Australia Thwarts House of the Dead Invasion

[Marshall Honorof]

Australia Thwarts House of the Dead Invasion

Killing zombies is A-OK; killing more zombies gets your game banned.

Australia has developed a whole new way to fight zombies: don't let them on your shores in the first place. While the original zombie gore-fest House of the Dead: Overkill made its way to Australian Wiis, the Australian Classification Board has denied a rating for its PS3 update. The board deemed House of the Dead: Overkill Extended Cut too violent to comply with its most restrictive MA15+ rating, but Sega is determined to appeal the case.

Information comes by way of the Australian Classification Board's website, which lists the game as "RC," or "refused classification." While the Board classified the original House of the Dead: Overkill as MA15+, it does not believe that the update meets the same standards. In particular, it points to "Hardcore" and "Extra mutants" modes, where players must frequently make graphic headshots against a swarm of humanoid enemies. "In the Board 's view the additional modes included in this modified version and the interactive nature of the game increases the overall impact of the frequent and intense depictions of violence," reads the Classification Board's report.

House of the Dead: Overkill Extended Cut may end up being a victim of bad timing. Within the next year, the Australian government may move forward with a R18+ rating [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/111738-Another-Australian-AG-Puts-the-Brakes-on-R18-Ratings], a move which would theoretically allow more graphic games into the Australian market. For the time being, though, the Board demands that the most mature content in videogames must be fit for the average 15-year-old. In the meantime, Sega Australia will try to appeal the ban. Darren Macbeth, a managing director at Sega, has written a statement in the game's defense: "There are far worse titles currently available in the marketplace, which involve more than shooting down mutants in humorous circumstances."

If the game does manage an appeal, it should see an Australian release on October 27, 2011. If not, Australians may have to hang tight until the elusive R18+ rating becomes reality.

Source: Gamespot [http://www.gamespot.com/news/6330697/house-of-the-dead-overkill-extended-cut-banned-down-under]


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[Nashidar]

Welcome to Australia. The Nanny State.

Man this country annoys me with its ignorance and stupidity sometimes. I'm considering moving to New Zealand. They have a better idea about what rights are and ...democracy.

 

[GideonB]

Whaaaattt
It allowed Overkill but its not allowing a port of Overkill to PS3?
Thats fucking confusing

 

[theriddlen]

Welcome to Australia. The Nanny State.

Man this country annoys me with its ignorance and stupidity sometimes. I'm considering moving to New Zealand. They have a better idea about what rights are and ...democracy.

Well, Australia is bad, but look at what those poor lads have to deal with in Germany(except the exceptionally harsh language). Ironically, the word I find most suitable to describe their government, is fascist. In theory they have freedom, but in practice government chooses what's "best" for them. For example, while they have rating for mature games, they censor them, stripping them of any violence (curiously german hardcore porn industry is one of biggest in the world). Other example is the FB "Like" ban - you cant use it at all, because US servers store this information. But why can't their citizens choose if they want to use "Like" (like everyone else in the free world) or not? It looks like their govt. thinks that adult German people can't make their own decisions and they have to babysit them. Here, in Poland, we have a saying for something like this "to spill the bathwater along with the baby", which means causing large amounts harm when trying to something good (and the second is of much lesser importance than the thing being harmed).

 

[brunothepig]

That's just retarded, god damn Australia I thought we were past this. I'd dig up a slow clap GIF, but I am really exhausted right now and I just can't be bothered. I do hope this squeezes through, Overkill was a hilarious game, it's a rare game that lets me get some use out of my Wii so bravo. That said, I hate this argument.

Darren Macbeth, a managing director at Sega, has written a statement in the game's defense: "There are far worse titles currently available in the marketplace, which involve more than shooting down mutants in humorous circumstances."

That's an excellent point in support of banning those other games. It doesn't mean your game should be MA, it could mean the other games shouldn't have been.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

sweet i might have to get that for the ps3, i rented it once for the wii and me and some friends had some good laughs, can't wait to play it when i have an actual fucking controller to use it with.


OT: Australia...come on, really?

 

[Michael826]

Assuming I could just import it from America or elsewhere, I'm not too fussed over this revelation (However retarded). Given the astronomical price difference, I could probably get the same game from overseas, including postage, and still pay substantially less than if I bought it at any of my local stores. Just sayin'.

 

[martyrdrebel27]

im in no way a censorship supporter, for anything in interactive media, and i'm not sensitive to things i realize don't actually matter... but i am left wondering why "extra zombies" deserves more criticism than a stripper school girl in front of a place called Pink Pussy...

then again, i see where the extra zombies add gameplay value and "Pink Pussy" just adds teenage hormonal appeal, so maybe that's why i feel this way too.

 

[Scottieburke]

The R18+ rating has been approved. It will just take them a year to implement it.