In the build up to a very busy few months of major releases, one can't blame wary gamers for keeping a close eye on the Classifications Board's movements. Before the Left 4 Dead 2 furore and the Modern Warfare 2 discrepancies, it was this paranoid vigilance that brought the Classification Board into the games media spotlight, when some older titles suddenly had their ratings revoked out of the blue.

The supposed bans were in fact the result of a database error listing ancient results as new, but the incident briefly highlighted the classifications process - something which is becoming more and more relevant to Australian gamers' interests.

One of the titles whacked with an RC (Refused Classification) label was Dragon Ball: Origins. This rather innocent-seeming title based on the famed three-frame anime was temporarily ranked amongst some of the most notorious products of film and literature as unsuitable to be sold in our fair nation.

Since the game was originally released with a family-friendly PG rating, what on earth sparked this revocation?

Was it public outrage over the furious martial arts action? Did some bureaucrat somewhere here the words "Dragon Balls" and get entirely the wrong idea? Is this yet another example of misinformed knee-jerk reaction wielding censorship against an emerging media and denying us our right to enjoy a harmless hobby?

Absolutely not. The general public remain in mostly blissful ignorance of the content of Dragon Ball: Origins, and no bureaucrats anywhere give even half a hoot about it.

Rating revocations are extremely rare events, with the most recent and notorious being the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Hot Coffee mod debacle. Commentators often cite the incident as an example of exactly the kind of ignorant, reactionary failure served up to gamers by the mainstream media, politicians, and pressure groups all attempting to use traditional models to control something they simply do not understand. In the face of media and political pressure, classifications and ratings systems must bow to a voting public's assertions.

In the case of Dragon Ball: Origins, exactly the opposite occurred. There was no public outcry over the game, no media circus. The revocation was initiated by the games industry itself.

The game's distributor, one member of the apparently evil games machine out to corrupt our youth with sex and violence, approached the Classification Board expressing discomfort with the game's PG rating. Guessing that a shot of Bulma's panties and some bath-time fanservice might not be suitable PG material, Dragon Ball: Origins was submitted for re-classification with these considerations carefully highlighted.

In the interim the game was listed as RC, before being reclassified as M and made available for your purchasing pleasure once again.

Meanwhile, Left 4 Dead 2, a prime contender for an RC rating, submits an incomplete application for classification overlooking several key points regarding the game and is promptly knocked back. Whether Australia will receive a hastily-censored version or whether the new and more detailed application will get the original version over the border is still up in the air.

Australia's games classification system, with its lack of R18+ rating and arguably obsolete guidelines, is in need of an update, but these two contrasting examples demonstrate that the industry can either work with the current system as they fight for an overhaul – or try to work around it and get burned, to everyone’s detriment.

With thanks to a very patient and helpful Classification Board spokesperson.