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San Andreas Banned In Australia

Posted by Zonk on from the who-needs-choice? dept.

UoNTidal writes "The Sydney Morning Herald reports that following the revelation that the 'Hot Coffee' sex minigame was included in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, the Office of Film & Literature Classification has revoked the game's classification, making it illegal for the game to be sold in its current form in Australia. As the highest classification available [PDF link] for computer games is MA15+ (as opposed to R18+ for films that can be sold in all states and territories), the sex scenes in 'Hot Coffee' pushed the game outside the permitted content for that rating, effectively banning the game."

2 of 133 comments (clear)

  1. At least there is a written rating guide... by LordEd · · Score: 3, Informative

    At least there is a specified rating guide for content instead of an arbitrary one. According to Australian rating codes from TFA, the mini-game pushes it beyond the acceptable rating in the sex category. A mini-game is a little bit more than implied (although it is still modified in order to access the content).

    MA15+: The impact of material classified MA 15+ should be no higher than strong.

    THEMES: The treatment of strong themes should be justified by context.
    VIOLENCE: Violence should be justified by context. Sexual violence may be implied, if justified by context.
    SEX: Sexual activity may be implied.
    LANGUAGE: Strong coarse language may be used. Aggressive or very strong coarse language should be infrequent.
    DRUG USE: Drug use should be justified by context.
    NUDITY: Nudity should be justified by context.

    R18+: The impact of material classified R 18+ should not exceed high.
    THEMES: There are virtually no restrictions on the treatment of themes.
    VIOLENCE: Violence is permitted. Sexual violence may be implied, if justified by context.
    SEX: Sexual activity may be realistically simulated. The general rule is "simulation, yes - the real thing, no".
    LANGUAGE: There are virtually no restrictions on language.
    DRUG USE: Drug use is permitted.
    NUDITY: Nudity is permitted.

  2. Re:Anyone surprised? It's Australia by Dioscorea · · Score: 3, Informative
    Over the past couple of years, whenever there is a story about censorship involving the net or games, chances are it was coming out of Australia.

    it is particularly ironic as prostitution is legal in Oz...