Australian government bans hundreds of mobile and Web-based games

By now, we're accustomed to platform holders like Apple refusing to carry games and apps with questionable content on their digital storefronts. We're less accustomed to national governments stepping in to decide what apps can and can't be downloaded within their borders. That's just what Australia is set to do on July 1 though, as a new pilot program will ban hundreds of mobile titles that have been "refused classification" in the country on platforms like Google Play.

Starting July 1, those titles will be effectively banned in Australia. The Australian government announced back in March that it was working with the International Age Rating Coalition (IARC) in an attempt to rate the hundreds of thousands of games being added to digital storefronts. Under the IARC system, developers fill out a questionnaire detailing in-game content like violence, crime, sexuality, gambling, language, discrimination, controlled substances, "crude humor," and "scary elements." Those answers are then automatically converted into local age ratings using standards set by the individual ratings boards in participating regions, including Australia, the US, UK, Canada, Brazil, and much of Europe. IARC content ratings can be amended or changed based on player complaints after the fact. Since announcing that test months ago, the Australian Classification Board said it has looked through a back catalog of over 150,000 games and "refused classification" for over 260 that are listed on the Australian Classification Board website.