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[Battlechili]

Forgive me if this seems redundant; I originally posted this news in the old localization announcement thread from couple months ago, but after some consideration I felt it was important enough to receive its own thread as the idea of banning games is of greater importance than those people would would have interest in the game itself in my opinion.

The game "Omega Labyrinth Z" has been banned from sale in Australia.
Details of its banning can be found here:
The reason given is:

Reason: Games 1(a)&(b)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," and (b) "describe or depict in a way that is likely to cause offence to a reasonable adult, a person who is, or appears to be, a child under 18 (whether the person is engaged in sexual activity or not)."

One of PQube's previous games, Valkyrie Drive: Bhikkhunhi , suffered a similar fate, making this the 2nd game by PQube to be banned from sale there. Its also worth noting that another game by them, Gal Gun: Double Peace, was pulled from sale at EB Games there previously.
Note that this banning doesn't ban one from owning the game, but just sellers from selling it there.

 

[Spukc]

2018 people not 1920.
Again australia is as backwards as germany
So no surprise here.

Would i get this game ? NO
But should goverments nanny me ? HELL NO

 

[MrMorningMan]

I've never understood why games are banned. If the content is questionable or only suitable for a certain age, slap an adult age rating and cautionary warnings. I'm an adult, I should have the choice to decide if I want to consume this sort of content. For teenagers and younger children, that responsibility then falls down to the parent.

Exactly the same sentiment for censored games as well. I want to play the game as originally intended, not with parts removed or heavily modified.

 

[KevinKeene]

Apparently banned in Germany, too. So silly.

And this 'a person who is, or appears to be, a child under 18' is just too hilarious/sad. Basically telling adult young-looking women that anybody who likes you is a pedophile.

Just one day, people/governments will learn the ability to differ between fiction and reality. Until then, a busty anime-girl with an arbitrarily attached age-number needs to be treated the same way as real child porn.

Hope nobody here ever fapped to Sakura or Hinata from Naruto

 

[GTR R35_Supra RZ]

My big guess would be , they have Witcher 3 banned like hell over there then.

 

[Wunray]

That logo is magnificent.

 

[llien]

"They look underage" apparently triggers. (and I agree, they do)

 

[Koala Driving a Ferrari]

I had no interest in this but I am now going to import it out of spite.

 

[Blam]

Gonna drive sales up for this game.

 

[michaelius]

Thankfully people still have option of importing boxed copy.
But still companies like Pqube are heroes that we need in this neo-puritanical era.

 

[Battlechili]

I'm just hoping that this doesn't discourage them from pursuing something like Bullet Girls. I've been wanting those games to be localized forever

 

[Battlechili]

My big guess would be , they have Witcher 3 banned like hell over there then.

Curiously not the Witcher 3 or 1, but only 2.
Here's a list of all games banned in Australia for the curious:

• 50 Cent: Bulletproof
• Blitz: The League
• BMX XXX
• The Bug Cather
• Crimecraft
• Dark Sector
• Dreamweb
• Enzai: Falsely Accused
• Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number
• Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude
• Marc Ecko's Getting UP: Contents Under Pressure
• Manhunt
• MeiQ: Labyrinth of Death
• Narc
• Necrovision
• Omega Labyrinth Z
• Paranautical Activity
• Postal
• Postal 2
• Phantasmagoria
• Reservoir Dogs
• Risen
• Saints Row IV
• State of Decay
• Shellshock 2: Blood Trails
• Silent Hill: Homecoming
• Singles: Flirt Up Your Life
• Soldier of Fortune: Payback
• South Park: The Stick of Truth
• Syndicate
• The Witcher 2: Assassin's of Kings
• Valkyrie Drive Bhikkhuni
• Voyeur

EDIT: It was not my intention to make two separate posts. x_x

 

[Aranea]

No surprise this has been banned there. I believe that at one point Mortal Kombat 9 was banned on Australia for a while. Thankfully people will have the option to import this game.

