Censorship In Singapore

A new two-rating classification system for video games will be launched from 28 April.

The Board of Film Censors (BFC) under the Media Development Authority (MDA) said the move will be introduced to allow consumers, especially parents, to make informed choices about the video games available in the market.

The new video games ratings will carry rating stickers of either Mature 18 (M18) or Age Advisory.

Mature 18 (M18) is a restricted category for persons 18 years old and above with retailers required to conduct an age check at the point of sales.

As for Age Advisory, it is considered suitable for those 16 years old and above where retailers need not conduct age checks at the point of sale, but are encouraged to exercise responsibility by not selling these games to those below 16 years of age.

Games that do not fall into the either categories are approved for general consumption and won’t carry any rating stickers.
Source: Channel News Asia

Why censorship?
Due to the depiction of graphic violence, sexual themes, consumption of illegal drugs, consumption of alcohol or smoking or profanity ( coarse language) in some games, many parents are worried about what exactly are their children playing on their computers. Censorship therefore serves the purpose of providing a standard for parents to buy game appropriate for their children and also for gamers to make responsible choices on the type of games they choose to play.
Said Ms Amy Chua, Chairman, BFC, “The new ratings will provide more choices for gamers. The games distribution and retail industry will also benefit from having a rating system that allows it to make available more games targeted at the different groups. At the same time, the age-appropriate ratings and consumer advisories will help parents make informed choices about the games their children play. This represents a balanced approach in enabling more media choice for Singaporeans while protecting the young.”

Examples of games which depict extreme violence or use of crime include Mortal Kombat, Doom, and Grand Theft Auto. It is disturbing to some that some video games allow players to act out crimes, and reward them for doing so. A famous example is the extremely popular Grand Theft Auto III by Rockstar Games, in which one can actually commit serious crimes. However, any activity of this sort in the game is done completely by choice and players are punished for committing crimes by the police. Considering this game allows one to freely choose, it could also be noted that the game is similar to real life.
Examples of games that may spark religious unhappiness can include Games such as Breath of Fire II, La Pucelle Tactics, Xenogears, Xenosaga, Final Fantasy Tactics, Final Fantasy X,Castlevania, Tales of Symphonia, Grandia II and Shin Megami Tensei. They contain religious themes that some might find offensive.

EXAMPLES OF PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPACTS WITHOUT CENSORSHIP
On April 20, 1999, American high school students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold killed 13 people and themselves in the Columbine High School massacre. The pair had been fans of Doom, claimed their mothers, a video game in which you control a character through a space station environment and kill demons, and zombies; however, later investigations by the FBI revealed that Harris’ plan was originally to blow up the school. He started shooting when his bombs did not go off.
On June 7, 2003, 18-year-old American Devin Moore shot and killed two policemen (Arnold Strickland and James Crump) and a dispatcher (Leslie Mealer) after grabbing one of the officers’ weapons following an arrest for the possession of a stolen vehicle. At trial, the defense claimed that Moore had been inspired by the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

GAMES THAT WERE UNCENSORED AND WHY
Ironically, those that were counted as censored are not censored in certain games- basically for the sake of business. The principle of high demand accounts for the uncensoring of violence/ profanity as censorship of these items would result in poor sales. The gaming industry is important to almost all developed countries- extremely strict censorship would result in poor business- so in actual fact, censorship in singapore can only be carried out to a certain extent.
Examples includes: Warcraft 3- Violence and bloodshed, the use of profanity and ideas related to war and bloodlust. Censorship is only carried out to a certain extent, with an ESRB rating of TEEN, but in fact some might argue its themes could be well beyond mature 18. With less strict censorship, Warcraft 3 has reached extremely high sales worldwide.

Sources :

Wikipedia – www.wikipedia.com

Channel News Asia