Saints Row 2 rated in Australia, GTA IV appealed in NZ
By Chienne - Wed Jul 23, 2008 11:13am
While it seems that a lot of the news involving video games and the Classifications Board is fairly negative, detailing just which games you won't be able to buy in this country, today we've got some news that will turn the tides a bit.
THQ are pleased to announce that their upcoming sequel, Saints Row 2 has been granted an MA15+ rating (due to strong violence, sexual references and coarse language), meaning anyone in Australia over the age of 15 will be able to purchase the game unrestricted when it hits our shores on October 16th.
Even better? The publishers have confirmed that the game has not been edited for the Australian market!
That's right, the full version of Saints Row 2 has been approved, so Australian gamers will be playing the same version of the game as others in the rest of the world.
If you're in New Zealand, sit tight, now that the Australian board have given their rating, the New Zealand ratings board get to decide.
It's interesting to note the New Zealand Office of Film and Literature Classification is in the news today as well, with the local Society for the Promotion of Community Standards being granted permission to appeal the R18+ rating for Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto IV. The group has announced that they have an "arguable prima facie case" to be considered, and that the New Zealand Secretary of Internal Affairs has stated that their application for appeal is "tenable in that it could possibly succeed".
While it's unsurprising that someone, somewhere, is still getting upset over GTA IV some three months after the game hit shelves, it's worth noting the location of these protests. If you remember, in all the fuss over Australia getting an edited version of the game, it was revealed that New Zealand would be getting exactly the same edits to their local copies. So - the SPCS are not appealing the classification of the world-wide copy of the game, as the developers intended it. The decision they are appealing is one from the New Zealand OFLC that deemed GTA IV suitable for only those over 18 - the exact same game that was considered by the Australian classifications board to be appropriate for 15 year olds.
Interesting.
THQ are pleased to announce that their upcoming sequel, Saints Row 2 has been granted an MA15+ rating (due to strong violence, sexual references and coarse language), meaning anyone in Australia over the age of 15 will be able to purchase the game unrestricted when it hits our shores on October 16th.
Even better? The publishers have confirmed that the game has not been edited for the Australian market!
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That's right, the full version of Saints Row 2 has been approved, so Australian gamers will be playing the same version of the game as others in the rest of the world.
If you're in New Zealand, sit tight, now that the Australian board have given their rating, the New Zealand ratings board get to decide.
It's interesting to note the New Zealand Office of Film and Literature Classification is in the news today as well, with the local Society for the Promotion of Community Standards being granted permission to appeal the R18+ rating for Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto IV. The group has announced that they have an "arguable prima facie case" to be considered, and that the New Zealand Secretary of Internal Affairs has stated that their application for appeal is "tenable in that it could possibly succeed".
While it's unsurprising that someone, somewhere, is still getting upset over GTA IV some three months after the game hit shelves, it's worth noting the location of these protests. If you remember, in all the fuss over Australia getting an edited version of the game, it was revealed that New Zealand would be getting exactly the same edits to their local copies. So - the SPCS are not appealing the classification of the world-wide copy of the game, as the developers intended it. The decision they are appealing is one from the New Zealand OFLC that deemed GTA IV suitable for only those over 18 - the exact same game that was considered by the Australian classifications board to be appropriate for 15 year olds.
Interesting.
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