 

[Ostrava04]

Sucks that it was ban. Just put the appropriate rating on it and call it a day. The game's not for everyone and a shame for those that do want to get it. At least there's an import option.

 

[Dunki]

"They look underage" apparently triggers. (and I agree, they do)

Thats Australia... So it is not really surprising. They are fucked up.

Australia's 'small breast' ban


Australia's government is "banning" adult publications and films featuring women with "small breasts," says Aussie activist Fiona Patten, on the grounds that such images encourage pedophilia. Patton, leader of the anti-censorship Australian Sex Party, is taking issue with a 2005 ruling which specified that even depictions of women who are over 18 but "appear to be" underage may be judged "illegal." Is this alleged practice a strategic way to fight child pornography, or — as Patten maintains — an absurd reaction to a perfectly normal female body type?

http://theweek.com/articles/497091/australias-small-breast-ban

 

[Holy Order Sol]

shit like that actually puts these games on my radar lmao

 

[Battlechili]

I can't confirm this yet, but it is highly likely the game is now banned in the UK as well.
Some customers are reporting that some UK-based online stores such as "shopto" and "365games" are removing store pages for the game and customers who preordered it are reporting that they're receiving emails from the stores that their preorders were cancelled due to the game being banned in the UK. In addition to this, Steiner, a translator at PQube, recently posted this on Twitter. His username prior to this post was "Omega Steiner". As such, there's a good chance that the game is indeed banned in the UK.

Before anyone does, I wouldn't throw up your arms in frustration just yet. Wait until this is confirmed. But it is looking to be very likely.

 

[Mattyp]

Curiously not the Witcher 3 or 1, but only 2.
Here's a list of all games banned in Australia for the curious:

• 50 Cent: Bulletproof
• Blitz: The League
• BMX XXX
• The Bug Cather
• Crimecraft
• Dark Sector
• Dreamweb
• Enzai: Falsely Accused
• Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number
• Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude
• Marc Ecko's Getting UP: Contents Under Pressure
• Manhunt
• MeiQ: Labyrinth of Death
• Narc
• Necrovision
• Omega Labyrinth Z
• Paranautical Activity
• Postal
• Postal 2
• Phantasmagoria
• Reservoir Dogs
• Risen
• Saints Row IV
• State of Decay
• Shellshock 2: Blood Trails
• Silent Hill: Homecoming
• Singles: Flirt Up Your Life
• Soldier of Fortune: Payback
• South Park: The Stick of Truth
• Syndicate
• The Witcher 2: Assassin's of Kings
• Valkyrie Drive Bhikkhuni
• Voyeur

EDIT: It was not my intention to make two separate posts. x_x

95% of these games would pass now if resubmitted with the R18 rating. I'll be honest I've never heard of Omega and watching that trailer didn't reveal anything it would likely be banned for. Is there pedophile under linings or what? Any clips of the absolute worst of it?

 

[buizel]

Can't watch video atm. What's wrong with the game I'm confused? Is it depiction of young girls with big breasts? Isn't that like 90% anime?

The description isn't super clear. I feel like dead or alive has a character called Kasumi with giant tits and she's 14? Or am I making this up?

 

[buizel]

Sorry for DP wanted to add an edit but wouldn't let me:


Edit: okay googled the game holy shit lol. Though I've definitely seen someone stream some really pervy anime game on PS4 like this,... Just bump up the age of characters? Pretty sure that often happens when anime stuff goes west, presumably as a result of the lower age of consent in Asia? Not sure.

 

[Aranea]

PQube has now confirmed the game has also been banned on UK and Germany. You can read the official announcement here.

 

[Dunki]

welp guess I now have to buy this piece of shit instead of God of War. Too bad.....

 

[KevinKeene]

welp guess I now have to buy this piece of shit instead of God of War. Too bad.....

This shitty censoring, well, banning actually, really makes me consider buying this game, despite having no real interest.

 

[Dark_Tzitzimine]

 

[Battlechili]

95% of these games would pass now if resubmitted with the R18 rating. I'll be honest I've never heard of Omega and watching that trailer didn't reveal anything it would likely be banned for. Is there pedophile under linings or what? Any clips of the absolute worst of it?

