On the Left 4 Dead Ban

[Odjin]

There had been times where players had been gamers meaning they had a sense of quality and didn't take anything as great. In the mean time the so called "casual gamer" entered on stage. This kind of people ( which by the way have grown larger in numbers than actual gamers ) have to be pleased by watered down games since they don't have the butt to learn a game nor do they care for what is important in a game. This is why FPS games have grown so famous. You need no brain nor being smart just having a spastic pointing finger. And if you have a watered down game mechanics that you can't pimp anymore with more watered down concepts you crank up the gore. This has been done since a couple of years now. The result has been people getting more and more pissed at games ( politicians as well as real gamers ). So this is not about what taste somebody has but a simple observation of a dangerous trend which ( if not stopped ) is going to kill the gaming industries in the long run.

There are still plenty of other types of games around here, Limbo (thegame) and Machinarium are the ones I'm looking forward to at the moment. They may not be heavily advertised but they do still exist.

Aside from that, for me at least, it's the 'good' games not being good enough that keeps me mostly with the shooters. As I grew up I found that even the most praised games are nothing compared to even simple kids books like Alice in Wonderland or Of Mice and Men. Why play a game for anything other than mindless fun when you can find far more substance in other mediums. I'm not going to settle with banality just because it's in a different package.'
Not that games couldn't rise to the standard of any other medium, it's just that, at the moment at least, they don't.

I believe in games as a creative and challenging art form. Unfortunately the majority of other game developers believe only in money and forgot what makes games interesting to play and especially create. But maybe enough developers start to think again outside of the box so games can get out of the FPS-mediocrity pit they are in right now.

Nice pick with Machinarium. Looks like somebody has style

 

[Alarid]

Why does everyone hate blood and gore? It's anatomy. And violence is a natural occurance. Kids are gonna see it in school anyways...

Especially with all that gang violence cropping up from lack of a sane release of their drudgeries on a NPC's face.

 

[knight of zendikar]

Interesting.. but if Fallout 3 was refused classification, how did Yahtzee get to review it? Did he visit his friends at GAMETRADERS ROBINA??

You'll note that Fallout 3 doesn't have Morphine at all? That's because Bethesda removed it so it could be released in Australia. Along with all the other real world drugs that were supposed to be in it, but weren't because the ACB are spineless fuckwits who know nothing about the real world.

Wow, I live the other side of the planet from Australia, and reading about this STILL gets me pissed off...

no it wasnt removed at all aparently they think its any differnt if its called med-x.

oh all the chems in fallout have there roots in some real world drug except jet, nobody no was that shit is its just a big inhaler.

 

[knight of zendikar]

Good... one horrible, boring and mindless game less. Makes room for "real" games which are interesting, challenging and have actual gameplay. Yes I don't feel sorry for this game to fall under the table. In fact I would not feel sorry for most of those "gory" games since they totally lack what makes good games: gameplay. Many game devers forget that a good game and good gameplay does not require massive gore. In fact massive gore is the sign of poor games since devers need to distract players with gore from their flaws in the game. And you are right, your country is a warning... a warning to game developers that crap games don't have a future

I think I see troll... we dont take kindly to trolls around these parts.

 

[Dannie]

Why not ban alcohol too? It's also dangerous for kids.

 

[Shanecooper]

here's an idea. We get someone to engineer a sort of zombie/gamer hybrid. It will hunger for the flesh of those who refuse to let it play awesome games. The rest of the time, it shall hunger for cheezos and cola.

 

[Explosm]

This makes me feel like grabbing a sharp weapon and slaughtering everybody in my town whilst screaming FUCK YOU GOVERNMENT YOUR THE REASON WHY WE KILL PEOPLE!

 

[Odjin]

Good... one horrible, boring and mindless game less. Makes room for "real" games which are interesting, challenging and have actual gameplay. Yes I don't feel sorry for this game to fall under the table. In fact I would not feel sorry for most of those "gory" games since they totally lack what makes good games: gameplay. Many game devers forget that a good game and good gameplay does not require massive gore. In fact massive gore is the sign of poor games since devers need to distract players with gore from their flaws in the game. And you are right, your country is a warning... a warning to game developers that crap games don't have a future

I think I see troll... we dont take kindly to trolls around these parts.

If "having an opinion" is called "trolling" around here than this website has a huge problem: censorship. And I don't assume you want the escapists to be a heavy censorship place, don't you?

 

[Mercsenary]

His name is Michael Atkinson.

