If you're a gamer, you might want to get angry now: maybe put on some old-school Rage Against The Machine, crank the volume up, find a stress ball and pummel it mercilessly. Because according to Jason Hill over at Screenplay, SA Attorney General Michael Atkinson has withdrawn his support for a discussion paper and public consultation on the issue of an R18+ rating for games.

Back in March, he agreed in principle to the idea of a discussion paper and public consultation, which would provide a wide selection of research and opinions on the issue. While it wouldn't actually mean the new rating would be introduced, it at least meant that the issue was on the table for discussion, and there was hope for adult gamers across the country. Now that hope has been dashed by Atkinson's refusal to even support the research, meaning any official discussion has also been shelved.

Considering that all six of the other AGs support the discussion part, if not the introduction of the R18+ rating itself, how can we truly call ourselves a democracy when one narrow-minded, outdated man can ignore the facts and enforce his personal opinions on a nation? Especially when that opinion leaves us drowning in a tide of stupidity while the rest of the developed world looks down at us from the comfort of their deckchairs on the beach of common sense?

I don't know enough about politics to understand what processes need to occur to bring it about, but the simple fact is that the system needs to change. No one man should have the power to hold the country to ransom.

[Screenplay via Kotaku]

Tell us something we don't know: Bond University has just announced the results of its most recent study into gaming in Australia, and it turns out that South Australian Attorney General is an uneducated dingbat in his war against an R18+ rating for games: The average age of gamers in Australia is 30 years old, and 68 per cent of Australians play video games.

The survey was conducted across 1600 households and involved more than 75 questions in a 20 minute survey. Among the other findings are that 66 per cent of adults aren't aware that there isn't an R18+ rating for video games, and 91 per cent of both gamers and non-gamers believe that the rating should be introduced.

It also found that gaming is a social, family pastime, with 70 per cent of parents in a gaming household playing games and 80 per cent of those playing with their kids.

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It's no secret that your game console is not going to do much to save you money on your next power bill. However, Energy Star is finally prepared to set guidelines on energy consumption for these devices. In order earn an Energy Star seal of approval, manufacturers will have to use less than one watt during 'off' mode, and less than 5 watts in standby. The devices must also automatically power down after sitting idle for an hour. Furthermore, any set-top box and DVD/Blu Ray/Movie playback functions have to come within 10% of current Energy Star requirements.

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Unlike their usual tack lately, Apple is doing something at the App Store that actually helps developers. Before, you could review—and slam—any app you wanted willy-nilly, even if you didn't own it. That changed over the weekend—now you have to own an app before you can review it, preventing an onslaught of one-star reviews for Tetris simply because EA is charging eight bucks for it. Now if Apple could apply some of that logic and fairness on their end and stop jerking developers around. [Alley Insider]

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Outgoing Kotaku AU Ed Logan sent off a heap of questions to the Australian Classifications board a couple of weeks ago. And now they've gotten back to him. Seems that boy's got connections.

Among the most revealing bits of information are that customs can seize any items contravening regulation (like an game refused classification) and you could be fined up to $110,000; that they board doesn't actually play the games that they classify; and exactly what the reasoning was behind Fallout 3 being refused classification.

It's an insightful read, even if it doesn't alleviate the frustration at a flawed system. Make sure you check it out.

[Kotaku AU]

Earlier this year, Environment Minister Peter Garrett Announced that by next year we'd see energy rating labels on our gadgets. Well, the process has now begun, at least in a voluntary capacity. The government has announced the requirements and guidelines for energy ratings for televisions on their energy rating website.

The rating will be out of 10, rather than the usual six that you see on fridges and other whitegoods, with the higher the star rating the better the energy efficiency.

At the moment, the labelling is completely voluntary, so don't expect to see them on the cheap plasmas you can pick up down at JB Hifi. However, Sony, Panasonic, Philips and LG have all announced that they are planning on using the stickers to rate their TVs, and you'd expect other big names like Samsung will jump on board as well.

There's no word on whether (or when) the ratings will make their way over to other gadgets, or whether or not the labels will become compulsory in the near future. Here's hoping...

[News.com.au]

If you were in the least bit unsure of why Australia needed an R18+ Rating for games (and yes, we're talking to you South Australian Attorney General Michael Atkinson), ScreenPlay is reporting that GTA IV has been modified to obtain a MA15+ rating in Australia.

Opposition to the rating will probably see this as a good thing. Even though Rockstar haven't made it clear exactly what elements were removed from the game, they'll be claiming that it will certainly be the most sexual / violent aspects, and they'd probably be right.

The problem is that GTA is a violent game, and if the only thing they took out was, let's say, the ability to murder prostitutes after they service you, there's still a myriad of other violent possibilities for players to choose from.

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So the Standing Committee of Attorneys General is meeting today, and up for grabs is the long-debated adult R18+ rating for games in Australia. We’ve heard no news from the meeting yet, but my hopes aren’t high.

In spite of some pretty fierce public criticism, the South Australian Attorney General Michael Atkinson has maintained his opposition to the rating, and given unanimous support is required, we very much doubt that anything is going to change. Still, we’ll keep you posted as news comes out.

Update: Well, nothing conclusive came of the meeting, but it turned out rather better than I'd hoped for. The attorneys general have decided to enter a process of public consultation on the matter, and are expected to have a consultation paper ready for the next SCAG meeting (the Standing Committee meets three times a year). In its coverage of the story, the SMH notes that a 2005 study by Bond University found that 88% of the population think that there should be an R18+ rating, so it would at least seem that the odds of a public consultation leading to a positive decision are pretty good. But you can be sure, however, that some very loud conservative interest groups such as the Australian Family Association will weigh in on the matter as well.

The details on the method of public consultation have yet to be finalised.

Nielson Online released research yesterday revealing that in 2007 Australians spent more time on the Internet than in front of the TV. Apparently we spend, on average, 13.7 hours of our leisure time per week surfing the Internet, while we watch 13.3 hours of TV. In 2006, it was 12.5 hours online and 13.8 hours watching TV.

Of course, I suspect for your average Gizmodo reader, those number are way out of whack. I mean, only 13.7 hours? Anyway, follow the link for some more nifty facts about how we spend our time. [The Australian]

I know we probably got your hopes up with our story the other week about the R18+ rating for games being back on the table, but it isn't going to happen. South Australian Attorney-General Huge McTool Michael Atkinson is staunchly opposed to the adult classification, and seeing as how all Attorney-Generals need to agree, there's no chance of it happening.

I was so angry when I read his argument as to why he opposes the rating over on news.com.au that I was about to write an essay dismantling every argument he had. Then I discovered that Logan over at Kotaku had already done the hard work for me. Go and check it out and spread the link to all your friends – it's an extremely well-written and logical argument for the introduction of an R18+ rating for games in Australia. And the more people we have on our side, the better the chances that we'll finally get treated like the adults that we are.

[Kotaku AU]