IG-64 Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/102/1025648p1.html Apparently the violence in L4D2 has been upped so much that it was refused by the Australian Classifications Board. This is like giving an Ao rating to a game, except that Australia doesn't even have an Ao-type rating, so the game is effectively banned. I expect at least one of two things will happen: Valve will change the game so it can be re-rated, or there will be riots in the streets of Australia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrWally Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 Wow. This really is a surprise... Now I'm actually very intrigued as to just how violent this game will be. I want to play it! I hope they don't change the game just to appeal to Australia... then again it would make perfect sense for them to do so... :/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samuel Dravis Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 They could pull a The Witcher and just change the content for sale in Australia only. That would be nice of them. I was kind of surprised that it was Australia-- I saw the a portion of the title (Left4Dead 2 banned in...) and thought that it had to be Germany that was going to ban it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samnmax221 Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 I was kind of surprised that it was Australia-- I saw the a portion of the title (Left4Dead 2 banned in...) and thought that it had to be Germany that was going to ban it. Only if it was idealized Nazi zombies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kain Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 Should be banned for dumbness...BAH!!! I feel the hate filled eyes upon me. Look elsewhere, children - I've never been a fan of running zombies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BongoBob Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 Australia's government is so cute. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lynk Former Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 I bet you anything it's just ONE single thing in L4D2 that's done it... and it's something really stupid in terms of the fact that every other game has aready done it before, but the people who reviewed the content felt that it had a certain tone that was unnacceptable. I mean, come on, Resident Evil 4 and House of the Dead Overkill as well as the first Left 4 Dead reached this country untouched with all of the content there. We were one of the few countries to get Killer7 complete and uncut, and we're the country that happens to have made quite a lot of very violent movies which involved some very dark concepts such as rape and racial violence... we even have a TV station down here that is credited for being the only place to air certain foreign movies in their complete uncut format with nothing uncensored. Whatever content is in L4D2 is because we unfairly don't have an R18+ rating for video games down here and the government refuses to act on it. Hell, the R18+ rating is being held back down here simply by one asshat representative who thinks that it's going to protect the children to not have it. The great thing is that because we don't have the R18+ rating, a lot of games which would probably have fit into that rating have been released complete and uncut as MA15+ rated games which is the nexxt lowest (and highest rating for video games) in Australia. So instead of protecting children by restricting them from being able to buy an R18+ game, he's enabling them to be able to buy MA15+ games. Good one ASSHAT. Also, just to make it clear R18+ doesn't equal an AO type rating. It's a completely different scale down here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acdcfanbill Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 This is like giving an Ao rating to a game, except that Australia doesn't even have an Ao-type rating, so the game is effectively banned. to be fair, an AO rating in the US is effectively a banning as well, since no brick and mortar retailer will carry AO rated games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pie™ Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 Can't you just buy it online? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 I imagine that the game will be changed in Australia only, they have done this with several games in the past to get it re-rated. Either way, the Australian government sucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lynk Former Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 The changes will probably really stupid that we'll never notice what was changed though... just like previous games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kain Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 Also, just to make it clear R18+ doesn't equal an AO type rating. It's a completely different scale down here. So 18+ means children over 18 months? I mean, if its 18 years and older then its basically the same thing as AO since legally your an adult at 18 years. May wanna clarify on that a bit more. Though that represenative is an asshat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lynk Former Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 R18+ doesn't equal AO because the content shown on R18+ is not equal to AO. The rating closest resembling AO down here would be X18+ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 Seems like a potential R18 rating in Australia would be more like our Mature rating, though it's kind of hard to compare since the ages are different. Mature is 17+ here and Teen is 13+ so Aussie's MA15+ is kind of in between. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Avlectus Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 I want to play it if it's *that* violent. I thought that Ao is 21+ in some areas? Could be wrong. Can't you just buy it online? ^^^This. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IG-64 Posted September 17, 2009 Author Share Posted September 17, 2009 The changes will probably really stupid that we'll never notice what was changed though... just like previous games. In the decision report, they specifically cite the melee weapons as the most violent part of the game. So I'm guessing they'll have to tone down some of the more violent melee graphics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swphreak Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 I didn't think it mattered what Australia did since they're selling it online via Steam? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IG-64 Posted September 17, 2009 Author Share Posted September 17, 2009 I didn't think it mattered what Australia did since they're selling it online via Steam? Doesn't Steam have to conform to Australian law though? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kjølen Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 They did the same thing for FEAR 2 at first. The ACB never learns from its mistakes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrWally Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 Doesn't Steam have to conform to Australian law though? But that's the point. The game isn't literally "banned", it just carries an age rating that most stores won't carry, right? At the very worst I'd think all that Steam could do is ensure that the buyer is 18 years of age or older. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoxStar Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 Australia: Bad Movie, Worse Country Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 But that's the point. The game isn't literally "banned", it just carries an age rating that most stores won't carry, right? At the very worst I'd think all that Steam could do is ensure that the buyer is 18 years of age or older.No, Australia does not even have a classification higher than 15, so if a game is refused classification, it is effectively banned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lynk Former Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 It can't be sold in Australian retail stores, but there's nothing stopping anyone from importing it. Steam AU probably won't carry it but it's not like Valve would stop AU people from being able to get the US version and register it on steam... I mean, the Australian government can't do anything to stop them or us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troopr-Undr-Fir Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 It can't be sold in Australian retail stores, but there's nothing stopping anyone from importing it. Steam AU probably won't carry it but it's not like Valve would stop AU people from being able to get the US version and register it on steam... I mean, the Australian government can't do anything to stop them or us. Fight the powers at be brotha man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kjølen Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 Australia is an island though. Importing anything bigger than a letter is going to cost the buyer more than the game is likely worth to them. Oh, sure, some will do it, but the problem is how much it's going to drive up price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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