Addendum: And as for difference between the US and Australia, I wouldn't trade a country with a robust government backed health care and social security system for what you guys have at all.

Our two counties are quite different. I could make comment on the poverty levels in the US as an glaring indictment on your government's policies ... but I won't. All countries have fault. Utopia does not exist.

The OFLC gave No More Heroes an M ("mature" but unrestricted) rating. The description they give for Dark Sector could almost be applied letter-for-letter, except for the "naturalistic" part -- NMH hyperintensifies its violence by using what could be considered a surrealist touch to its environment, which I guess makes it okay to body-slam a foe into the ground and then impale them on an electrified sword while they whimper. There's only two conclusions that I can come to: either Dark Sector uses the most advanced technology ever devised for a videogame in order to bring the realism to a level where it could actually be confused with reality, or somebody in the land down under needs to take a second look at this decision.

So did Australia ban all of the Mortal Kombat games? Because that glaive move sounds pretty lame compared to MK fatalities.

@ Michael

You know what is funny? That is exactly the reason why the government should have no say on what media is allowed and what rating if any it gets.

I can't believe that people in the US want that kind of system here.

I posted this on destructoid , and am copy/pasting here( with a few edits).
------------------

I can't say i was awaiting Dark Sector with baited breath, but outright bannination is a joke. Seems kind of ridiculous to me , as from what I've seen of the game, it doesn't appear to be any more violent than say, Gears of War.

I really hope the OFLC pulls their collective heads out of their collective arse and realise an R (restricted to 18+ for our international friends) rating for games is needed. Not only do we have crap like this happening, but there's also the occasional game that slips through with an MA (15+) rating when it probably should have been rated R.( The original Manhunt springs to mind.)

Without wishing to get on the soapbox, I urge everyone in Australia who's bothered by this to write a letter (not email) to the OFLC.

Office of Film and Literature Classification
Locked Bag 3
HAYMARKET NSW 1240

Keep it civil, concise and respectful.

Consider that the game development community in Australia is thriving at the moment and IIRC has been pushing for the introduction of a R rating for a while now. If enough pressure is applied by both the developers and consumers, it will be enough to facilitate change.

You might not care about not being able to play Dark Sector, but what about Ninja Gaiden 2 ? Silent Hill V ? GTA 4 ? If we keep acquiescing to censorship, shit like this is going to continue unabated.

The "excessive" violence isn't even that excessive. How many games nowadays have limb severing with enemy AI crying out in pain?

Oh no. violence depicted in games isn't cartoony enough? when you sever an enemy's arm rainbows don't pop out? When you kill someone the Lollipop Guild doesn't showup and dance?

Whatever will we do?

@muninn
An AO rating is the equivalent of refusing to rate a game in the Us though, as none of the console makers will allow it on their systems, and none of the major retailers will carry it. That's basically the same thing as banning it since no one beleives Americans are capable of making mature decisions about what to expose themselves to.

All in all, the game sounds promising. I just hope it's fun to play.

@void
I know that an AO is a death sentence for a game, as consoles won't license it, and stores won't stock it, but at least we have a rating for "banned", as opposed to just not rating the thing. it's a minor point of etiquette, but it seems better to at least rate it something.

Well hope fully dark sector is the interesting game i though it was when i first saw it.

What is the storyline for the game even i havent heard to much about it all I know is that he used to be a Soldier then he got mutatated or something?

"When Hayden cuts off his opponent’s limb with the glaive, large amounts of blood spray forth from the stump and the injured person screams in agony"

Which is what I expect to happen. Bloody hell..

Same country that only a week ago apologized to the aboriginees for all the atrocities against them and 'till 1967 had them classified as wildlife.. Maybe irrelevant but to me it says something.

@Discombobulator:
BBFC rating: 18
(linked)

Australia needs a R18+ rating for games and fast. It's really unfair that movies can have an R18+ rating but a video game can't.

@ jack

yeah they like it to be not sylized... but only if its stylized. *head explodes with paradox*. It is pretty nonsensical how they change their minds.


@BMk

yeah its well unfair. I cant understand how movies have it n games dont. bloody stupid. didnt realise australia had such a daft ratings system, i thought the uk was bad!



i really dont get it overall though, you chop of somebodies arm and they scream... errr doesnt that happen in a lot of games and films?

HELL it happens on TV!!! anyone seen 24 or prison break has seen an arm get chopped off! (are those shows banned over there?), and which is more realistic. Human actors, or polygonal models with "large amounts" of uber squirty blood that "sprays forth"...

I'm convienced at this point that you can create an extremly violent game, but it would get maybe a "T" rating at the most if instead of blood rainbows shot out of wounds.

Now we're mandating HAPPY ENDINGS?! What is this, nineteen fifty-frigging-four? (See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comics_Code_Authority )

Why not create an MA17+ rating? The notion that the Australian game ratings board maxes out their ratings at 15 years of age suggests that teenagers are the oldest group of people that actively play video games. MA15+ sounds like "T and a half" in American ESRB terms.

