Saints Row IV Refused Classification in Australia (Again)

[ron1n]

So sick of hearing about banned games. Anyone with half a clue just buys them online from overseas sellers anyway due to the price gouging. I have zero sympathy for anyone dumb enough to still be buying from EB or JB Hi Fi.

Ratings board is utterly irrelevant.

 

[Diablo1099_v1legacy]

All they have to do is rename the drugs Fallout style.

Come on, that has TONS of bowdlerization and "if you know what I mean" potential! I'm staunchly anti-drug, but I'd still play a game where you deal "You Know, That Stuff".

That is actually a REALLY good idea! I love the Fallout Games and I though the renamed drugs kinda helped towards the world building.
Besides, they could lampshade the fuck out of it.

"So Pierce, what are we selling?"
"Ummmm...Some Clarky Cats, some Yellow Bentines, Bit of Triple Sub and come Cake."
"Cake?"
"Yeah, Cake. It's a Made up Drug."
"What?"
"Made up of CHEMICALS."
"ohhhh..."

(Cookie for Referance)

 

[MrHide-Patten]

[deleted] I hope your copy gets lost in the mail

Nope, I've never had a problem with ozgameshop.com, actually got my next game cheaper because of reasons. Don't get all pouty because your mum won't let you use your credit card on the internet.

 

[Scars Unseen]

I think Volition should create Saints Row IV: Pretty in Australia Edition where the gangs push vitamin C supplements and all guns fire rainbows that cause people to giggle when hit. I'm not sure if that would actually get a point across, but I'd probably buy it just for the novelty.

 

[Appleworks]

Would they refuse a game classification if the main character was a cancer patient and their reward for completing missions was a dose of chemotherapy drugs?

Wasn't Dead Rising 2 about something like that? Getting anti-zombification drugs for your guys daughter?

 

[Steven Bogos]

Would they refuse a game classification if the main character was a cancer patient and their reward for completing missions was a dose of chemotherapy drugs?

Wasn't Dead Rising 2 about something like that? Getting anti-zombification drugs for your guys daughter?

The key point is that they weren't "real" drugs. As other people have mentioned, fallout renaming morphine to "med-x" was perfectly acceptable by the board.

 

[Something Amyss]

[
I don't know about you, but nothing changed in me after I killed a bunch of bandits with a Flamethrower in Fallout 3. The second I found out that Med-X is actually Morphine, however, BAM! Suddenly I'm hooked on Heroin turning tricks under a bridge!

Morphine: it leads to heroin AND bridge building!

XD (good post, seriously!)

 

[Not Matt]

Hm? ...... What? Sorry was I supposed to be surprised? I can't, Australia isn't going to surprise anyone unless they release a game called "donkeyf***er's murdertime extravaganza"

 

[Username Redacted]

As someone living in Australia, it's actually amazing there's apologists supporting this second banning of something that doesn't take a fucking government to dictate to the common man in terms of restraint and control.

It makes me sick that I'm in the same country with such sheeple.

You have my sympathy. You'd think that the citizens of a country founded by convicts would be a bit more on the ball in realizing when their government is fucking them over.

 

[Quaxar]

Oh come on, just <url=http://www.classification.gov.au/About/BoardMembers/Pages/Classification-Board-Members.aspx>look the the Board Members. It's like a private school parent-teacher conference. Only two of them are even under 40 for pete's sake, one's a 27 year-old law and communication studies (???) guy and one's a 33 year-old former school psychologist. Hell, the average age of that whole Board is 48.

You'd get a saner rating and better representation of the gaming community by substituting the whole board with Statler and Waldorf.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8b/StatlerAndWaldorf.jpg/250px-StatlerAndWaldorf.jpg

 

[Scorched_Cascade]

Shall we make a list of things that are and are not okay according to classification board using previous Saints Row games (Mostly SR2 because that's the one I remember best)? Off the top of my head:

A-Okay!:

Spoiler

-Domestic terrorism
--Crashing helicopters into corporate buildings
--Assassination
---Assassination of key public officials (E.g. Mayors)
--Police murders on a psuedo-genocidal scale
-Glamorised gang activity/gang violence
--Illegal street racing
--Drivebys
--Public shootouts
--Motorcycle sword fights
-People getting buried alive
-People getting poisoned by radioactive waste
-Hijacking
--Armed robbery/armed hijacking
---Human shields
-Fake drugs
--Dealing
--Manufacture
--Usage
-Mass murder
-Extreme sociopathy
-Prostitution
--Pimping/brothels
--Freelancing in public toilets
-Kidnapping
-Deliberate maiming
-"Road rash"
-Euthanasia
-Assault
--Sustained assault
--Severe assasult
--Torture

Not okay!:
Real drugs references
Strongly implied anal probing

Seems a bit of an odd place to draw the line.

 

[Lo Flying Frying Pan]

Because a mature adult with no existing drug problems will develop them due to seeing glamorization in a game that is 98% self parody? No.

Everything is justified by context in Saint's Row. That's the point.

Australia, you so crazy.

