I wondered why the website for the Classification Board slowed to a standstill earlier today. It appears that a local retail source is claiming to have received notification that the latest installment in the Mortal Kombat series, simply titled Mortal Kombat, has been refused classification by the Australian Classification Board and to cancel all pre-orders.

The report comes from IGN Australia who are claiming to have received word from a "reliable" retail outlet received an email stating that the hotly anticipated reboot of the unashamedly violent fighting series "will not be released in Australia".

Furthermore, IGN reports that the retail outlet has been told to "remove all references to the game - signage and display cases - as well as cancel all preorders in Australia", although the decision "might be overturned in the future". For the meantime however, according to the alleged email, these steps are "currently necessary".

The Classification Board have not posted any classification decision at time of writing.

The game is still currently available for pre-order on both GAME and EB Games online stores at time of writing and contacting retail managers for both chains, as well as Gametraders, has come up empty.

UPDATE: Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment have released the following statement:

"The highly anticipated video game Mortal Kombat, published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment (WBIE) in Australia, has been refused classification by the Australian Classification Board and will not release in Australia. We are extremely disappointed that Mortal Kombat, one of the world’s oldest and most successful video games franchises, will not be available to mature Australian gamers. WBIE would not market mature content where it is not appropriate for the audience. We understand that not all content is for every audience, but there is an audience for mature gaming content and it would make more sense to have the R18+ classification in Australia. As a member of the iGEA, WBIE is reviewing all options available at this time."

UPDATE: Care of Kotaku, we have the following statement from Ron Currey, CEO of the Interactive Games & Entertainment Association

The granting of another RC to a video game clearly designed and targeted at ADULTS again highlights the shortcomings of the current classification scheme. In particular, the absence of an adult classification.

As with many other forms of media, there is a demand and place for an adult themed narrative. We trust adults with this material in other media forms, yet deny them similar access simply because it’s a ‘game’. We would not accept the argument that because it’s “unsuitable for a minor to see or play” that it should therefore be banned in any other media form, so why video games?

When a highly anticipated game receives an RC we can expect two things to happen; interest in obtaining the game will actually increase and people will still get the game either through importing (ordering online) or pirating; the latter an encouragement to commit a crime in order to perpetuate the crime of accessing illegal content. Ironically, the game is then widely available in Australia without any identifiable classification markings. How is this informing parents and protecting children?

It is the industry position that an adult classification sends a clear message to the public that the content is not suitable for minors and is the most effective means of guiding access to mature content. Refusing classification of titles that meet adult rating criteria in every other Western country in our digital age is ineffective and naïve.

It is also important to highlight that content that exceeds the guidelines of an R18+ classification, should it be introduced, would still be refused classification and banned in Australia.

Thanks to all those who have contacted us about the decision.

UPDATE: We have obtained a copy of the report from the Classification Board. It appears the main issue was with the game's fatalities, as to be expected "which depicts a character explicitly slaughtering their opponent". The board has taken into consideration the fact that "fatalities cannot be performed in Story mode and are unlikely to be performed frequently during gameplay; however, it is also noted that there are more than 60 fatalities available and they are an important component of the game".

Fatalities are nothing new to the series and have undoubtedly made it what it is to this day. The board has indicated that the fatalities "contain explicit depictions of dismemberment, decapitation, disembowelment and other brutal forms of slaughter. Despite the exaggerated conceptual nature of the fatalities and their context within a fighting game set in a fantasy realm, impact is heightened by the use of graphics which are realistically rendered and very detailed". Such fatalities cited by the Board include the following:

- Stryker tasers his opponents and then explicitly shoots their head off with his gun. Blood and gore is noted.

- Shao Khan uses his hands to explicitly rip an opponent’s body vertically in two

- Kitana uses her ‘folding fan’ weapon to explicitly dismember then decapitate her opponent, with copious blood flow noted.

Again, it all sounds pretty typical Mortal Kombat fare, although the big issue seems to be with how realistically the violence appears this time around.

The ultimate decision the board reached was such that "the game contains violence that exceeds strong in impact and is unsuitable for a minor to see or play. The game should therefore be Refused Classification pursuant to item 1(d) of the computer games table of the National Classification Board".