Left 4 Dead 2 Ban Surprised, Saddened Valve

ProfessorLayton

Elite Member
Nov 6, 2008
7,452
0
41
I feel bad for Australia. Actually, this may be a good thing. If all the players were in one concentrated area, that means no lag!
 

UsefulPlayer 1

New member
Feb 22, 2008
1,776
0
0
I think that's alittle crazy. They have to be pretty uptight to not allow a Valve game to be sold.

It's just to have a fun team based game. It's not like a ten year old is playing L4D2 in a dark basement by himself with a evil glint in his eyes hell bent on destroying the world because he gets off on killing zombies.

Besides in that sentence, "Playing L4D2," is probably the least concerning thing.
 

Blanks

New member
Mar 17, 2009
1,203
0
0
if they did remove everything violent and release it, i'd import it for the hell of it
 

LTK_70

New member
Aug 28, 2009
598
0
0
Cajt said:
Destal said:
I fail to understand why all games must be suitable for under 18, I thought that was the reason for the rating system.

Pacifist Zombie invasion? I'll keep mine the old fashoned way.
Hippie zombies? Interesting.
Very interesting. "Eat vegs, not brains!"

Although I think that a zombiefying virus that turns all of its victims into hippies is infinitely more terrifying than what L4D is actually like. *shudder*
 

LeonLethality

New member
Mar 10, 2009
5,810
0
0
Chicago Ted said:
Radeonx said:
How about, instead of zombies and guns, we use unicorns and pillows. Won't that be fun?
No, you may choke on the feathers from the pillows.
plus those sharp horns from the unicorns could hurt someone

EDIT: crap I should have read the rest of the comments before posting this one people did this before me, craaaap I look stupid.... Look a distraction! -runs away-
 

Lord_Gremlin

New member
Apr 10, 2009
744
0
0
Actually, it's stupid: if you BAN everything unsuitable for children, then you treat your people like children an mass.
Logically they should strictly ban condoms in Australia as well. Why? They're completely unsuitable for children. Just like bloody zombie videogames.
 

Kajt

New member
Feb 20, 2009
4,067
0
0
LTK_70 said:
Cajt said:
Destal said:
I fail to understand why all games must be suitable for under 18, I thought that was the reason for the rating system.

Pacifist Zombie invasion? I'll keep mine the old fashoned way.
Hippie zombies? Interesting.
Very interesting. "Eat vegs, not brains!"

Although I think that a zombiefying virus that turns all of its victims into hippies is infinitely more terrifying than what L4D is actually like. *shudder*
Agreed, that would be way more terrifying.
 

tehroc

New member
Jul 6, 2009
1,293
0
0
Radeonx said:
How about, instead of zombies and guns, we use unicorns and pillows. Won't that be fun?
You've obviously never heard of Unicorm Power. There a reason the unicorm has a sharp horn, a most deadly reason.
 

whaleswiththumbs

New member
Feb 13, 2009
1,462
0
0
What are they afraid the violence will do to people, make them go out and kill hordes of zombies? They are the protesters shot first. And they will be ravanged with shirts that say "Zombies are people too." And the irnoy of that could make me want an apocalypse.
 

iJosh

New member
Nov 21, 2007
1,453
0
0
What in tarnation?!?!

That is ridiculous. They better not change L4D2 and make it all non-violent survivor horror. What the hell.
 

kawligia

New member
Feb 24, 2009
779
0
0
People keep saying "doesn't Australia know there are gamers over 18?"

I am more than sure they do. I think it's clear what is really going on. They don't like sex and violence and they don't want ANYONE to see it. "Protecting the children" is nothing more than a disguise.

If T.V. and movies were as new as video games, I would bet all the money I have that they would make an identical rating system. But people are used to TV and movies already. Not allowing people to have something new is much easier than taking away something they already have.
 

Katana314

New member
Oct 4, 2007
2,299
0
0
ON THE ONE HAND
Games are not yay-yay funtime for baby. They're an emerging medium, and we need to work over the common misconception that they're just for kids. There are going to be some cases where gore is needed to convey the artist's desires maturely. Just make sure there's solid restriction on them for younger audiences, and that it isn't just used as a freebie mechanic to sell copies with the tagline "WALLS MADE OF INTESTINES!"

