Jamshyd
Bluelight Crew
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Latest Silent Hill horror title refused classification down under; local distributor will wait until early 2009 for a possible resubmission.
This year has been a depressing one for Aussie gamers when it comes to bans, with three games failing to meet Australia's strict classification requirements. Dark Sector, Shellshock 2: Blood Trails, and Fallout 3 were all banned in 2008, with both Dark Sector and Fallout 3 eventually allowed back into the country after some modifications were made. It seems that's not the end of the banning story for this year, however, with confirmation coming this afternoon that Konami's upcoming Silent Hill: Homecoming has also been refused classification, making it illegal to sell in Australia.
An Atari spokesman (Atari is the local distributor for Konami titles) confirmed the game banning to GameSpot AU, saying that Australia's Classification Board found issue with the high impact of Silent Hill's violence. Examples used by the Board in its report include copious blood spray in the game, decapitations, partially dismembered corpses, numerous scenes of attacks, fights, torture, and death.
The spokesman said plans for Homecoming's Australian release are now "on the backburner until early next year" pending discussions with Konami to see if any changes can be made to accommodate Australia's classification regime.
Silent Hill is one of the leading franchises in the survival-horror genre, with Homecoming following the story of a war veteran going back to his hometown to search for his missing brother. The multiplatform game was originally slated to be released in Australia in November this year.
In Australia, the highest rating available to a game is MA15+, as opposed to other forms of media such as film or DVDs which have an R18+ classification (the R rating prohibits sales to anyone under the age of 18). Games which feature content deemed unsuitable for a MA15+ rating are refused classification and are effectively banned from sale. This year, both Dark Sector and Shellshock 2 were banned because of violent content, while Fallout 3 was initially banned because the game supposedly showed positive effects from in-game drug use.
For more about Australia's game classification system, check out GameSpot AU's in-depth Censory Overload feature.
By: Randolph Ramsay
Posted Sep 25, 2008 9:43 pm PT
Story from GameSpot: http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/adventure/silenthill5/news.html?sid=6198219
Copyright ©2008 CNET Networks, Inc., a CBS Company. All rights reserved.
Sucks for you, ozzies
.
This year has been a depressing one for Aussie gamers when it comes to bans, with three games failing to meet Australia's strict classification requirements. Dark Sector, Shellshock 2: Blood Trails, and Fallout 3 were all banned in 2008, with both Dark Sector and Fallout 3 eventually allowed back into the country after some modifications were made. It seems that's not the end of the banning story for this year, however, with confirmation coming this afternoon that Konami's upcoming Silent Hill: Homecoming has also been refused classification, making it illegal to sell in Australia.
An Atari spokesman (Atari is the local distributor for Konami titles) confirmed the game banning to GameSpot AU, saying that Australia's Classification Board found issue with the high impact of Silent Hill's violence. Examples used by the Board in its report include copious blood spray in the game, decapitations, partially dismembered corpses, numerous scenes of attacks, fights, torture, and death.
The spokesman said plans for Homecoming's Australian release are now "on the backburner until early next year" pending discussions with Konami to see if any changes can be made to accommodate Australia's classification regime.
Silent Hill is one of the leading franchises in the survival-horror genre, with Homecoming following the story of a war veteran going back to his hometown to search for his missing brother. The multiplatform game was originally slated to be released in Australia in November this year.
In Australia, the highest rating available to a game is MA15+, as opposed to other forms of media such as film or DVDs which have an R18+ classification (the R rating prohibits sales to anyone under the age of 18). Games which feature content deemed unsuitable for a MA15+ rating are refused classification and are effectively banned from sale. This year, both Dark Sector and Shellshock 2 were banned because of violent content, while Fallout 3 was initially banned because the game supposedly showed positive effects from in-game drug use.
For more about Australia's game classification system, check out GameSpot AU's in-depth Censory Overload feature.
By: Randolph Ramsay
Posted Sep 25, 2008 9:43 pm PT
Story from GameSpot: http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/adventure/silenthill5/news.html?sid=6198219
Copyright ©2008 CNET Networks, Inc., a CBS Company. All rights reserved.
Sucks for you, ozzies
.