The short answer to your question/explanation according to them is that it has the usual rubbing minigames a lot of these fanservicey games have been having lately, and that there is at least one character who appears to be underage. The VSC fears that such content would normalize said behavior in the minds of impressionable younger people. The specific reasons for its banning are here. (they have a lot to say about it)
I'm not going to post clips here because while this place is much more relaxed in terms of content, I think anything that NSFW might still be a bit much. You can go digging around for gameplay footage if you want though.

PQube has now confirmed the game has also been banned on UK and Germany. You can read the official announcement here.

RIP
So much for that.
I'm worried that these sorts of bannings will discourage PQube from persuing other heavily fanservicy titles such as Bullet Girls. I've been begging for a release of Bullet Girls 2 in particular for ages.

 

[Dr. Claus]

And people wonder why there are companies that create English versions and just have you import them at this point. This censorship/babysitting by governmental bodies is just silly. Thankfully import fees from sites like Play-Asia are not too expensive.

 

[Guyver]

Yes its confirmed that it is also banned in the UK http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-43414617

 

[Cato]

Curiously not the Witcher 3 or 1, but only 2.
Here's a list of all games banned in Australia for the curious:

EDIT: It was not my intention to make two separate posts. x_x

Thanks for this list. I will order these ones, a few at a time, just to spite the silly ban.

 

[Shpeshal Nick]

I mean, in a works where we finally have an R rating and all consoles are now region free, why bother banning a game here anymore?

 

[Inviusx]

I don't have a problem with the ban. Why don't you just go watch the literally thousands of hours of anime porn on the internet for free.

 

[JohannCK]

"They look underage" apparently triggers. (and I agree, they do)

Didn't Australia ban all porn with women who don't fulfil stringent cup size requirements with this given as the reasoning?

 

[Battlechili]

Why don't you just go watch the literally thousands of hours of anime porn on the internet for free.

This game isn't pornographic...
To answer your question though, porn is nice and all but one can appreciate titillation without feeling the need to actually utilize porn. Plus sometimes a tease leaving some room to the imagination is more attractive than actual full on porn. The thing is, games like this or Senran Kagura or Dead or Alive or Gal Gun etc. are enjoyable not just because of the titillation but are simply more enjoyable because the titillation is there. Like you're getting to enjoy your boobs alongside your roguelike gameplay. Having one or the other isn't as fun as having both at once.

I really like Mystery Dungeon games and this seems to have that sort of gameplay. I'm also a sicker for ecchi. This game fulfills both of those criteria. It's satisfying to explore dungeons and take advantage of your loot to help you progress.

 

[Dunki]

I don't have a problem with the ban. Why don't you just go watch the literally thousands of hours of anime porn on the internet for free.

So basically I do not care so I am ok with Censorship....

 

[JohannCK]

So basically I do not care so I am ok with Censorship....

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out...

 

[PedroPanache]

I just watched the trailer for the Valkyrie game, and, well, if that's what you're into, good luck with that. I'm not really familiar with anime and genre tropes, but I think it's entirely appropriate to remove the ages from the game for the Western version, among other minor changes. As for the censorship, as an outsider looking in on the genre, it does look extremely suspect and perhaps crosses a line, in terms of the overt sexualisation of characters that could pass for children. It's dubious enough to raise an eyebrow.

 

[Koala Driving a Ferrari]

Didn't Australia ban all porn with women who don't fulfil stringent cup size requirements with this given as the reasoning?

They planned to until 99% of normal women in Oz rose above the 1% of ultra militant feminists and made their presence known.

 

[JohannCK]

They planned to until 99% of normal women in Oz rose above the 1% of ultra militant feminists and made their presence known.

Well it's certainly good to know that common sense isn't dead.

 

[Koala Driving a Ferrari]

Well it's certainly good to know that common sense isn't dead.

Thankfully there are some that still stand up for common sense every now and again.