ON THE OTHER HAND
Does excessive gore really fit with TF2? My brother is not a seasoned gamer but even he thinks the game is awesome. However, the one thing that doesn't fit to him is the amount of gore. It just sort of feels out of place. I can say the same thing about Left 4 Dead 2; the amount of dismemberment and blood just feels immature. This isn't what's needed to convey the theme and direction of the game. The theme and direction is four survivors helping each other out to get to safety against immense odds. I can't see any gameplay difference in the ability to dismember a zombie's limbs before he dies. Heck, if L4D1 is any indication, most zombies are only onscreen for a moment before being shot, kinda rendering the artistic value and excessive technology moot.
 

asteroth21nox

New member
Nov 12, 2008
149
0
0
That has to be the most complete and utterly lame, shitty, and stupid thing I ever heard. I think the rateing system exsists for a reason and the fact they ban it anyway is a show of ignorance. I would like to think we as people can tell the difference from reality land and obviously never going to happen land. To ban it from your country is of course a display of a complete lack of faith in your own people. OH GOD VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES!!! hide the children! close the blinds! Start praying the gamers don't turn into rabid cannabalists!!!
 

Dyp100

New member
Jul 14, 2009
898
0
0
Humanity, when you think we're getting better it just gets worst.

I also feel bummed for our Aussie friends, I'm sure I know some mates who were looking forcing to this, it's a shame they can't play this anymore, right stupid ideas as well.
 

Crash486

New member
Oct 18, 2008
525
0
0
kawligia said:
People keep saying "doesn't Australia know there are gamers over 18?"

I am more than sure they do. I think it's clear what is really going on. They don't like sex and violence and they don't want ANYONE to see it. "Protecting the children" is nothing more than a disguise.

If T.V. and movies were as new as video games, I would bet all the money I have that they would make an identical rating system. But people are used to TV and movies already. Not allowing people to have something new is much easier than taking away something they already have.
Actually they're ok with sex, their restrictions for explicit sexual content are alot more lenient than their restrictions for violent content. It could be said they favor "make love not war" approach to life. They even have some relatively sexually explicit commercials, things that would never make it past the FCC in America.

Katana314 said:
ON THE OTHER HAND
Does excessive gore really fit with TF2? My brother is not a seasoned gamer but even he thinks the game is awesome. However, the one thing that doesn't fit to him is the amount of gore. It just sort of feels out of place. I can say the same thing about Left 4 Dead 2; the amount of dismemberment and blood just feels immature. This isn't what's needed to convey the theme and direction of the game. The theme and direction is four survivors helping each other out to get to safety against immense odds. I can't see any gameplay difference in the ability to dismember a zombie's limbs before he dies. Heck, if L4D1 is any indication, most zombies are only onscreen for a moment before being shot, kinda rendering the artistic value and excessive technology moot.
Uhh, yes it does (belong in TF2 that is). The game is really paying homage to it's Team Fortress Classic past which was cartoony in the sense of the physics were that of the quake/halflife engine, while mature and bloody at the sametime. In this case, the game is cartoonish as far as art direction goes, but they kept the maturity of TFC by leaving in the gore.
 

Sallix

New member
Apr 9, 2008
291
0
0
L4D2: Aussie edition, Patch Notes.
-Removed melee weapons
-removed all gore
-removed violence
-removed all weapons
-in fact, we're renaming this title to Left 4 Lunch, as the new focus of the game is to now go to the park and eat a picnic of brains with the infected.
-if you even think about harming a zombie, Gabe Newell will hunt you down and devour you.
 

seule

New member
Jul 21, 2008
113
0
0
I like threads like this. I love to see all the stereo-types and stories and stuff about what life in Australia is like, cause, living here, it gives me a good laugh.

It's cheaper to buy it off steam anyways, seriously, classified or not, it's still cheaper to buy something on steam, or even have a friend in the US get it and ship it to me.
 

Slackenerny

New member
Oct 26, 2008
76
0
0
Just to explain to you foreigners what's going on here in Australia.

There currently is no provision in the rating system for R rated games in Australia. We have been trying to introduce it for quite a few years, however the system by which changes the rating system are made are tricky.

In each state in Australia (New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania), we have an Attorney General (a person who deals with certain types of legal issues such as this). In order for a change to be made to the ratings law, a UNAMIMOUS agreement must be had among all the attorney generals.

We have it, except for one person who steadfastly refuses to agree to it: the South Australian Michael Atkinson. While there is support amongst all the other AGs, political parties, and general community...this man sees it as his moral responsibility to 'protect the children' regardless of the impact to the rest of the community. You can see a write up here:
http://www.kotaku.com.au/2008/03/why_michael_atkinsons_opposal_of_r18_does_bugger_all_to_protect_kids_promotes_crime/

Anyway, it's not all of Australia. It's not even some of Australia. It's just him.

We'll get it through when he retires or the South Australian state Labour government gets voted out.
 

DarkBlood626

New member
Nov 9, 2008
142
0
0
This better not mean we are all going to have to be content with a shitty watered down version, in the hope by valve to not lose a proportion of the market. Like fallout 3

This shit needs to stop is Michel Atkinson so out of touch with reality to continue to alienate the very people who will be voting on his future. (I mean even his family think he is a fucktard).