Left 4 Dead 2 Ban Surprised, Saddened Valve

[Doclector]

Honestly australia, WTF!?

I feel sorry for gamers in Australia, I really do, having to put up with this BS on at least one big game release a year, usually more.

Australia, you've just lost a potential immigrant! Not that I was planning, I don't like huge spiders, but just saying...It's a possibility that will never happen now. Ahem.

 

[Ultra_Caboose]

I really don't get it. I don't see why Austrailia needs to ban all of these violent games. An entire nation of gamers is missing out on what will most likely be an amazing game just because a few buzzkills in office think it's too much for them to handle. People in Austrailia deserve to play the same games as everyone else.

 

[mayhar]

OMFG THIS IS THE GAYEST THING EVER.....i was soo looking forward to L4D2...........AAAAAHHHHHHHH (Rage time.....).............who wants to help on a massacre of the stupid people who decided this? then we will show them true melee violence........this is gay

 

[AndyFromMonday]

Hey! Why not make an 18+ rated game PLAYABLE BY SOMEONE UNDER 18! Yeah! A game rated 18+ should be totally bought for your 13 year old child.

Sometimes I don't get how people can be this stupid.

 

[Woodsey]

That makes no sense. If it's not suitable for people under 18 (i.e. children, although I hate saying that as I'm 15 and perfectly able to play an 18)

I'm sorry, but you're exactly the reason why we have people like Michael Atkinson fighting to ban certain videogames, because they don't think introducing a 18+ rating will change anything. You're only giving the man ammunition. If we want to have an R rating, we need to show that we, as human beings, have enough responsibility to conform to the ratings system, otherwise, you know, what's the point? Hell, it's people like you that make me think that certain games should be banned.

Woah, chillax. My point was that it's stupid saying a game isn't suitable for children, and yet only allowing ratings that incorporate children and not adults. My other point was a criticism (which I didn't make clear) was that I myself know that nothing in an 18 will affect me any more then when I am 18, 30 or 50.

I see how they contradict but my personal input was just acknowledging that there are plenty of people my age who are mature enough to understand that it's only a game. And it's pretty ignorant to assume just because I'm not as old as someone who doesn't know me personally assumes that I shouldn't be able to play a game. Having said that, banning a game just because that person doesn't feel it's suitable for children is ridiculous, as it's as much an adults market (or more so) than it is a "children's".

It's pretty patronising being viewed as a child when I'm now in my final year of school, about to have to choose a 6th form and the courses that I want to do that will then lead to uni, and yet I still can't play a game because it's deemed to have "excessive language" or "excessive violence". Me, my mates and everyone in school swear more in a day then you'd see in a 100 + hour game. And the violence in an 18+ is pretty tame (and let us not forget, comprised of pixels) compared to what's in a series of 24, which is only rated 15.

Again, I acknowledge the contradiction but I'd like to think I'd made my 2 separate points clear enough.

 

[Hamster at Dawn]

Valve should redo all the graphics so gushing blood is replaced by rainbows, the bullets are all hearts and maybe the bible could be a melee weapon and using it causes zombies to ascend into heaven.

Anyway, I don't get why Australia won't rate it. So it contains content unsuitable for people under 18. Isn't that what an "18+" rating is for?

 

[Kurokami]

OMFG THIS IS THE GAYEST THING EVER.....i was soo looking forward to L4D2...........AAAAAHHHHHHHH (Rage time.....).............who wants to help on a massacre of the stupid people who decided this? then we will show them true melee violence........this is gay

Instead of thinking "fuck, if only we had a way for these kids to unload their anger by simulating violent situations" they'll be thinking "This is video games' fault."

 

[Argol228]

Ok I am aussie so I will just import a copy from england since they are PAL. but this dosn't make sense for one big reason. I type this just after I had finished carving up half a dozen human characters with a chainsaw on Gears of war 2, and blowing others to gory little bits complete with blood splatter with a shotgun.

 

[Cookiegerard]

Thats not nice... It's gonna be sold in Ireland, right?