I understood, when they banned Manhunt. I understood, when they banned Manhunt too. I was irritated, when they banned Soldier of Fortune..

Now I'm just mad, I was looking foward to this game, it was on my list of game that I was goig to get when I get a 360...

We REALLY need an 18M rating here.. this is just ridiculous.. for once, I actually think I might get the whole idea of "slippery slope" people keep talking about >.

How did Turok get rated MA15+? I really can see the difference between it's killing moves and Dark Sectors...

sounds awesome, sucks it was delayed.

Well the US version only has an "M" rating, and it's still scheduled for a 2/26/08 release date.

I'd give you 20:1 odds there's an "option" to tone down the blood-spattering, though I'm sure almost all of you will ignore that ... :P I'll probably get a copy in March. (Have kinda run low on "expendable" funds this month!)

@300baud

That is, I believe *exactly* what these kinds of laws worldwide wants. Something like the Comics Code Authority, but more restrictive.

@That_1_Guy:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_banned_computer_and_video_games#Aus...

Although this game has not been added to the list yet.
Now that I see that we have more banned games than China I am
worried.

Michael,

What are you getting at?

Are you saying that it's acceptable for an organization to refuse Australians the option of playing certain games as long as the number of restricted titles pales in comparison to the total number available?


Andrew Eisen

In the absence of an R-rating, there are some games that should be banned for needlessly gratuitous violence. Usually you find companies use needlessly gratuitous violence to make up for a complete lack of content, story or gameplay. I can't see a single game on that list I'd WANT to play.

Note that I say "In the absence of an R-Rating". Personally I think we should. But if you think it'JUST a matter of slapping a sticker on the box and that's it, your very much mistaken. Industry needs to be consulted, legislation must be drafted and approved, laws written, appropriate punitive measures put in place and it has to be communicated to all retail outlets that sell game and that information being filtered all the way the the checkout people. It's a long and complicated process which will cost the max payer a lot of money .... and you wonder why they haven't bothered yet? We've just got a labor government that's slashing services in an effort to save money.

Short term. Not going to happen.

But you still have the option of playing those games. You just can't buy it over the counter. I consider the R-Rating to be those games you HAVE to purchase over the internet.

@Discombobulator

Australia has banned way more games than the UK has. The only 2 games I can think of that are banned in the UK are Manhunt 2 and (I think) Rule of Rose.

@Zerodash: I'm not helping the government do anything. They are already doing it without my help.

I'm simply voicing my opinion, which I have every right to do. As soon as governments cross that line of what I believe they should do, I'll voice my opinion just the same. I just happen to agree with them ... and I think that it's simple not cost effective or financially responsible policy to spend millions of dollars of tax-payer money introducing an R-Rating (especially in our current political/financial climate) that affects less than 20 games in as many years (most of which were crap anyway).

Why do game companies think that unnecessarily gratuitous violence is the perfect substitute for ACTUAL game content? And why is the younger generation so keen to lap it up? As an older gamer (I'm in my 40's), I prefer substance over shock value.

@Michael

Who are you to say what is unneccessary? What makes you trust the government to decide what is appropriate for YOU? Keep in mind that plenty of games with real depth and "merit" are just as easily banned for so-called objectionable content. BioShock was plenty violent, and there were voices calling for it to be banned.

Why should someone else have to decide for you what is best for you?

The following were banned or censored:

Manhunt
GTA III and San Andreas
Mark Ecko's Getting Up
Rule of Rose
Punisher

Yes some of Australia's banned games are terrible but the above are good to great (or in the case of Getting Up and Rule of Rose, at least worth a look). Getting Up isn't even particularly violent.

Why do game companies think that unnecessarily gratuitous violence is the perfect substitute for ACTUAL game content?

It's not a substitute for game content, it is the game content. If you don't like it, don't buy it. Simple. But it should never, ever be censored or banned because someone out there wants to play and enjoy it.

Manhunt has substance. It has a story. It has social commentary. It's also very violent. If that turns you off, you don't have to play it.

Andrew Eisen

@ Michael

You state you are agreeing that a government in a democracy can deny their citizens the right to choose what media they consume. Am I missing something?

I can agree with him on one point: the violence is kinda excessive, but not for a game of its genre. I think that excessive violence in games is there to make the player feel discomfort at his own actions, which might be the case with stories revolving around a "reluctant hero/villain".

Still, outright banning the game is overreacting. I still don't know why people in power aren't actually researching what they're trying so hard to ban/censor"whatever.

@Michael

Of course the US has it's flaws, but this site is Gamepolitics, so most of the time issues discussed here are related to games. Still, you'll find plenty of criticism of US politics and government in general in the comments sections for some news posts.

