South Park: The Stick of Truth Will be Censored in Australia

[Programmed_For_Damage]

What I like doing is getting on the OLFC website and checking out the titles of all the porno movies they've said are o.k, but then all the games they've knocked back. Given the average age of a gamer is in their 30's, who exactly are they protecting?

That said I saw an EB employee raking a 16 year old kid over the coals because he didn't have any id to prove he was over 15. It was the new Call Of Duty game so she was probably trying to save him from himself.

 

[shirkbot]

They didn't, Ubisoft has chosen to send a cut version, the uncut one was actually approved. Read the article rather than jumping on the hate wagon, so many people in here look like idiots since their hating on Australia for something it hasn't done.

While it is somewhat unreasonable to expect you to read the entire forum to see what's been written, this has since been resolved. To wit:

Not really. For all the complaints that games are still getting censored, even lighter versions of games were still getting denied classification and sale. Unless you're telling me R18+ is ALSO not stocked by retailers, there's no comparison. M18+ has a reason for existing: to allows certification and sale of more games to a more adult audience. Saying there's a question as to why it exists is ridiculous. There may be a question as to whether the level of certification is adequate, but that is not the same thing.

AO might as well not be certified. Games are getting R18+ certification that would have otherwise not been allowed for sale. Just because not every game fails to get through does not mean the certification is useless.

My apologies. I forgot that my viewpoint is skewed by news. I don't actually live in Australia, so it was sounding like this was more the norm, rather than the exception. But if they are getting certified then I'll just be happy to hear it. Sorry again for my ignorance.

But please do not mistake criticism of a singular policy as hatred for an entire nation.

 

[Astoria]

What is the point of having R ratings if games will still be changed to be like a MA version anyway? I'm pretty sure people over 18 can handle a little swearing. I get there are some careless parents out there who would buy it would younger kids but that's the parent's problem not the government's. Personally I don't understand the point of bleeping out swearing anyway, it just draws more attention to it and you usually can still tell what they're saying.

 

[Something Amyss]

My apologies. I forgot that my viewpoint is skewed by news. I don't actually live in Australia, so it was sounding like this was more the norm, rather than the exception. But if they are getting certified then I'll just be happy to hear it. Sorry again for my ignorance.

I did have to look it up, and the numbers of R18+ games are admittedly not large. Even with only a handful of games still being denied certification it's not hard for it to look like a huge skew.

However, it seems from what we now know, both South Park and Saints Row seem to have been at issue for the exact sort of things and that might point to a more specific cause. But with a list so small and a policy still in its infancy....

I don't know. I think I'm just rambling now.

And per the other post, yeah. having issue with a policy and/or mocking it doesn't mean anyone hates Aussies.

 

[Something Amyss]

What is the point of having R ratings if games will still be changed to be like a MA version anyway? I'm pretty sure people over 18 can handle a little swearing. I get there are some careless parents out there who would buy it would younger kids but that's the parent's problem not the government's. Personally I don't understand the point of bleeping out swearing anyway, it just draws more attention to it and you usually can still tell what they're saying.

The point is more games are available. Apparently anal probing is a sticking point (no pun intended...Okay, pun intended) with the Australian ratings board, but other games have been approved within the R18+ rating which likely would have been uncertified and either not released or revised for release.

I'm not saying the system is perfect, but there is a decisive point. Not everything is now immediately fair game, just as not everything is fair game in the states.

Remember, Manhunt 2 was originally given an AO rating by the ESRB, which meant it wouldn't have been sold in retail chains and it wouldn't be allowed on consoles.