AfterDawn: News

Australia's Left 4 Dead 2 ban appealed

Valve is appealing a decision by Australia's Office of Film and Literature Classification that denied Left 4 Dead 2 a rating in the country, effectively banning the game in the territory. In all other territories, the game has received an 18+ or Mature rating, given by ESRB, USK, CERO, KGRB etc. but in Australia there is no 18+ certificate for videogames on the market.

"The title has been rated in the majority of the world and awaiting final ratings in the UK and New Zealand, where final ratings are expected in the coming days. Meanwhile, the ruling in Australia from the OFLC has been appealed by Valve," a statement from the Valve reads.



The OFLC said that the game depicts "unrelenting violance" and is unsuitable to be given a rating of 15+, the highest it could be given in the country. "It's funny that a place like Australia, which has come up with some pretty violent material in the past with something like Mad Max, can effectively ban videogames for the same reason," an Electronic Arts spokesperson said.

Written by: James Delahunty @ 25 Sep 2009 14:03

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• 14 comments

• MightyOne

  My opinion there peoples fascination with violence and horror is way out of control. More Countries need to step up to the plate and abolish such games and movies. Our children will be immune to it. There is a sickness that surrounds this issue that will become the "Norm" if we all turn a blind eye. Wake up World !!!

  25.9.2009 15:31 #1

• scorpNZ

  Murder,rape etc has been going on forever & now with worldwide coveragae it seems it's worse when in fact it was always there,playing a vid game or watching a horror won't make any sane person go & and commit crime prove me wrong with scientific fact,if your mind is unstable then video game or not you WILL do crime,by the way do you think members of AlQeuda play a vid game then go & kill,strange that i didn't think vid games were part of that religion or movies
  
  Edit: Once upon a time it was the "Devil" that used to be blamed *always thought that fella was getting a bum deal*,now with vid games & movies it makes sense blame would be shifted,it's an easier target & more believable to the sheep

  25.9.2009 16:37 #2

• DarkJello

  No one with experience with real violence thinks video games mimic the experience. I'd prefer to not be censored at all really. I hate the ratings to begin with, to much thought is put into making a game to fit a certain rating so it can be sold to its target demographic, it's the same way with movies. These constraints shouldn't need to be constantly kept in mind by artists.

  25.9.2009 16:38 #3

• SoCalSRH

  ...

  25.9.2009 16:59 #4

• scorpNZ

  Two years ago i played a vid game called blackhawk down,it's a good game,this year i watched the movie of it for the first time,apart from the incompetence of the generals or which ever idiot ordered the move in daylight,once the team had been abandoned & had to fight their way out of one hell of a situation,it wasn't hard for me to put myself in their shoes,what's even more staggering is having to escort vehicles on foot while every type of weapon is being rained down on ya from the rooftops & ground,it's a wonder any of them made it out alive,without that vid game & knowing what those boys went thru i doubt i would've felt the same way when watching the movie & the impossible situation they were put in which should never have happened

  25.9.2009 17:00 #5

• canuckerz

  Originally posted by MightyOne: My opinion there peoples fascination with violence and horror is way out of control. More Countries need to step up to the plate and abolish such games and movies. Our children will be immune to it. There is a sickness that surrounds this issue that will become the "Norm" if we all turn a blind eye. Wake up World !!!You are totally side stepping the real issue. The ratings need to be inforced. The problem IS NOT the game itself if the parents buying their kids 18+ rated games. There's absolutely nothing wrong with adults playing games like this.

  25.9.2009 20:44 #6

• chris4160

  Originally posted by the OFLC: The game contains violence that is high in impact and is therefore unsuitable for persons aged under 18 years to play.
  
  The game contains realistic, frenetic and unrelenting violence which is inflicted upon “the Infected” who are living humans infected with a rabies-like virus that causes them to act violently. The player can choose from a variety of weapons including pistols, shotguns, machine guns and sniper rifles. However, it is the use of the “melee” weapons such as the crowbar, axe, chainsaw and Samurai sword which inflict the most damage. These close in attacks cause copious amounts of blood spray and splatter, decapitations and limb dismemberment as well as locational damage where contact is made to the enemy which may reveal skeletal bits and gore. Projectile shots to infected humans can cause abdominal wounds which can reveal innards or even cause intestines to spill from the wounds.
  
  The Infected attack the player in an unrelenting fashion, with numerous foe attacking the player at one time. The use of the “melee” weapons can wipe out several Infected in one blow which cause the above mentioned blood and gore effects. The player kills a very large amount of enemy characters to proceed through the game. Whilst no post mortem damage can be inflicted, piles of bodies lay about the environment.
  
  The interactive nature of the game increases the overall impact of the frequent and intense depictions of violence. This coupled with the graphic depictions of blood and gore combine to create a playing impact which is high.
  
  A minority of the Board is of the opinion that the violence is strong in playing impact and therefore warrants an MA 15+ classification with the consumer advice of strong violence.
  
  Decision:
  
  This game is Refused Classification.
  From what I read on the OFLC website L4D 2 was banned because of the use of the melee weapons, in particular the samurai sword and the chainsaw. Anyone remember Kill Bill and Texas Chainsaw Masacre? There really needs to be an 18+ game rating in Australia, I am so sick of games being watered down (GTA IV, Bully etc).
  
  BTW I posted a discussion about the game being banned in the Xbox 360 General Discussion forum last week. Here's the link

  25.9.2009 20:51 #7

• lxhotboy

  Originally posted by MightyOne: My opinion there peoples fascination with violence and horror is way out of control. More Countries need to step up to the plate and abolish such games and movies. Our children will be immune to it. There is a sickness that surrounds this issue that will become the "Norm" if we all turn a blind eye. Wake up World !!!Are you serious? Hey Mightyone... Can you find me an article of a group of kids who go around practicing Mortal Kombat fatalities?
  
  I think you need to wake yourself up and get real.

  25.9.2009 21:43 #8

• drzayus01

  Cant you guys see that MightyOne is just trolling? If your mental state is that messed up where you have to imitate video games, then a little more than banning the video game needs to take place.

  25.9.2009 22:46 #9

• scorpNZ

  Originally posted by drzayus01: Cant you guys see that MightyOne is just trolling? If your mental state is that messed up where you have to imitate video games, then a little more than banning the video game needs to take place.Dunno if the persons a troll,tho being a junior member one would think if that's what they were here for the mods would have dealt with them already,so have to give mighty the benefit of the doubt,then again you can't say there aren't people that don't believe as he/she does,only need to see the news to know that,no doubt mighty most probably won't post back in this thread then again can ya blame him/her..lmao

  25.9.2009 23:32 #10

• miketrev

  I just feel sorry for the ozzy's, im looking forwardto this game myself. The violence adds realism to the games.

  26.9.2009 06:54 #11

• ZippyDSM

  Yu got to remember people Auz land( and perhaps Germany to a point) is a unique case. You have the attorney general who is not allowing the rantings board to have a ranting that's over 18+ its like if the US said that all games 17+ were AO.

  26.9.2009 13:36 #12

• mocpac

  As formed GameStop manager I will said this. Put any rating, claim about content 80% of the parents buy the games for their kids no matter what. A video game a movie or book have nothing to do with real life. Prohibition only create more curiosity...

  1.10.2009 07:42 #13

• chris4160

  For those who care a censored version of Left 4 Dead 2 has been granted MA15+ classification in Australia.
  

  
  
  
  Camping is not a legitimate strategy.

  23.10.2009 06:38 #14