Wear Your Trench Coat, Slip into "Adults Only" Section to Buy Games

Will Halo and Battlefield 2 need to be placed in some seedy "Adults Only" section of video game stores?

That seems possible, based on new legislation in Western Australia. There, the state parliament has re-tooled its Censorship Act,and the results are a bit frightening. As reported by ABC News, the state's Government's Censorship Amendment Bill makes it a crime to sell or rent MA-15-rated games to minors.

Both the Liberal and Green parties collaborated in passing the measure. Legislator Barbara Scott said of the new law, "At the moment, a child can go in (to a game shop) with their care taker or babysitter or parent. There's no problem with that person, an adult hiring (an MA-15 game) or buying it, but this measure will now at least make that adult be aware that the contents are not appropriate for young children."

Regarding a requirement to segregate MA15 games, Aussie GP'er Alex Morris told us, "As far as I'm aware this is unprecedented in Australia. It's a bit of a tough deal for retailers like EB, who like discounting stuff heavily and throwing lots copies of the same game on tables for customers to browse. That won't be possible any more."

Violations can result in a fine of up to $5,000.