairs, Brendan O'Connor, to apply for a review to the Classification Review Board. The Federal Minister for Home Affairs must then carry out this review application."