Although the vote FOR an R18+ isn't guaranteed right now, the rating is really inevitable as the industry grows in the direction of film, television, and literature where relevant common sense ratings exist already, and have for a long time. Really, not much will noticeably change from the consumer's point of view, thought censors will have more room to move and be consistent and developers don't need to consider Australia as, 'special needs' - so to speak.

Click through for extensive highlights of Mr Gibeau's letter.

Coming of Age

"As the Australian government evaluates the introduction of an 18+ category for videogames within the OFLC age rating system, it's important to remind ourselves that in today's global videogaming audience, the average age of a gamer is 28.

At EA we are committed to the belief that adult consumers can have responsibility for their entertainment choices. Just as a grown up can decide to see a film or read a book with mature themes, so should he or she be entitled to choose the same in interactive entertainment.

Government policies that don’t allow for the rating of mature content in videogames effectively censor entertainment choices for adults. These policies show a poor understanding of today's videogaming audience."

[...]

"Around the world, our industry takes very seriously the responsibility we have to protect children from inappropriate content in games. We are committed to robust, easy- to-understand age rating systems designed to help people make appropriate content choices for the right age groups; the OFLC in Australia, the ESRB in North America, PEGI in Europe, CERO in Japan. These systems have been proven as the most efficient way to protect children from inappropriate content..."

"A government policy that keeps our mature games out of stores and forces developers to rewrite code is censorship. It also forces lesser quality games into that marketplace, often stripped of their intended content and features. What will be next? Will adults be forced to see edited versions of mature films? Read books with certain chapters removed? ..."

"A change in the Australian age rating system is needed. We call on the Attorneys General in their next general session to vote unanimously in favour of the introduction of an 18+ rating for videogames to allow adults to make their own choices about the entertainment they choose to enjoy. The implementation of a new 18+ age rating classification is the right step for consumers, and for the industry, in Australia."

Frank Gibeau, President of Electronic Arts Games Label. 06/05/2010 on Gameindustry.biz

The Attorney's General meeting is today. I'll keep you updated.