R 18+ rating and L4D2

[1nsignia]

So with the pending introduction of an R rating to Australia will some games be reclassified?
Games like Black Ops and Dead Rising 2 will likely be reclassified, But what i want to know is, Will valve lift it censor on Left 4 Dead 2 and upgrade the game to and Australia R rating? Have banned games in other countries been unbanned and reclassified before, Or am i just hoping for something i will never get D: (The ultra violence in L4D2 is a meh, Just that the fading bodies and non visible damage absolutely destroys the immersion)

I want your opinions and if possible some kind of reassurance that Banned games can be reclassified.

 

[Kevonovitch]

i'm canadian, so i really can't say much as an outsider, but...honestly, i'd imagine that they would probably have to have R rated games, and games already cencored, re submited for evaluation, or possibly already planned to re-evaluate them.

austrailia from what've heard, 'tis a silly place

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

Unfortunately, this is a hypothetical situation; the AGs blocked that change in the law, so there won't be an 18+ rating any time soon. It's a shame, really -- I'd hate to live in a country in which the government had censorship powers, and this little bit of censorship really makes Australia an international joke. Even Germany, which actually has much stricter censorship laws, has been effectively forgotten as a censorship den, at least when compared to Australia.

Edit: This is my 777th post. Why don't I see the words "All Lucky 7's" flashing on the screen as I make dozens of attacks doing 7777 hit points of damage each?

 

[Woodsey]

I don't think L4D2 should be an 18 anyway.

The only thing "wrong" with it is the violence, and I don't find it particularly gratuitous. It's not like they dwell on any of it particularly, either.

 

[Cazza]

Thats something you should ask Valve. Send them an email. Hopefully you will get a reply. I doubt seeing as I doubt people 15-17 will hand back their copy. With Steam lacking an age for each account it will be impossible to just have an uncensored version for people over 18 and a censored for people under.

They could ask Steam users for their age but everyone will say they are over 18. It really comes down to do Valve care that much. They could leave it as is. Make it uncensored for everyone. Or ask for an age and have both censored and unscensored versions.

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

the AGs blocked that change in the law, so there won't be an 18+ rating any time soon.

That's a total misread of the situation.

If you read the summary of the Dec 10 SCAG meeting, there's an 'in principle' agreement already but a few AGs wanted more time for consultation and to receive instruction. The March SCAG meeting will see AGs fronting up with draft proposals for guidelines on the introduction of R18+ as well as modifications to the existing MA15+ guidelines. Basically, they're not going to give the go-ahead to R18+ until they've nutted out a framework for it's implementation.

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

So with the pending introduction of an R rating to Australia will some games be reclassified?
Games like Black Ops and Dead Rising 2 will likely be reclassified, But what i want to know is, Will valve lift it censor on Left 4 Dead 2 and upgrade the game to and Australia R rating? Have banned games in other countries been unbanned and reclassified before, Or am i just hoping for something i will never get D: (The ultra violence in L4D2 is a meh, Just that the fading bodies and non visible damage absolutely destroys the immersion)

I want your opinions and if possible some kind of reassurance that Banned games can be reclassified.

Yes, there are about 50 or so MA15+ games that the government has already indicated it will have the classifications board review when R18+ comes in. Refused Classification (RC) ratings won't be reversed nor will the govt have the classifications board review RC titles but as publishers are allowed to resubmit RC titles they won't be stopped from doing so when R18+ is finally introduced, and if they meet the criteria for a R18+ rating they'll be good to go. This is a chance that some RC games will remain RC.

If memory serves, Valve has already indicated that it will resubmit an unmodified Left4Dead2 buuuuut that won't apply retroactively so upgrading the MA15+ version to the R18+ version via patching could get Valve in some serious shit with the law (seeing as R18+ is a legal barrier in Oz not just a suggestion).

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

the AGs blocked that change in the law, so there won't be an 18+ rating any time soon.

That's a total misread of the situation.

If you read the summary of the Dec 10 SCAG meeting, there's an 'in principle' agreement already but a few AGs wanted more time for consultation and to receive instruction. The March SCAG meeting will see AGs fronting up with draft proposals for guidelines on the introduction of R18+ as well as modifications to the existing MA15+ guidelines. Basically, they're not going to give the go-ahead to R18+ until they've nutted out a framework for it's implementation.

Well that's good to hear. Not living in Australia, I get most of my information about Australian politics from these forums, so please excuse me for occasionally getting my information wrong.

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

Not living in Australia, I get most of my information about Australian politics from these forums, so please excuse me for occasionally getting my information wrong.

'Scool... not surprising you got some info wrong as there are more than a few people on this site who get all "AUSTRALIA HAS NO FREEDOMS AND SMELLS LIKE WEE" everytime the R18+ issue comes up.