A lot of people we meet who've visited there tell us that Australia is very like America in many ways. Now our antipodean friends are to become more like the Americans than even the Americans themselves dare to be, with the news that GTA: San Andreas is to be completely banned down under.
The Hot Coffee debacle, at best a backfiring developer in-joke, at worst a cynical, built-in marketing boost, has led to San Andreas being reclassified in the US to 'AO', the highest possible for a video game. This in turn has resulted in its disappearance from the shelves of Wal-Mart, but it is still possible to find a copy in the States if you want one.
The Australian Office of Film and Literature Classification has simply revoked the 'age fifteen and over' rating previously granted the game, with the result that it is no longer available anywhere in Australia, nor can it be advertised in any way there.
Over here in Europe, the game's status will remain unchanged, with PEGI and the BBFC sticking to the 18+ ratings that GTA has carried since its release.
For our part, we just find it a little odd that a when a game glamorises guns and violence, that's OK, but any reference to mankind's oldest recreational (and, indeed, procreational!) pastime sees it banned as sick filth. You'll recall that Australia also banned the recent return of Leisure Suit Larry, a game which, while featuring no violence of any sort, is a little on the smutty side for their prudish tastes. Heaven knows it's been discussed in these forums plenty recently, but please let us know if you've any views on this latest development below. We await the Aussie OFLC's classification of forthcoming DS title Where Do Babies Come From? with interest…
The Hot Coffee debacle, at best a backfiring developer in-joke, at worst a cynical, built-in marketing boost, has led to San Andreas being reclassified in the US to 'AO', the highest possible for a video game. This in turn has resulted in its disappearance from the shelves of Wal-Mart, but it is still possible to find a copy in the States if you want one.
The Australian Office of Film and Literature Classification has simply revoked the 'age fifteen and over' rating previously granted the game, with the result that it is no longer available anywhere in Australia, nor can it be advertised in any way there.
Over here in Europe, the game's status will remain unchanged, with PEGI and the BBFC sticking to the 18+ ratings that GTA has carried since its release.
For our part, we just find it a little odd that a when a game glamorises guns and violence, that's OK, but any reference to mankind's oldest recreational (and, indeed, procreational!) pastime sees it banned as sick filth. You'll recall that Australia also banned the recent return of Leisure Suit Larry, a game which, while featuring no violence of any sort, is a little on the smutty side for their prudish tastes. Heaven knows it's been discussed in these forums plenty recently, but please let us know if you've any views on this latest development below. We await the Aussie OFLC's classification of forthcoming DS title Where Do Babies Come From? with interest…
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