Left 4 Dead 2 Australian Appeal Fails
- Thread starter Andy Chalk
- Start date
I'd love to say I was surprised, but I'm not.
Can the Australia board look at their schools, hospitals, television and all the other things where people see worse happen daily, and then re-think their idea that all EVILLLLLL comes from videogames?
Please?
Can the Australia board look at their schools, hospitals, television and all the other things where people see worse happen daily, and then re-think their idea that all EVILLLLLL comes from videogames?
Please?
While a watered down version with less (no?) gore may not be as fun and chop off a chunk of the atmosphere consider this: if L4D2 isn't good without gore, it's not a very good game to begin with. It's not the end of the world, at least it gets released ^^
Before this swings towards a "bash Australia" thread, what exactly will the watered down version of L4D2 do that the original version won't?
I mean if Gabe's just made cosmetic changes to it, as he says, then surely it must be those cosmetics changes that are the source of the EVIL...perhaps Ausstralia's commission are just afraid of zombie makeup!! Booga booga booga!
I see that none of them admit to owning a console, but do admit to having an average of 1.5 small children. So obviously no bias there.
I mean if Gabe's just made cosmetic changes to it, as he says, then surely it must be those cosmetics changes that are the source of the EVIL...perhaps Ausstralia's commission are just afraid of zombie makeup!! Booga booga booga!
Fascinating, thanks for that.Fenixius said:
I see that none of them admit to owning a console, but do admit to having an average of 1.5 small children. So obviously no bias there.
There's no way the game could classify as a 15+ in any country, which I have no problem with. But why don't the idiots just add an 18+ rating for fuck's sake.
As I recall...The_root_of_all_evil said:
That's the sort of thing you're after. News.com.au Report [http://www.news.com.au/technology/story/0,28348,26182654-5014239,00.html], Classification Board Report [http://www.news.com.au/files/left_4_dead_2_modified_version_decision_report.pdf].Australian Classification Board said:
Indeed, the average gamer in Australia has been estimated at and reported as approximately 28, with a very high (80%+) percentage of the nation's households having a console in them. Something like that. I'm too tired to remember specific statistics, but I'd wager a vast sum of money that at least one of those people owns or has regular easy access to a gaming machine.The_root_of_all_evil said:
Edit: I've heard because you have to play through Steam on the internet as soon as the server recognises that you've got an Australian IP, you get the censored experience. Doesn't matter if you bought the full game from somewhere else. This is not confirmed at all and I may have misunderstood what my friend was saying but that's how I remember him telling me.fix-the-spade said:
DAMN YOU, ATTKIIIIIIINSOOOOOON!!! (He's the major opponent to R18 rating at the moment)
At the end of the day the game experience will still be the same for us and it is nothing more than a cosmetic change but don't joke about zombie make up. It's the classification board's kryptonite, along with common sense and logic.The_root_of_all_evil said:
Because we must "save the children!"FightThePower said:
And who are they saving them from? Parents that are incapable of parenting. Rated M for Mom (needs to buy this for me).
Basically, according to the Spanish Inquisition government they have down there, if you allow your child to play a violent video game, you are guilty of child abuse. So they, the moral authority, will choose for you which items are "wholesome" and the rest they burn or drown.
I can't wait until we can finally rid the world of all the puritanical bullshit. But hey, governments are a reflection of the people right? Garbage in, garbage out.
That makes even less sense then given thatFenixius said:
So they're saying that the general zombies (including the one in the full hazmat suit with nothing showing) must be seen to be grotesque in comparison to humans...and then you're happy with teenagers seeing crowds of nightmare figures running towards them, rather than lots of human-shaped figures.
buhhhh?
Oh, and these creatures, when hit pointblank with a shotgun shell, shouldn't show any wounds.
Yeah, that's not going to give the wrong idea about sticking a gun in their mouth, is it?
*twitch* OK, gonna shut up now, I can feel a rant coming on.
In general, the Classification Board does a fantastic job. They're being bound up by the egotistical, anti-democratic views and position of one man right now, so they're not to blame.Jonci said:
I much prefer our Restricted ratings system to your retailer-decided one. Whereas your stores simply won't retail Adults Only content, in Australia, it's mandatory to present identification in order to purchase any content, in any form, which has been rated MA15+ (everything), R18+ (film/TV, possibly books), X18+ (pornographic films, some states and territories only).
I know I ask for ID every time anybody who could possibly not be 15 asks me for a game where I work. I also inform parents who are obviously buying for children that the game is intended for mature audiences, though it's their decision, ultimately. Very few choose to restrict their child's gameplay, but that's their choice, and it's they who live with the consequences.
Whoa, where did you hear that? I don't think it can possibly work like that, man. Client-based content modification based on IP detection? The technical constraints would be enormous. Additionally, the workaround would be simple - find an international proxy.Osloq said:
In any case, I'd love to hear a source where you heard that from?
You poor Aussies. I know full well the pain of censorship. (I couldn't see Candyman till I was 16.)
But on a serious note, surely messing with the game and generally watering it down makes a bit of a mockery of the devs who made the game. They wanted the gamer to revel in the carnage they created and for the Censorship board to mess that up is rather mean to the devs for messing up their artistic vision and to the mature gamers who want to play it.
I say petition your censorship boards for change and keep the pressure on them to change.
But on a serious note, surely messing with the game and generally watering it down makes a bit of a mockery of the devs who made the game. They wanted the gamer to revel in the carnage they created and for the Censorship board to mess that up is rather mean to the devs for messing up their artistic vision and to the mature gamers who want to play it.
I say petition your censorship boards for change and keep the pressure on them to change.
I think all this coddling is due to the fact that conservative Australians refuse to acknowledge that these games are made for (and should be played by) adults. The "official" attitude is that video games are for children and anything that is inappropriate for children shouldn't be released. Try to imagine if Pixar made a porno and you'll get the idea.
I just re read what I posted up and it needs a major editing. What I meant to say was that's what I'd heard was being put in place to stop people from just exporting from overseas. The source is a friend of mine who's really into this whole thing but like a lot of things friends say it could all be crap.Fenixius said:
this is probly the smartest thing to do, a bunch of letters, rather than emails, work a lot better. a campaign of people writing him would be a good thing and could affect some very good change.Fenixius said:
the more people who write him and/or stage some sort of protest, with a well placed media plug of course, could get the change needed or at least shown that it was wanted by the people.
There is one Australian who holds this opinion, and his name is Hon. Michael Atkinson, MP for the seat of Croydon, South Australia, and Attourney General of South Australia for the Labor Party. I posted his email address on the first page, so that if people want to email him with their concerns, then they can.Vidiot said:
If the developers did not want to release a watered-down version of the game, then they actually didn't have to. Unless Valve faced pressure from their partner for distribution in this region, Electronic Arts, they needn't have resubmitted anything. But they wanted to. And I thank them sincerely for that. It's not their fault that my country is being held up by a man who misunderstands the roles of parents and governments.Gunner 51 said:
As I mentioned before, in order to change these laws, the Attourney General (appointed in every state individually, possibly in the territories too, but I'm unsure) from each state must agree. The Standing Council of Attourneys General must unanimously agree to alter the guidelines for classification. Mr Atkinson is the only dissenter. Please forward all concerns to his email address, or even better, postal address.Gunner 51 said: