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Saints Row IV Refused Classification in Australia... again

jambo

Member
http://www.classification.gov.au/Ne...sificationbytheClassificationReviewBoard.aspx

Monday July 29th - Saints Row IV classified Refused Classification

A three-member panel of the Classification Review Board has unanimously determined that the computer game Saints Row IV is classified Refused Classification.

In the Review Board’s opinion, Saints Row IV could not be accommodated within the R 18+ classification as drug use related to incentives and rewards is not permitted.

Press Release

Fucks sake.



EDIT: If some people didn't realise, this was the review of the original uncut game after a resubmission was requested. An "Aussie safe" version of the game is being worked on and will be submitted for review at some point.
 

TheDanger

Banned
lol I'm so glad I'm not from Australia, I guess importing is pretty expensive there too? It's so fucked up telling adults what they can and can't play.
 

Longshot

Member
Nanny state level bullshit.

It's a straight up dictatorship, being told what we can and can't have. We'll never learn.
 

magenta

Member
I bet the panel still considers games are meant for children, I would love to hear them expand their reasoning for the decision.

R18+ has ended up being a false promise.
 

Ouren

Member
I'm really excited to see what Volition does to rise to this challenge. I'd bet anything that this might lead to a totally hilarious and different Aussie version.


Preparing my import copy.
 

Leb

Member
But surely this is understandable?

The members of the Classification Review Board are chosen to be broadly representative of the Australian community. This means that they are drawn from diverse areas, age groups and backgrounds. Board members are not required to hold any specific qualifications, but they must meet certain selection criteria which reflects the experience and qualities needed to effectively carry out their role.

Well, fantastic, let's go to the rolls and examine this broadly representative sample!

Oh, wait, it's 4 middle-aged white women and a middle-aged white man, most of whom have young children.
 

Striek

Member
lol I'm so glad I'm not from Australia, I guess importing is pretty expensive there too? It's so fucked up telling adults what they can and can't play.

Importing is much cheaper than buying local usually. However if you import RC content it can be seized by customs and fined upto $110k. Though I doubt they have the ability to identify even a fraction of the RC games imported.
 

miks

Neo Member
The Review Board convened on Monday 29 July 2013 in response to an application from Koch Media GmbH, to review the decision made by the Classification Board on 19 June 2013 to classify Saints Row IV Refused Classification

This isn't for the 'censored' version of Saints Row 4 but a review of the unedited version that was submitted earlier so the censored version is yet to go through classification.
 

TheDanger

Banned
Importing is much cheaper than buying local usually. However if you import RC content it can be seized by customs and fined upto $110k. Though I doubt they have the ability to identify even a fraction of the RC games imported.

That's the case for me too (I'm from Austria, I import from the UK), can't remember the last time I bought a USK version of a game. I stopped once they started not including the English language voice overs on the disc for some games, you can't imagine how horrible German dubs for games are.
 

Soulflarz

Banned
This isn't for the 'censored' version of Saints Row 4 but a review of the unedited version that was submitted earlier so the censored version is yet to go through classification.
Thanks for the info
In said case, op, please read OP...
 

Casimir

Unconfirmed Member

Fasty

Member
I don't understand. Honestly. I'm not having a go at the board, but rather the rules that they have to abide by. Saint's Row gets banned for drug use, while we are forced to mash buttons to rip people's heads off and gouge people's eyes out in the likes of God of War and Battlefield 3, have insanely graphic deaths in Max Payne and Mortal Kombat, or mow down civilians in CoD. Something's not right.
 

Satchel

Banned
Good that Xbox One and PS4 are both region free.

Would have to import this from the US or UK for those who want it.

My PS3 copy of Mortal Kombat got through fine a couple of years ago.
 

saunderez

Member
ausGAF should be ashamed of itself right now.
I didn't personally decide the rating, why should I feel ashamed? If anyone should feel ashamed it should be the ratings board for sending business (money) overseas. They aren't stopping shit and we all know it.
 

jambo

Member
This isn't for the 'censored' version of Saints Row 4 but a review of the unedited version that was submitted earlier so the censored version is yet to go through classification.

I know, but it's still a load of bollocks that they don't think adults can handle a game with positive drug effects in it.

Added info to OP.
 
sounds like the whole PAL version is getting heavily neutered? :(

Odds are low, since Germany-only editions of games do exist. Frankly, at this point it may be too much trouble for Deep Silver than its worth and release one uncensored version of the game anywhere outside Australia.
 

Leb

Member
On the other hand, while Australia is persisting in this idiocy, just across the pond, the UK is implementing a delightful opt-out only censorship program for all commodity Internet providers.
 

JaseC

gave away the keys to the kingdom.
I don't understand. Honestly. I'm not having a go at the board, but rather the rules that they have to abide by. Saint's Row gets banned for drug use, while we are forced to mash buttons to rip people's heads off and gouge people's eyes out in the likes of God of War and Battlefield 3, have insanely graphic deaths in Max Payne and Mortal Kombat, or mow down civilians in CoD. Something's not right.

The OFLC has always had a stick up its arse about illicit substances being used for rewarding purposes and even the remotest hint of sexual violence. The board still operates under the dated assumption that "moral standards" should be strictly enforced upon the classification of video games in particular due to their interactive nature -- the amount of scenes you could pull from an R18+ film that would result in a game being refused classification would be virtually unquantifiable.

The classification system here is woefully inadequate and is in dire need of a revamp.

it's a pretty nice place to live. And importing is cheaper than buying retail anyway.

And on the PC side you can just buy the game from, say, Amazon or have someone on Steam gift it you.
 

Casimir

Unconfirmed Member
I didn't personally decide the rating, why should I feel ashamed? If anyone should feel ashamed it should be the ratings board for sending business (money) overseas. They aren't stopping shit and we all know it.


National pride, not personal.
 
Odds are low, since Germany-only editions of games do exist. Frankly, at this point it may be too much trouble for Deep Silver than its worth and release one uncensored version of the game anywhere outside Australia.

Germany/Australia only -editions are very rare. Its usually one copy for the whole PAL region. Just with different cover art.

A more likely scenario is that Deep Silver just makes one censored edition and releases that instead of spending money on any special editions.
 

Zaptruder

Banned
Just replace references to drugs with references to energy drinks, sugar pills and other 'valid forms of stimulants'.

Wink and a nod to the poisons we let through legally into society.
 
R18+ was never going to be open slather, it's going to take a review of the classification guidelines overall to change what is allowed classification. Unfortunately that doesn't have as catchy a tagline as "Yay we got R18+".

Drugs use for benefit is a crutch that the ACB fall on regularly.
 

LiK

Member
So what was changed in GTA4? I remember there was a whole string of sidemissions smuggling drugs around.
 

Enco

Member
I'm sorry but that's fucking embarrassing.

Thank god I don't live there. That being said, we're getting a porn filter in the UK so the nanny state is nearly as bad.
 

JaseC

gave away the keys to the kingdom.
The funny part of all of this is it supposedly literally just had that Lol.

The introduction of an R18+ rating was never going to change much when it's still bound to rather vague guidelines that leave a lot up to personal interpretation and an extreme lack of diversity amongst OFLC board members.

Did GTA 4 make it to Aus? because if it did then nothing makes sense anymore.

It did. It's often assumed that the original console release of GTAIV was RC'd here and consequently censored, but in fact R* made the changes pre-emptively -- the censored version was the only one submitted for classification. Incidentally, this action proved to be unnecessary, as the belated PC port was submitted without changes and also granted a MA15+ classification, which paved the way for Episodes from Liberty City to receive the same treatment.
 
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