As flawed in some ways as the ESRB and the current US rating system is, I do prefer it over Australia's system. I think many people here do. That doesn't mean that we are trying to imply that it makes the US "better" than Australia or that there aren't other things that Australia handles better than the US. But the fact that Australia apparently has a very nice health care system isn't really related to this current article, nor does it change the fact that many people here really don't want the US adopting controls on game content similar to what Australia has, but some politicians and other people are hoping to do so. (And if the US did do that, it's not like it would fix our health care system. We'd have a bad health system and a bad game censorship system.)

One other thing. You said that if you really wanted a game, you'd just buy it over the Internet, because the rating system doesn't effect Internet sales. But if I recall correctly, in the case of Mark Echo's Getting Up, didn't the government try to stop even Internet sales?

damn im in the uk and i REALLY want rule of rose now.

anyone know where i can get it, its not on any internet retailers. It looks really interestin, n reviews say the story is great. looks like lord of the flies in a different setting.

All of this stupid nonsense about banning in the US.

No games could get banned just given a certain rating by which a couple had stuff cut out so they could get the game on the consoles right away for the money.

If a game producer was so eager to have us play the full uncut version of a game that got the AO rating they would go out of their way to pursuade the console makers to allow AO rated games or for there to be a new system in place so adults could at least play any uncut violent games yet they do not because they just care about getting the money in as fast as possible by making cuts.

Everyone needs to stop the ignorance about banning because no game gets banned in the US just sometimes rated wrong.

The worst that could happen with graphically violent games is that they are made even harder for children to play not banned because people would be all over the government about the Amendment and all the other problems in the country.

The game description sounds like most movies, such as the movie "Kill Bill". Is "Kill Bill" banned in Australia? NO! Why? Because IT'S A MOVIE and not REAL and doesn't effect ANYONE.

@Francesco D.

Unfortunately, Australia seems pretty much arse backwards when it comes to censorship and that is being said by an Australian.
We produce one of the most gruesome horror movies in years (Wolf Creek) which is far more impressionable than a game like Dark Sector yet it is the 'interactive media' that gets banned.
There is also a huge double standard with Getting Up and a game like Need For Speed Underground. We Australians have huge problems with hoons and street racers yet it is the game involving the far less dangerous incident of graffiti gets banned?

@ZippyDSMlee

Which is what one get's when voting for Ron Paul.

storm
 

i'm wonder why so many games were banned in Australia..up to now, 28 games were banned because of the censorship..is the censorship little bit strict?? compare with that in Canada..there is no game being banned..as reference..there is a list of the game banned in Australia..

Name	Reason
7 Sins	Banned because of high impact of sexual references.
50 Cent: Bulletproof	Banned because of high impact violence and cruelty.[3] A censored version was later released.[citation needed]
BMX XXX	Banned because of sexuality and nudity in relation to incentives and rewards.[4] A censored version was later released.[citation needed]
Dark Sector	Banned because of high impact violence. A censored version was later released.
Dreamweb	Banned because of a scene of sexualized violence. However, the game was censored, and re-released with an M15+ rating in 1996 for "Medium level animated violence."[5]
Duke Nukem 3D	Censored because of violence and sexual references. Was eventually released uncut with an MA15+ rating.
Fallout 3	Banned[6] for drug references. Subsequently edited worldwide with a removal of names of real-life drugs and resubmitted.
The Getaway	Banned because of high impact violence. A censored version was later released.
Grand Theft Auto III	Censored because of sexual violence.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas	Had its classification revoked following the Hot Coffee controversy and sexual violence. A censored version has since been classified MA15+.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City	Censored because of sexual violence.
Grand Theft Auto IV	Censored because of sexual violence.
Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude	Banned because of sexuality and nudity in relation to incentives and rewards.
Marc Eckō's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure	Banned because of high impact violence and the glorification of graffiti.
Manhunt	Was available for a while but later banned because of high impact scary violence and cruelty.
Manhunt 2	Banned because of high impact scary violence, cruelty and high impact of sexual references.
NARC (2005 update)	Banned because of high impact violence and illegal drug use.
Postal 2	Banned because of content (urination, high impact violence, cruelty, etc.)
Phantasmagoria	Banned because of high impact violence, cruelty, and a scene of sexual violence involving rape.
Phantasmagoria: A Puzzle of Flesh	Censored because of sexuality and nudity in relation to incentives and rewards.
Reservoir Dogs	Banned because of high impact violence and cruelty.
Shellshock: Nam '67	Banned because of high impact violence; however, it was re-rated MA15+ by the Classification Review Board in its uncut form, upon appeal.
Silent Hill: Homecoming	Drilling into body parts.
Singles: Flirt Up Your Life	Banned because of sexuality and nudity in relation to incentives and rewards.
Soldier of Fortune: Payback	Banned because of high impact violence. Activision has since modified the game to meet MA15+ guidelines.
Tender Loving Care	Banned because of high impact violence; however, it has since been re-rated MA15+.
The Punisher	Banned because of high impact violence; however, it has since been re-rated MA15+.
Voyeur	Banned because of a scene of explicit sexual dialogue.