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MMOs defy classification in Australia
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Selling_MMOs_in_Australia_could_net_huge_fines'; There's been quite a bit of fuss over the last twelve months or so about game ratings in Australia. According to the Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Act of 1995, computer and console games are treated very much like films. All of that rating is done by the Classification Board, in conjunction with the Australian Federal Attorney-General's office. "Every film ... and computer game ... has to be classified before it can be made legally available to the public." - Australian Classification Board One of the hitches in game-ratings in Australia is that there are no "R18+" or "X18+" ratings for games as there are for films. Games that would fall into these categories are refused classification. Because of this, no video games can be traded or sold in Australia that have content that is not appropriate for a 15-year-old. Without a formal classification (and compliant labeling) for a game, it is a criminal offense under Australian State and Territory laws for it to be sold, hired or demonstrated. The problem here is that comparatively few MMOG titles sold on Australia's retail shelves ever carry a rating and labeling as the Classification Act requires. Could publishers, distributors and retailers of these unrated MMOGs suddenly wake up to find themselves in a legal hole hundreds of thousands of sales deep?
MadWorld passes Australia's OFLC with MA 15+ rating
Australia's governmental ratings board, the OFLC, has classified the unabashedly violent MadWorld with an "MA 15+" rating. Sega informed IGN that the game was not "edited or adjusted" for the land down under. Last week, the title received an "18" rating in Britain, and having now passed both the BBFC and the OFLC, it's expected that the United States' ESRB will hand the title a "Mature" sticker.It's certainly interesting that Australia let the game pass with an MA 15+, at least based on the footage and images we've seen. For better or worse, perhaps the region is loosening up its policies in lieu of implementing an R18+ rating for games.[Via IGN]
MadWorld somehow makes it into Australia unscathed
We were afraid that Platinum Games' brutal black-and-white action game MadWorld would just be too violent for Australia's OFLC ratings board, and that the organization would force Platinum and Sega to bowdlerize the game -- or worse, they'd bar a release. But it turns out that despite the organization's history of harsh treatment of "mature" games, our fears were unfounded. The OFLC's rating for MadWorld is available in their database, meaning that the game has been given the okay for release.Surprisingly, it's been rated 15+, which is even less stringent than the BBFC's rating! Thankfully, the database identifies the game as "original," meaning no edits were made to achieve the 15+ rating!%Gallery-22964% [Thanks, Foetoid!]
MadWorld receives '18' rating from BBFC
The British Board of Film Classification has passed Sega's MadWorld with an "18" rating. The Wii title received the classification for containing "very strong, stylized, bloody violence." Sega has been working with both the BBFC and the United States' ESRB to avoid the respective regions' "kiss of death." The publisher contributed builds at various times for feedback on what needed to be changed to dodge being "unclassified" in the Britain and receiving an "AO" rating in the States.We're unaware if Sega has also been showing builds to Australia's conservative OFLC. If any region is going to "ban" MadWorld, it'll be the Aussies, due to the region's lack of an R18+ rating for games.
Atari explains Silent Hill Homecoming's Aussie edits
Atari, which is handling distribution for Silent Hill Homecoming in Australia, has explained what cuts were required for the title to receive an MA 15+ rating from the OFLC. Edge reports that edits were made to cutscenes, where "camera angles and techniques" will now "reduce the impact" of the offending material.Atari emphasizes that changes were only made to some scenes and that the story remains unaffected. The OFLC originally didn't classify the game because of several gore-related issues -- particularly those involving drills. In good news for Kiwis, the game will remain unedited when it releases in New Zealand.