 

[Argol228]

I would like to point out that the OFLC are like kids on suger when it comes to games. they will ban a game for one reason but a game for the same reason but worse will get let in. FO3's Morphine (Before being Med-X) compared to GTA Chinatown wars drug selling. FO3 was going to get banned. Chinatown wars was untouched. I personally think th OFLC are unhappy because of it being released to soon.

 

[Dusty Donuts]

Well, hitting zombies with my unlimited supply of stale bread and bagels works for me. Heck, these letters I'm wasting here could be used to deal even a slight amount of damage to them. As long as it doesn't penetrate the skin too much or cause any blood shed (or, for MMOs, about half a point of damage).
TAKE THAT YOU DAMN TANK!!! WANT SOME MORE?! I GOT PLENTY OF THESE BABIES!!! WATCH IT THERE, THAT ONE IS OVERCOOKED!
I look forward to it!

 

[FallenJellyDoughnut]

It's ok Valve. Steam lets us sidestep the bureaucratic morons. You'll still be getting my money.

You mean we can still get it from teh steamzorz?! HOORAYZICLES!

 

[mlsq42]

I believe that being a First Person game amps up the violence impact, according to the ratings board. Gears of War 2, you weren't first person going around chainsawing aliens (another point, not human-looking), you were third person. That's an issue.

I think it's a load of crap myself (Screw You Atkinson!), but that's the logic.

And FO3 wasn't banned for violence, it was banned for drug use.

So Drug Use is worse than Violence which is worse than Sex.

Although Sex can still get you banned, just ask the recent Leisure Suit Larry games.

 

[Argol228]

Actually Ban is not the right word. It is not as bad as it seems. It is refused classification, which generally means that a game can not be sold or traded in australia unless formally classified. So you can download it from steam and get it from another country. However here is the WTF. MMO's like WoW and WAR that have no rating are sold and are technically a criminal act yet it isn't enforced.

 

[Littaly]

This had always kind of confused me. Over here in Europe, all M rated games are rated 18+, but everywhere else, games that are rated 18+ are impossible to sell :-/

 

[aww yea]

i think we're due to see mass emigration from Australia

 

[wewontdie11]

And people in Britain think we have a police state. You Aussies have fewer freedoms than any other "free" nation that I'm aware of. I think it's time for some protests and petitions down under.

 

[Byers]

I have a solution for Valve:

Allow users of Steam to buy Left 4 Dead overseas and enter the code to activate it on Steam even if they live in Australia and play it online from Australia.

The law only says the game cannot be SOLD without a rating, not a ban on mere ownership. A serious Aussie gamer could take a trip to NZ or some other country in the free world, there shouldn't really be anything stopping Valve hosing aussie gamers playing Left 4 Dead online down under, they can reasonably assume they legally bought it outside Australia and brought it in.

Or use STEAM or just go to another website and have it shipped.

That probably won't work. The game may be imported FROM another country, but shipping it to Australia or even buying the game from within Australia and downloading it via steam would be considered "selling the game" and the Aussie censors have specifically refused this game classification making sale of the game in Australia ILLEGAL. Who knows if some public prosecutor with an axe to grind and a political career to make could go after these websites.

No online retailer of the hard copy is going to risk the wrath of custom officials and Gabe will likely be having a meeting with their lawyers saying if they want Steam to work at all in Australia then they must block the sale of L4D2 games via Steam. Who knows, downloadable games might be beyond the remit of the law but I highly doubt it as it is fundamentally the same as an ordinary sale.

The bottom line is getting Left 4 Dead 2 in Australia is not going to be easy. No retailer, online, offline or downloadable would want to risk breaking the law with hefty fines, legal fees and jeopardise their various licences just for a 1% more game sales.

You just have them classify the shipment as a gift. I do it all the time to get around the archaic toll fees that my government wants. And if they won't ship it to your country due to region issues, just get it from a private seller on ebay. There's really not much of a problem for adults to obtain anything, banned or otherwise, online.

 

[Knight Templar]

Can't we just turn off the gore with a button? Gears 1/2 for example.