I like the fact that they're okay with running around shooting random people in the nuts for no reason, but drug use is wrong.

Personally, I applaud their decision.

I don't know about you, but nothing changed in me after I killed a bunch of bandits with a Flamethrower in Fallout 3. The second I found out that Med-X is actually Morphine, however, BAM! Suddenly I'm hooked on Heroin turning tricks under a bridge!

Video game drugs are a serious thing. I mean, I don't even live near a bridge! Where the fuck did it come from? It just appeared out of nowhere! Hell, I don't even know any drug dealers and I'm somehow addicted! WHAT IS THIS SORCERY? WHAT HAVE VIDEO GAME DRUGS DONE TO ME?

Hear, hear ... I got started on "Bottled-Fairy" and "Shroom" as a kid, you know the light stuff. It was only a short time before I descended into Valkyrie in 2001 and could be found doing "favors" in alleyways for a taste of Phoenix Down.

 

[Shinsei-J]

Oh come on, just <url=http://www.classification.gov.au/About/BoardMembers/Pages/Classification-Board-Members.aspx>look the the Board Members. It's like a private school parent-teacher conference. Only two of them are even under 40 for pete's sake, one's a 27 year-old law and communication studies (???) guy and one's a 33 year-old former school psychologist. Hell, the average age of that whole Board is 48.

Oh god lord, you know you're on your way to progress when a generations newest media is being filtered by people from bygone era with conflicting values and moral opinions. Good job Australia way to keep it fresh.

God I hate this government.
[sub][sub]I just want to punch Kevin Rudd, Julia Gilard and Tony Abbot right in there smug faces.
The rest of them too.[/sub][/sub]

 

[Roguelike]

Would they refuse a game classification if the main character was a cancer patient and their reward for completing missions was a dose of chemotherapy drugs?

I want Crank the Video Game now

 

[1Life0Continues]

I think an important thing to note is that I believe ratings require an all or nothing vote by the states. There is no majority decision process, all states must agree or the item is RC'd. I could be wrong, but I think that's how it works. It also explains why the current R18+ rating is crippled, because it was introduced purely to appease the growing dissent by gamers in this country. The Federal Govt. stepped in finally and said 'Do it already' and they did. But the ACB, being the backward organisation that it is, continues its campaign to treat game playing adults like children. They never intended otherwise.

Best solution is to write angry but rational letters to the board.
http://www.classification.gov.au/About/Pages/Contact-Us.aspx
Don't email, it will be ignored. Hey, a fax might work, that takes a modicum of effort. But write a letter on paper, put it in an envelope, address it and stamp it and send it. Their mailbox filled with gaming adults rationally stating they'd like to be treated as adults should have some weight.

 

[shirkbot]

Personally, I applaud their decision.

I don't know about you, but nothing changed in me after I killed a bunch of bandits with a Flamethrower in Fallout 3. The second I found out that Med-X is actually Morphine, however, BAM! Suddenly I'm hooked on Heroin turning tricks under a bridge!

Video game drugs are a serious thing. I mean, I don't even live near a bridge! Where the fuck did it come from? It just appeared out of nowhere! Hell, I don't even know any drug dealers and I'm somehow addicted! WHAT IS THIS SORCERY? WHAT HAVE VIDEO GAME DRUGS DONE TO ME?

This makes my day. Thank you.

You'd get a saner rating and better representation of the gaming community by substituting the whole board with Statler and Waldorf.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8b/StatlerAndWaldorf.jpg/250px-StatlerAndWaldorf.jpg

All panels are automatically improved by their replacement by, or inclusion of, Statler and Waldorf.

 

[shirkbot]

I think an important thing to note is that I believe ratings require an all or nothing vote by the states. There is no majority decision process, all states must agree or the item is RC'd. I could be wrong, but I think that's how it works. It also explains why the current R18+ rating is crippled, because it was introduced purely to appease the growing dissent by gamers in this country. The Federal Govt. stepped in finally and said 'Do it already' and they did. But the ACB, being the backward organisation that it is, continues its campaign to treat game playing adults like children. They never intended otherwise.

Best solution is to write angry but rational letters to the board.
http://www.classification.gov.au/About/Pages/Contact-Us.aspx
Don't email, it will be ignored. Hey, a fax might work, that takes a modicum of effort. But write a letter on paper, put it in an envelope, address it and stamp it and send it. Their mailbox filled with gaming adults rationally stating they'd like to be treated as adults should have some weight.

For those of us that are non-Australian citizens, but still sympathize with their plights, what can we do to help?

 

[Vareoth]

It's a miracle no one has beheaded any of those puritan fucks who give ratings to games in Australia.

And of course people are going to ***** because they can?t play some stupid piece of shit game.

Goodbye.

 

[GoddyofAus]

This changes nothing. I bleat on about it often, but the people who would normally want this game already know how to get it legally and unedited where the ACB has no power to stop it. So once again, a big fuck you to the ACB and their 4 middle aged white panel members. I do what I like as an adult and there is fuck all you can do about it.