GTA: Chinatown Wars receives '18' rating from BBFC
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars has passed the British Board of Film Classification with an "18" rating, which is equivalent to the ESRB's "Mature" rating. According to Edge, the DS title -- the first ever to receive an 18 rating by the BBFC -- passed with "no cuts made."Apparently it was a very clear edict from Rockstar's Sam Houser to developers that the game receive an M rating and maintain the franchise's adult tone. The game has yet to receive ratings from the United States' ESRB or Australia's conservative OFLC.[Via Edge]
Silent Hill: Homecoming classified by Australia's OFLC
After being refused classification by the OFLC -- Australia's ratings board -- Silent Hill: Homecoming is finally coming home Down Under with an MA15+ rating. The game had earlier failed to net an MA15+ rating in September of 2008, effectively banning it from sale. It wasn't alone, as several other titles, including F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin and Fallout 3, ran into the same situation (both of which were later classified). According to Gamespot, Silent Hill: Homecoming was apparently resubmitted to the OFLC and has now been classified MA15+, though it's unclear what changes were made to the game, if any.Hopefully, the pervading creepiness is still intact, because that's all that matters.[Via Joystiq]
F.E.A.R. 2 'unbanned' in Australia
Without requiring any edits, the previously "banned" F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin has received an MA15+ rating in Australia. The title was refused classification by the OFLC last month, but the decision has now been reversed, following an appeal by publisher Warner Bros.Upon review, the classification board deemed that the violence in the game could be "accommodated within the MA15+ classification." Of course, none of these semi-regular banning stories would be happening if games in Australia had the option of an R18+ rating.
Oz to soon be covered in goo
It's no secret that we love World of Goo. The game is great and if you don't like it, we don't like you then we appreciate you giving the game the old college try. Now, 2D Boy's most excellent title has been rated by the OFLC, meaning a down under release is closing in. With the news that Europe would be getting the game, we're now happy to see just about every territory getting in the action. Any of our Aussie readers looking forward to this one? You should be!See also: Wii Fanboy interviews 2D Boy (World of Goo)%Gallery-16000%[Via Go Nintendo]
OutRun Online Arcade rated by OFLC
Sega has declined to comment on a new OutRun game rated by Australia's OFLC, reports Eurogamer. OutRun Online Arcade is allegedly a multiplatform game with -- presumably -- online capabilities.That's all we've got. We now await Sega's "official" word on the project and look forward to seeing a blond girl fly out of a crashing car. Oh, come on, that's what you really remember about the OutRun series.
Australia making R18+ discussion paper public
Australia's censorship ministers (*cringe*) have agreed to release the shelved discussion paper on an R18+ rating for games, reports The Age. The topic was previously on indefinite hold following Attorney General Michael Atkinson's unilateral decision not to let the paper become public.During a recent meeting of the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General, the group, including Atkinson, agreed to finalize the discussion paper and release it by the end of the year (it'll be viewable globally on these here internets). Atkinson did not reveal at the meeting why he changed his mind. An R18+ rating means that games won't be banned for being inappropriate for a 15-year-old.
Aussie AG halts R18+ rating for games indefinitely
The introduction of an R18+ rating for games in Australia has been indefinitely delayed due to a political maneuver by South Australian Attorney General Michael Atkinson. The Age reports that Atkinson has refused to allow a report commissioned by the "censorship ministers" weighing the "pros and cons" of an R18+ rating for games to become public, effectively shelving any discussion on the matter.Atkinson is quoted as saying to Australia's parliament earlier this year that he's opposed to the introduction of an R18+ rating because, despite it denying adults choice, it was necessary to protect children from "potentially harmful material." Australia's OFLC has effectively "banned" or edited several games this year due to its classification system revolving around 15-year-olds as a bellwether.
BBFC: Seriously, THQ is publishing 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand
Last week, Australia's Office of Film and Literature Classification breathed new life into a rumor that 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand, which many had believed to be a casualty in the Activision-Vivendi merger, had found a new publisher in THQ -- info made public when the OFLC stamped the game with an MA 15+ rating. A few days ago, the rumor seemed to become concrete -- the British Board of Film Classification has assigned Fiddy an "18" rating, also attributing the game to THQ. While it now seems like incontrovertible fact that Blood on the Sand is still quite alive and well, THQ recently told British gaming news site MCV that they could not comment on "the rumour" -- either a testament to THQ's bizarre hype-building practices, or to the unfathomable excellence of the resurrected game.
