John-ShepardIf you don't like a decision, appeal. If you've got enough force behind it – and right is on your side – you might get the reversal you desire.
Luckily for Sega and Rebellion, Australia's Classification Review Board has decided to reverse their earlier decision , which involved not handing out a rating to Aliens vs. Predator . Essentially, this means the game is banned from the country because retailers can't sell unrated products. The real snafu was that Australia Attorney General Michael Atkinson apparently has the power to make this decision by himself, a fact Australia's IGEA didn't exactly agree with; you may remember our previous report . To top it all off, Rebellion and Sega said they wouldn't be censoring a damn thing in the game, and decided instead to pursue an appeal. Well, they got it; the game will carry an expected MA15+ rating and here's what Darren Macbeth of Sega Australia had to say:
"It is with great pleasure that we announce the success of our appeal. We are particularly proud that the game will be released in its original entirety, with no content altered or removed whatsoever. This is a big win for Australian gamers. We applaud the Classification Review Board on making a decision that clearly considers the context of the game and is in line with the modern expectations of reasonable Australians."
"Reasonable Australians." Gotta love that. Anyway, I believe justice has been served on this issue; if you're allowing the unbelievable filth that some movies portray, you had best allow this. Otherwise, all you're doing is feeding into the intensely annoying and archaic stereotype that gaming is still just for kids. Yeah, 1987 is that way, Mr. Atkinson. Too bad, but Aliens vs. Predator will be on store shelves in your country in February.
Related Game(s): Aliens vs. Predator
well that is some good news for gamers down under. they really get the shaft down there.
Thanks for the sympathies. I often remark how wonderful it must be to be a gamer in the USA with fast internet, cheaper and higher quantity games and no rating restrictions on extreme content.
…damn it sucks to be a gamer in Australia right now…
not to mention paying double the price for each game almost, and getting stuff weeks, if not months later.
GOW collection for example, were not getting it till GOW 3 releases, and to get it you must buy the limited edition.
they have not announced a stand alone release date yet.
Now for God of War III.
God of War III might not be censored or banned in Australia. There are a few factors why:
1. It's so immensely popular and good for the video game retail industry.
2. There would be a massive fan outcry should it be banned, and the gov't want to avoid this at all costs.
3. The gameplay takes place from a third person perspective, meaning you are looking at the gory action from an outsider's perspective, not the perspective of the character much like a first-person game. (This is the biggest reason, plus Saw films are rated MA 15+ in Aus and they're just as bad if not worse.)
4. God of War 1 and 2 were not censored and have the same gory action, if not in high definition graphics.
5. God of War: Ultimate Trilogy Edition just went up for preordering at EB Games, which includes Pandora's Box, DLC goodies, God of War Collection and God of War III. There's no way EB would stand for a game this big to be banned, and EB is the biggest video game retailer in Australia.
So there you have it. 5 perfectly legitimate reasons why God of War III should and most likely will not be banned from Australia.
@ Dancemachine55
I was kind of shocked to find out y'all have a MA15+ rating. It's hard to imagine 15 year olds and the word mature being used in conjunction with each other. When you're old enough to be sent to war, then you're old enough for anything. MA18+ is more appropriate.
Nice! Great news for the aussies.
Even though I can't afford this game, nor do I have much interest in it, it's nice to see something go OUR way this time.
Aussies have created a massive stir with the whole lack of R18+ in video games. I've seen it in every gaming magazine, every blog, every internet video, even some non-gamers in the media are bringing it up and supporting us adult gamers.
If Michael Atkinson really is the only man holding it back (and it's more than likely he isn't the only one in the whole country), eventually the rule will be overturned due to massive public support.
edit: Just want to add, I think the whole Left 4 Dead 2 debacle was a godsend for creating such overwhelming support for this and creating public awareness of this problem. While it sucks that it was edited severely, it probably made an R18+ classification come much sooner than planned.
Last edited by Dancemachine55 on 12/18/2009 10:48:53 PM
no it wont, thats the problem.
they released the paper a few days ago, voting ends 28th of feb if memory serves me.
bringing in a R18+ means changing the constitution, to do that EVERY SINGLE attorney general has to agree.
so if MR attkinson still says no, were fu**ed!
no matter how many people demand it.
i know its stupid.
what happened to majority rules?
1 million say yes, 1 say no so the answers no?
WTF?
that's the representation that was chosen, should have researched his ideals before voting him in? i know it sucks but that's how it works in 'democracy'.
i did not vote him in, the only reason why hes there and probably will win the next election is theres allot of old conservative coots in his area.
so they keep voting for him.
remove them and he would not of got the job in the first place, i have not voted in god knows how long.
@dancemachine
by god i hope your right, GOW III is my most anticipated game of next year, if it gets banned i will be upset, they would release a censored version but it would not be as good… either way though ill get an uncut version, either from my local JB HiFi or import from the U.S
@__________
<<< i have not voted in god knows how long.>>>>
What the f*ck????
That is exactly the kind of thinking that keeps him in office. You now cry about atkinson, yet you did nothing about it by not voting against him?
So again, I say WTF?
And unlike you and others like you who don't feel the need to exercise their own rights by standing up to being heard loud & clear by voting, then of course all those "old conservative coots" as you called them ARE certainly much smarter & wiser than you are because they have been using their very same voting power to outsmart & defeat you at every turn of your own game(no pun intended).
