Update: Saints Row IV Refused Classification in Australia

[Amakusa]

"In the Board?s opinion, Saints Row IV, includes interactive, visual depictions of implied sexual violence which are not justified by context. In addition, the game includes elements of illicit or proscribed drug use related to incentives or rewards. Such depictions are prohibited by the computer games guidelines." ) [media release]

The computer game is classified RC in accordance with the National Classification Code, Computer Games Table, 1. (a) as computer games that "depict, express or otherwise deal with matters of sex, drug misuse or addiction, crime, cruelty, violence or revolting or abhorrent phenomena in such a way that they offend against the standards of morality, decency and propriety generally accepted by reasonable adults to the extent that they should not be classified."(Australian classification board 2013) [website]

Interesting, it's because it offended morality and decency. Also telling is that they didn't include it in the media release. The legal reasoning sounds similar to the Obscenity Laws that exist in Australia. It must havea been pretty bad or they are really frigidly dense

hmmm reminds me of fallout 3 being banned until the drug names in game was changed but it seems this is more severe. Hmmm guess i might have to import a UK or USA version depending on how things pan out.



Sources
http://www.classification.gov.au/Public/Resources/Documents/2013%20media%20releases/media%20release%20Saints%20Row%204.pdf

http://www.classification.gov.au/Public/Resources/Pages/2013mediareleases.aspx

http://www.classification.gov.au/Pages/View.aspx?sid=ORJKHNcqACcJiNUajTM5pA%253d%253d&ncdctx=zmM%252fpLYhRaoPTSx73N4OSazjUs0nPLaypoWL8TZSg5VRvj1AWD2LKxeCe%2bILbEPT6cQbEjvY5QauhztRn755DQ%253d%253d

 

[dumbseizure]

What the fuck Australia? Seriously! Stop being so retarded. Why are you still censoring entertainment?

I would really appreciate you distinguishing between people who run the classification board, and a whole fucking country thanks.

 

[luvd1]

It's time to debate ith your government people of Australia. My I suggest using a giant, purple dildo.

 

[Amakusa]

"elements of illicit or proscribed drug use related to incentives or rewards". This is the biggy, no idea why you mentioned "Volition must have really dialed up the violence and sex for it to be refused the new rating" when drug use with rewards for it is the big one.

Fallout 3 was going to be banned when I think it was Med-X was called Morphine (drug use being rewarded) but it was changed to Med-X.

Violence and sex do nothing here; AvP2010 went through for MA15+ and that has violent decapitations (with spine included) in first person committed by the player. Sex does nothing. Underbelly has boobs every 10 seconds and used to air at 8:30PM and no one cares.

It's really being rewarded for sex and drug use that is the issue; violence you're implicitly rewarded in most games anyway.

Interesting, cause if you look at the website (check my other post no 21), it's because it offended morality and decency. So the question would be, Does the reward and linking between sex and drug use offend the average common adult in terms of morality and decency (obscenity)? Cause looking at their website that's what they used to RC saints row 4.

 

[kordo]

It's shit like this that makes me really hate this country sometimes. Not that it matters much though - I save $$$ and import all my games anyway muahahahaha!!!

 

[Some_weirdGuy]

Ahh Australia, where if you want to look at a country that is absolutely retarded when it comes to videogames, you can look straight at them.

I wouldn't say they are retarded, they are just keeping to stricter rules than other places. At first I thought it was going to be because of some pathetic reason but from this article it sounds reasonable enough to stop the game being sold because of incentivising drug use and whatever this violent sexual act thing is. If it was retarded then they would be banning the game for having red blood, like Germany does. Because the sight of blood in videogames turns Germans in to little Hitlers apparently.

It sounds reasonable enough??

It's R18, that means adults only kids aren't even allowed to *play* it, so who the fuck are they to tell *adults* that they cannot buy/play this game? I'm not even interested in getting the game and this has me pissed.
... I mean, for fucks sake, the entire reason for the damn rating was to stop exactly this sort of ridiculous nanny state bullshit, it's the whole reason it got so much support from aussi gamers, and now they turn around and do this again?


So no, i think it's very reasonable to question the classification board's mental faculties. I mean... why do we even have an R rating, it it's not for 'everything above MA', then literally, what was the damn point in adding it? Why is it other countries can treat their citizens like they're not babies, but Australia's government can't?

 

[Michael826]

This is honestly the most stupendous thing I've read all day (and it has to contend with News Ltd.). What's the point in having an R18 rating if you're going to refuse classification anyway. No worries, we'll all just import it from overseas, and it'll be cheaper anyway. I can only assume the ratings board just hates local business.

 

[Keepitclean]

Why is it other countries can treat their citizens like they're not babies, but Australia's government can't?

It's because Australia is a Nanny-state. Like a police state but instead of being run by an oppressive tyrant, it's run by that school teacher who was always trying to be your mum.

This is honestly the most stupendous thing I've read all day (and it has to contend with News Ltd.). What's the point in having an R18 rating if you're going to refuse classification anyway. No worries, we'll all just import it from overseas, and it'll be cheaper anyway. I can only assume the ratings board just hates local business.

