Ben-DutkaAnybody who may have been concerned about certain regions banning Grand Theft Auto IV can rest easy. The game has already secured the "M" (Mature) rating by the ESRB for North America, and Rockstar has said time and time again that GTAIV would be "uncut everywhere." Well, it seems they've cleared yet another hurdle on the way to making that statement 100% true.
According to VideoGamer.com, the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) has assigned GTAIV the "18" rating for "strong violence, very strong language, very strong sex references and drugs use." Now, it seems this listing is no longer on the BBFC's official website (let's hope this isn't another April Fool's joke), but supposedly, the game passed through the certification process "with no cuts made." If it's true, this clears the path for the GTAIV release in the UK on April 29, which should come as good news to all our gamer friends across the pond. The game has also received a "passable" rating in other PAL territories as well, which means there's no reason for Rockstar to re-edit the game, like they were forced to do with Manhunt 2 .
Remember, if a game can't nail down that "18" rating in the UK, it goes unclassified. In turn, this means the game simply can't be released in retail stores, so the developers would have to head back to the drawing (or editing) board. Of course, this would point towards an inevitable delay, so that's why these ratings are so very important.
Related Game(s): Grand Theft Auto IV