Mega Man 3, potential new Art Style games rated in Australia
Two more games presumed to be Art Style remakes of bit Generations games showed up on the OFLC database: Rotohex and Cubello. Rotohex was the original name for Dialhex, a puzzle game involving rotating triangles to form same-colored hexagons, back when the series was known as Digitylish. The GBA game even received an ESRB rating under that name. Cubello is probably Coloris, a game about matching colored blocks by shifting their colors along the visible spectrum. Unless it isn't an Art Style game. Mega Man 3 needs no introduction. It's the NES game that most closely vies with Mega Man 2 for the title of "Most Beloved Mega Man game," the one that introduced Rush, sliding, and the least menacingly Robot Master ever, Top Man. He attacks with the power of tops! [Via VOOKS]
Silent Hill: Homecoming's Aussie exile detailed; hopeful release in Q1 2009
Late last week we learned that Silent Hill: Homecoming was essentially banned in Australia after being refused classification by the OFLC. IGN has some more details on the OFLC's issues with the title and has spoken with regional distributor Atari, which hopes (following some edits by Konami) to have the game out by Q1 2009. The OFLC apparently found several instances of gore in the game to be problematic. One scene involved the protagonist having a drill forced into his eye, while another had him drilling an enemy's skull. There were a few other issues, but nothing we haven't seen in horror films for the last few decades. It's really about time Australia got that "R18+" rating for games.
Silent Hill: Homecoming refused classification in Australia
Looks like the Homecoming won't be hitting the land down under after all. Screen Play is reporting that the sixth title in Konami's Silent Hill series won't be able to release in Australia in its current form. Silent Hill: Homecoming focuses on violence to rid the world of evil horrors by way of "ramming pipes through enemies' heads and stomping on their faces to pull them out [and] tearing their entrails loose with an axe," as described by Edge Online. The crux of the issue stems from the OFLC rating standards which currently has a peak rating of 15+ for games, despite the fact that movies and magazines can be given an adult rating (R18+). The Australian government, which maintains the rating system in the country, has said they are looking into adding an adult rating to games but have yet to implement any changes. Silent Hill: Homecoming will join System Shock 2: Blood Trails, Dark Sector and Fallout 3 as the only four titles to be refused classification in 2008, although the latter two titles were eventually released in a modified form to meet the rating standards. Silient Hill: Homecoming hits the Xbox 360 next week in North America followed by a November release in Europe.
Silent Hill not coming home in Australia
Atari, the distributor for Konami games in Australia, has stated (via GameSpot) that Silent Hill: Homecoming won't be coming to the land down under. The game has been refused classification by the OFLC, making it illegal to sell the game in stores. At earliest, the title is expected to arrive "next year" while Konami decides whether to edit the game for the region.Fallout 3, which was also refused classification in Aussieland, endured minor edits so it could be sold in the country -- and those edits poured over to other regions. That will apparently not be the case for Silent Hill: Homecoming, which is still due to arrive everywhere else this year.[Via Game Politics]
Castlevania III rated by Aussie OFLC
The Australian OFLC ratings board has given Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse a G rating, which means the title should be on its way to a Virtual Console near you relatively soonish. The circle will finally be complete, as Castlevania, Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, and Super Castlevania IV from the SNES era, are already on the download service.So, those old enough to remember, who was your favorite playable character in the game: Trevor, Sypha Belnades, Grant DaNasty or Alucard?[Via Wii Fanboy, GoNintendo] Gallery: Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse
Castlevania III: Dracula's OFLC rating
Evidently, Konami ill needs logic or sequential order when releasing Castlevania games on the Virtual Console -- which is probably why Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse has only just been rated by Australian regulators at the OFLC.The game, a former star of Virtually Overlooked no less (if you can hear celebratory gunshots being fired into the air, that'll be Alisha), now looks like a certainty to join Castlevania, Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, and Super Castlevania IV on the download service. If you read this, you'll be reminded of why that's very special, fist pump-worthy news indeed.But enough talk. Have at you![Via Go Nintendo]
Bethesda: Fallout 3 to be 'identical' for Aussie, UK, US versions
Bethesda's VP of public relations, Pete Hines, has confirmed with Edge Online that the US, UK and Australian versions of Fallout 3 will be "identical" to one another. A reference to the real-world drug Morphine has been removed, explains Hines, to abide with each country's ratings and classification boards, replaced with "Med-X."While "material promoting or encouraging proscribed drug use" has been replaced with more fictional drug references, Pete Hines tells Joystiq that "nothing else" has changed, including the over-the-top violence we've been enjoying in the screenshots. Full statement from Hines after the break.%Gallery-3507%