Or torrent it.

I read from this source that it was illegal to posses in Western Australia (where I live). Downloading it illegally would ensure you get the full version with no risk of it getting intercepted by customs.

I would say that this cheats the developer out of sales but the government has already ensured that.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2013/jun/25/saints-row-4-refused-classification-australia

 

[Terramax]

The Australian government never ceases to amaze me.

 

[Evil Smurf]

If I get an over seas friend to preorder it on my behalf and (and cancel my own pre order) Would that work?

 

[AntiChri5]

Meh, i suppose i will just order itfrom the UK like i do most my games. If customshas something to say about that......well i guess thats what the old skull and crossbones is for.

 

[swatmajor1]

Just throwing my 2c out there, but the idea behind the R18+ wasn't so much as to allow games of a higher level of violence into the country, but to make sure that any games not suitable for younger audiences don't reach their hands.

Having worked in both retail and IT, the mentality of parents is "oh, Billy is 12, and this is only a 15+ game. That isn't too bad for my little angel" (Yes, this is just about word for word what a parent said), but as soon as you whack a 18+ ADULT ONLY rating on something, it becomes all "protect my boy" and "how DARE they market this to MY child" (Again, things parents have actually said).

The point is, perhaps there are things in SR4 which are just a bit too far into the morally wrong field. Should we be able to choose for ourselves, as adults? Probably. Should said adults be able to recognize that this content is socially questionable? Probably.

However, in the current climate of Sexual Harassment, Rape, Murder, etc of women, one cannot blame a classifications board for saying "hmm....this doesn't help with resolving the issues in society". Again, does a game cause someone to become a rapist or murderer? Probably not. Does having a game which depicts violence, sexual or otherwise, help society? Probably not.

That's my 2c, not much, but something a squeezed out.

 

[teqrevisited]

Censorship. Because that works.

Who even wins in this situation?

 

[Teoes]

I thought the Australian Government had woken up and were winding down this sort of behaviour? Obviously not. Give it a day or two and you can get the content right back with mods - can/does the Government do anything with regards these? What about the typical/common mods for.. pretty much any Bethesda game - are any of them subject to this treatment or do they avoid it based on the fact that they're mods and aren't classified?

Also, a few in here seem to be advocating piracy. Schoolboy error..

 

[Lord_Gremlin]

For once, I'm glad I live in Russia where no such nonsense happens. I really feel bad for Aussies though, after all this painful trouble of finally introducing 18+ rating they STILL ban games based on... Wait, what? On how justified sexual violence or drug use it? How is this even remotely reasonable?
Also, videogame drug use and sexual violence is incredibly mild. When compared to movies especially...

You know, I've been pissed when they removed exploding rats in microwaves from DNF PS3 version in Europe (obviously including Russia). I can't even imagine the depths of rage I'd experience if I'd been offered fully censored games at full price.
Now I kinda wonder what they did with the game. As bad as it is for Australians it's free advertising for SR4 everywhere else.

 

[Nazulu]

I'd say it's waayyy too late to cover up drugs in games. Drugs can be seen and heard about everywhere here so I doubt they are defending anyone's innocence with this move.

 

[Oskuro]

This is hardly unique to the Australian government.

There's a classification system in place to make sure Adult oriented material is not sold to minors... And still they regulate it as if minors will be buying it (which, let's face it, they will anyway).

It'd be nice if they (in all countries where this happens) just drop the pretense and flat-out tell us that as adults we're not free to choose our entertainment, or, in other words, that socio-politically motivated censorship is still alive.

 

[N3squ1ck]

And I hoped for the Australians that this shenanigans would be over now, I suppose there is still a bit of the way to go.

Same here (Germany) though. We got an 18+ rating since forever and games still get banned (we even have two levels of banning: one with what games still can be sold "under the table" to adults (if games are like that they are usually not released here, since it is not viable for the publisher to do so, also stuff like steam is not allowed to sell it afaik) and banned by a court, which means it is forbidden to sell (not forbidden to import and to own though))


What is it with modern countries and censoring games, I mean I get that we in Germany don't like to see the Swastika anymore, but seriously what the eff? (Swastikas are fine in movies though, for some reason >_>)

 

[Stryphoon]

But we 'ave to protect muh snowflakes!

Getting the R18+ plus rating seemed like a good thing but I suspect this wouldn't have happened if we didn't have it. Before we got the R18+ rating a few smaller games got banned, but bigger tittles that in all honesty should have been considered to much for the MA15+ rating made it through.

The censors knew that banning something as big as the GTA or SA series' would have brought a massive amount of attention to an already heavily contested subject, so they let them go while targeting smaller titles that would make less of a splash.

Now they have the R18+ they have "done all they can do" there is not more issue for people to argue back at them anymore. We can no longer argue that "if we had a rating system like any normal country we could have it!" because we do have a normal rating system now.

The issue was never really with the ratings system itself, but with the people determining the ratings. We are no better off now. If anything we are worse off because they took our argument away from us.