(The following is from: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Michael_Atkinson&oldid=317511751 )

"Atkinson is responsible for maintaining Australia's status as the only Western country without a "Mature" rating for video games,[3] despite overwhelming demand for such a rating. [4] Due to this, Atkinson is often at the receiving end of criticism from the international Video Gaming community. Other related consequences include the sale of what are rated "Mature" games in other countries to minors and repeated inconsistent decisions from the OFLC who are "stuck between a rock and a hard place". [5] He has withdrawn his support for a discussion paper and public consultation on the subject of an "R18+" rating, although the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General still has this issue on its agenda, it is improbable that there will be unanimity which will result in introduction of the rating being almost impossible.[6]"

What?!

WHAT!? Does he still think real games are two big white pixel bars at two ends hitting a small pixel back and forth between them!? Does he think games should only be about fluffy bunnies and talking fish!? NEVER. Even when games first started coming out what was the, arguably most popular game after Pong? Oh I dont know... Doom maybe? Quake? And what do you do in those? KILL PEOPLE. Australians need to kick this guy out of office. Is this the same guy that wants to put up a proverbial wall around Australia for the internet?

 

[CutCrane]

Well i live in germany and we do have an 18+ rating but still most games are censored.
Ninja Gaiden 2,Gears of War and so on arent released at all here and games like Fallout 3 and Left 4 Dead get heavily censored. (Saints Row 2 was cut so heavily that it was impossible to play with others online except owners of the german version.So you could forget the online mode )

 

[Ezrajames]

Scary stuff

 

[Sleipnir]

Ratings are there for a reason, how many clerks do they think will risk their job and money on selling an 18+ game to a child? And if parents by it for their child, obviously they don't really mind. It's fake violence, I don't see the issue with it, and I don't feel that children are as impressionable as the government lets on, stupid maybe, but not impressionable. And really, if it's depicting "infected humans" who amble around trying to kill you, I think the only people at risk of death-by-impressionable-youth are homicidal and on their way to the grave anyhow.

How infuriating.

 

[CopperKat]

That pissed me off just reading it.

I wonder if they could be swayed by the argument that only a small portion of retarded Ritalin popping teenagers get off on the actual violence of shooters, and it's been proven that the appeal of them lies mainly in the competitive nature and feeling of accomplishment. When replaced with evaporating bodies and laser guns, the games still had the same effect. For the under 18's who could be negatively effected by the violence, I'm pretty sure that's why we have to carry around these pieces of plastic with terrible pictures of ourselves on them. In L4D's case (and most shooters), the violence only serves to enhance those feelings that make a game fun. Let's face it, a zombie wouldn't seem as scary if it didn't plausibly blow apart in anatomically correct bits of flesh and 'innards'.

 

[laura3lizab3th]

I had to laugh. How ridiculous. I'm sure there are far more important things to be spending there time on other than banning computer games?

Ratings are there for a reason, how many clerks do they think will risk their job and money on selling an 18+ game to a child? And if parents by it for their child, obviously they don't really mind.

I completely agree with you though, the ratings on the games are there for a reason, & if the parents deem the game suitable for there child then its there choice. If they don't like it, they can simply stop playing.
I'm sure there are far more lethal things to be banning other than this.

 

[beema]

as soon as I heard about this I couldn't wait to see Yahtzee's response. ehehehe
It's pretty retarded, I'll agree. Although those levels of gore sound a bit obscene. I don't really enjoy stuff with that much gore in it.

A game that's not meant or indeed allowed to be be sold to minors.

True but when has that ever been enforced? Like .05% of the time? Not like it would be hard for some kid to bypass an age check on Steam or whatever either. Most kids are unsupervised as hell these days.

Once again, this is a moronic way to address the problem. The problem is dipshit inattentive parents who don't deal with their own damn rugrats, so the government has to step in and come up with idiotic blanket solutions.

 

[Mirroga]

Has anyone ever thought that protecting someone so much would rather hurt them in the long run? The more you censor these things to children / teenagers, the more rebellious and interested they are gonna get to the point of being dangerous. Even if he/she grew up to be a perfect angel of god will he be crushed harder when he/she is faced by harsh and unforgiving reality.

In summary, overprotection is a bad thing. As such, these soccer moms and these idiotic censoring and rules need to go or at least become much more logical in the long run.

 

[ejb626]

If Australia keeps this up they'll be the new Soviet Unioun

 

[FinalGamer]

God, I complain about games being late here like the Ghostbusters 360 game that was meant to be out here 5 days back....but then I forget about Australia.

Poor dudes ;.;

 

[Doctor_Insano]

violence is an ever present entity in our modern world. When presented in game format, it's... well... FUN! i don't believe censorship is a good idea, people get too offended, it's a game... and last time i looked: games weren't real. Now if the game wassimply a packaged hammer, and a map, with the note: kill them all, love satan, then i would say that perhaps it is a bad idea, but otherwise: how else are aussies supposed to kill zombies?

 

[SUPA FRANKY]

TINK OFF TEH CHELDRAN!!!111one!!!!!11!!!!eleven!!!!1111