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Left 4 Dead 2 banned in Australia
Author: Joe MartinPublished: 17th September 2009
Valve's Left 4 Dead 2 has been banned in Australia due to excessive amounts of gore and featured melee weapons.
The game was officially refused classification, meaning it cannot go on sale in the country, on the basis that it exceeded the limits of the MA15+ rating. Australia has no 18+ or AO rating as used in other countries, so if it's above a MA15+ then it is often denied classification.
This doesn't mean that the game will definitely not be available in Australia however, as Valve still has the option to release a localised version for the Australian market or to tone down the objectionable content in all versions before re-submitting the game for approval.
The specific complaints made by the Australian regulatory body, the Office of Film and Literature Classification, are listed below, via Kotaku.
- The game contains violence that is high in impact and is therefore unsuitable for persons aged under 18 to play.
- It notes that this violence is "inflicted upon ‘the Infected' who are living humans infected with a rabies-like virus that causes them to act violently."
- The report singles out the use of melee weapons as those that "inflict the most damage" and cause "copious amounts of blood spray and splatter (sic), decapitations and limb dismemberment… or even cause intestines to spill from the wounds."
- In conclusion, the Board finds that the "interactive nature of the game increases the overall impact of the frequent and intense depictions of violence. This coupled with the graphic depictions of blood and gore combine to create a playing impact which is high."
- Interestingly, the report also reveals that it wasn't a unanimous decision and that "a minority of the Board is of the opinion that the violence is strong in playing impact and therefore warrants an MA15+ classification" instead. However, the majority voted to refuse classification.
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This is already on my list to purchase, so no changes for me.
And no, you wouldn't be able to get the gift as they localize your IP.
The problem seems to be that there is no 18+ rating in Australia?
L4D really is a 18+ game.
:D
LOL, monkey see monkey want eh?
The Aussie Gov't. is like that though; always knee-jerk reactions and overly simplistic view of the world; not slamming the nation, just their adminsitration. This isn't the first time they've stormed ahead and banned things that other nations have managed to regulate without going so far as to ban.
Banning's the easy option as far as work's concerned and has absolutely no guarrantee of success, and causes all sorts of problems of its own.
They probably think they're being right, but really, they're just cutting corners and avoiding the real issue.
Jokers!!
Nah mate its just because we do NOT have an 18+ system
over here the law is some minister from each state has to agree before they can impliment it, and some crusty old fart fromSouth Australia refuses to allow it, so really its one man holding our 18+ rating up
Thats the ONLY reason they ban some games here
Me to mate.
Yea even though I mostly play with kids on L4D1 that are under 15...
Thats bad, i can see why its banned but surely they should create a 18+ gaming cert as alot of gamers are now over this age and more and more developers will tap into this and make games for adults only to keep them gaming.
In another sense this game cant be as bad as GTA (i know Aus banned Manhunt etc) where you can walk round and beat LIVING people to a pulp with baseball bats, gun them down or play chicken with them and your car.
lol,
Did L4D make it over there? if that was 18, why has this one been stopped?
lol there's every need...
its a zombie game, blowing up heads or removing of heads is what kills them, thought that was std knowledge.
I dont know what these do goodders thinks going to happen, my we will all start head shoting people or taking base ball bats to peoples heads.
lol. seriously if you screwed up in the head that much to do such a thing in real life then then you should be shot. I am sure there are worse things out there then a PC game... maybe they should remove all guns from the street, all wars to stop viewing on Tv.. the news alone should be banned because that no dought will give kids Ideas..
At what point do do goodders give up with all this nonsense and allow people to use common sense
rant ends lol.. :D
:D
Gabe will have to fly Australia to the Valve HQ to play the game then, lol.
L4D was not banned, it was given a MA15+ rating here so for L4D2 to be Refused Classification now they must really have increased the gore factor.
Also you can see how stupid the rating system for games is when they approve all sorts of porn movies and then they ban L4D2.
http://www.oflc.gov.au/www/cob/find.nsf/ClassificationsByDate?OpenView
Wasnt that kid who made a L4D mod who got trolled by valve from OZ?
Half the reason L4D1 quickly became boring for me,
After 3 hours playing on-line, i disabled Mic communication because i couldn't stand listening to their voices anymore, let alone their excessive use of words like "****"
(Not calling all Australians pirates, but if they can't buy it, and they still want it...)
Australians will still be able to import this game/have it gifted through steam (I think RC just means it can't be sold IN the country), however I don't think they will legitimately be able to host servers. As a New Zealander, 95% of my games are on Oz servers, that's just where the players are. If it's banned there, I might as well not pick it up either.
I have to say that some of the comments I have seen (I don't mean here) remind me of my cousin (who is English and lives in England), who believes that Australians are idiots, that the country is a joke, etc. He has never even been here. As a citizen of both countries, I can honestly say that each has its strong points and weak points. A lot of people move here permanently from Britain, though...
Also the article states that the 'Australian regulatory body [is] well-known for taking a hard line when it comes to game ratings'. In a way, they have often been quite lenient, allowing games to be classified as M15+ when they probably warranted R18+. Ironically, that is one of the strong arguments for introducing an R18+ rating for games. If anything, it would be more informative and help protect children, not the opposite as a certain South Australia attorney-general argues (with others).
Thats one easy way to tell the boys from the men. From what ive seen and heard the kids cuss more. Heck half the time I mistake them for little girls lol.
you should try an afternoon on Xbox live. its like a creche.
is it wrong that most of reasons they've banned the game for are exactly the ones that'll make me buy it?
I hope the Aussie gamers get some justice someday!
BTW, is this where Howard went to? He is chairing this committee I'd bet!
Yours in Friend of Australia Plasma,
Star*Dagger