GTA 4 rated by Oz classification board.

[glimmerman]

http://www.classification.gov.au/special.html?n=46&p=156&sTitle=grand+theft+auto&sMediaFilm=1&sMediaPublicat ions=1&sMediaGames=1&sDateFromM=1&sDateFromY=2006&sDateToM=12&sDateToY=2007 &record=224873#if


TakeTwo will give their quarterly report next week... announcement coming soon? ;)

[speculawyer]

yeah, I saw this elsewhere. Some of taken it to mean that the game is done, but I don't think that is necessarily true.

[TTP]

no 18+? Odd

[sionyboy]

http://www.classification.gov.au/special.html?n=46&p=156&sTitle=grand+theft+auto&sMediaFilm=1&sMediaPublicat ions=1&sMediaGames=1&sDateFromM=1&sDateFromY=2006&sDateToM=12&sDateToY=2007 &record=224873#if TakeTwo will give their quaterly report next week... announcement coming soon? ;)

Not necessarily, most publishers/developer will submit early builds to the classification board to get an early indication of how the game is progressing. Especially with a game that has the reputation GTA has and Australia's ban happy censor board.

[Zzoram]

It means the game is probably content complete, and everyone's suspicions that they are taking the next 6 months to polish and improve frame rate is correct.

[glimmerman]

Looks like DMC4 has been submitted too.
Rez HD as well.
Hmmm. What kind of lag is there usualy in Oz between submission and release?

[speculawyer]

It means the game is probably content complete, and everyone's suspicions that they are taking the next 6 months to polish and improve frame rate is correct.

Well, the company has said it will ship in their fiscal Q2 which is Feb to April for them.

[The Innocent X]

I'd imagine they are finishing up whichever wasn't the lead platform.

[Zzoram]

I'd imagine they are finishing up whichever wasn't the lead platform.

I'd say they are probably just polishing framerate and loading on both. The real question is, will the 360 version require a harddrive, and will the PS3 version run more poorly (which will probably be the case if 360 was lead SKU).

[belvedere]

[cjelly]

It means the game is probably content complete, and everyone's suspicions that they are taking the next 6 months to polish and improve frame rate is correct.

Not on the PEGI or BBFC sites yet. It'll get an 18, though.

Edit: Nice stealth edit, Zzoram.

[Ill Saint]

no 18+? Odd

Australia doesn't have a 18+ rating for video games. Anything that would be rated higher than MA 15+ gets banned instead.

[glimmerman]

yeah, I saw this elsewhere. Some of taken it to mean that the game is done, but I don't think that is necessarily true.

Yeah, I nicked it from the yahoo finance boards.

[speculawyer]

Australia doesn't have a 18+ rating for video games. Anything that would be rated higher than MA 15+ gets banned instead.

WTF? That is pathetic. Get your new PM to fix that. All content should not be forced down to the level of 15 year olds.

Unless porn and 'R' rated movies are totally banned in Oz, that rule is completely discriminatory against videogames.

Edit: This really annoys me . . . What about Team Bondi that is making LA Noire? What happens if an Australian dev team creates a game that is banned in there own country? They should put some racy content in the game just to provoke such a weird situation such that the laws get changed. Of course that game isn't going to be released until 2009 or so.

[evlcookie]

WTF? That is pathetic. Get your new PM to fix that. All content should not be forced down to the level of 15 year olds. Unless porn and 'R' rated movies are totally banned in Oz, that rule is completely discriminatory against videogames.

Just seems to apply to videogames at the moment, since movies have come out to the cinema that are R (18+) rated.

And i am guessing this was done early since we like to ban everything that seems to be ultra violent, good news that it passed . But if you own a PS3 its bound to be cheaper to import the game anyway.

[Darkman M]

Gaming has the dumbest rating system ever it needs to be cut and dry like the movies rating and were set.

[Zzoram]

I only played GTA (was it 1 or 2?) on PC because Australia banned it.

[speculawyer]

And i am guessing this was done early since we like to ban everything that seems to be ultra violent, good news that it passed ..

Wait . . . the land of Australian rules football, Mad Max, Russell Crowe, etc. . . . likes to ban everything that is ultra violent? No wonder so many of them end up here in the USA.

[glimmerman]

Wait . . . the land of Australian rules football, Mad Max, Russell Crowe, etc. . . . likes to ban everything that is ultra violent? No wonder so many of them end up here in the USA.

I see what you did there...

[Ill Saint]

Movies with strong sex scenes have also been banned here, some even after screening for a small period of time. Australia likes to ban, period.

[medze]

Wait... so MA 15+ is bad right? The big "Restricted" part on the bottom of the rating is what tipped me off. Does this mean the game cannot be sold in AU?

[Sakurina]

Does this mean the game cannot be sold in AU?

I think that just means they ask for ID when you buy it. Then again, I could be way off.

[Bebpo]

I'm late to the party. Did GTAIV get another delay after being moved from October to Feb-April?

[medze]

I'm late to the party. Did GTAIV get another delay after being moved from October to Feb-April?

nope, but Feb-April was never confirmed so to speak

[Tntnnbltn]

Wait... so MA 15+ is bad right? The big "Restricted" part on the bottom of the rating is what tipped me off. Does this mean the game cannot be sold in AU?

Nothing like that. MA 15+ is good. No ID checks or whatnot.

The game has been rated MA15+ with the consumer advise stating that the game has strong violence, strong coarse language and drug and sexual references, sounds like GTA to us. The news that the game has been classified is sure to bring about thousands of sighs of relief, as Grand Theft Auto III was pulled from the shelves in Australia for a few months and both Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas were both edited for the Australian market.

- "Grand Theft Auto IV rated in Australia" - PALGN

[Witchfinder General]

An R18+ rating for games will probably never, ever happen here in Australia mainly because all the state Attorney Generals would have to agree to get a motion passed through the senate and even if that works (not likely, as campaigning to allow "violent, adult" videogames be made available is hardly the kind of issue that will secure them votes) the federal Attorney General still has to A-OK it.

Still, now that Phillip "The Emperor from Star Wars" Ruddock out of the picture there's a slightly higher chance that it could happen, but don't hold your breath.

[Gexecuter]

so the rating board got to play a copy of the game or they just send a video with all the hardcore parts like ESRB does?.

[pilonv1]

so the rating board got to play a copy of the game or they just send a video with all the hardcore parts like ESRB does?.

It's the latter.

[lexi]

Still, now that Phillip "The Emperor from Star Wars" Ruddock out of the picture there's a slightly higher chance that it could happen, but don't hold your breath.

He did look like Emperor Palpatine!