And as long as you & others just like you keep that same "I'm not voting" mentality, you will NEVER get people like him out of their tyrannical abuses of power.
"If you don't use your right to vote, you are not part of the solution, just a major of the problem"
"SHAME ON YOU"!
Last edited by BikerSaint on 12/19/2009 11:48:35 AM
@_______, not trying to gang up on ya, but if you refuse to vote you can't complain about your gov't. That's the rule.
dude hes got a 75% approval rating at the moment.
1 vote going to swing that?
as i said theres allot of old coots in his area, till they go hes not going anywhere.
the only hope we have for a R18 is if he kicks the bucket.
you have to realize the gaming community here is minuscule in comparison to America or other countries.
there is allot more against R18 people than there is for.
sadly.
ive done a hell of allot more than most people have.
ive written 4 letters and 2 emails to the OFLC and 2 to michael and actually got a response from him.
the only way this could change is IF larger sites like IGN and gamespot stepped in and put some pressure on michael and co.
most people dont know about this, if i stood outside ultimo Australias busiest area for 2 months asking people if they knew we did not have a R18+ for games 50 bucks says at least 70% would say no i had no idea.
they need to press and try to put them under the hot spot.
but they wont.
im wondering why IGN has a AU site, they very rarely post AU related articles and when they do its just them doing a preview of a game.
Last edited by ___________ on 12/20/2009 6:44:49 AM
Righteousness does exist!
Congrats to our fellow Australian gamers!
This may turn out to be an important victory for future gaming in Australia. Congratulations to all those wanting this game.
so let me get this straight.
removing enemies heads with a circular bladed frizzy (dark sector) is not ok but ripping off a enemies head with his spine still attached is ok (AVP).
bashing in zombies heads with a baseball bat (L4D2) is not ok, but slicing enemies heads off with a sword resulting in a fountain of blood is ok(NG2).
slicing enemies limbs off, and having millions of dead bodies soaked in a pool of blood (ninja gaiden 2), but having a few dead zombies lying on the ground is not ok (L4D2)
shooting enemies limbs off to kill them (dead space) is ok, but than bashing zombies to death with a baseball bat (L4D 2)is not ok.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK?????????????
if than does not ensure a massive WHAT THE FU**!!!!!!!!! than nothing does.
seriously how the FU** does that work?
SERIOUSLY!
ive said it once, twice, three times and ill say it again.
THE INCONSISTENCY OF THE OFLC IS BAFFLING!
Depends on the amount of exclamation marks added.
so, 10 enough?
Congrats! Way to go Sega!
But that's only step one.
The time is ripe for the pickings for EVERY Australian gamer to rise up and pluck that M18+ rating right the f*ck out of the grimy mitts of your asinine AG
And you can do that by keeping it in public eye with all the media where it belongs, and while the embers are still burning hot.
And stick it right up AG atkinson's wazoo
Score.
to all my fellow gamers in AU, i must say that its sucks that you guys have to deal with such a freakin crazy as hell ratings board
but at least you dont have to deal with a holes like jack thompson.
but i hear he has been disbarred, thank God
to all my fellow gamers in AU, i must say that its sucks that you guys have to deal with such a freakin crazy as hell ratings board
but at least you dont have to deal with a holes like jack thompson.
but i hear he has been disbarred, thank God
tbh i dont know y they would try ban this if they allowed the alien movies to be rated
because they use the excuse video games have a higher impact than movies.
which is a load of tripe!
the usual argument put forward by the ratings board relates to whether the victims of your attack are humanoid, how much so, and how close or high-definition is the action. hence the reason why postal was banned here, and left for dead was borderline.
AVP was probably on the point of mercy killing humans encased in alien cocoons or something, or perhaps the fact that all Aliens movies were rated R18+ here, which shows a little consistency I guess.
Unfortunately, the whole point of the ratings / censorship board is lost on most consumers — with broadband internet, it's decisions become almost completely redundant, as they fail to keep undesirable material out of the hands of children/teens anyway (ie. violence/porn).
At least an open-minded transparent system would allow mature, grown viewers/gamers access to that material to decide for themselves, with a R/X rating.
At present we are stuck with a decisions panel from the dark ages of black and white 8mm projectors and monoaural wireless radios.
Wake up Atkinson — it's the 21st Century already!!
In Australia it is illegal not to vote. You have to come up with an excuse otherwise you get a hundred dollars fine.
Also, if you don't vote you've given up any right to moan about the things you want to moan about. Then the old crazies keep in power!
This is a victory for common sense. I wasn't really into this game as I don't have online (my work pays for my Internet and I don't really want to have PSN downloads on it) but I've started to get pretty interested in it.
Thought it wasnt really a AAA title but the ability to play like an Intergalactic Ezio and pick off you targets sounds appealing.
Will wait for the review and see if it has a decent single player.
God of War III should pass the censors ok because it is mythical killings not real people like AVP.
Don't know about Zombies though? Thought they were safe to hack into pieces but there you go!
Pretty bizarre ratings system and hopefully will be solved in the next few years otherwise the problems will keep on growing as the games get more realistic.
Good news. I just hope the game doesn't turn out to be rubbish now!
Thing is this decision effects New Zealand too. I'm pretty certain what they decide goes here too. Just a guess.