Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

New Aliens Vs. Predator Game Doesn't Make It Past AU Ratings Board

Posted by Soulskill on from the gauntlet-thrown dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Australia refused to give Rebellion's new Aliens Vs. Predator game a rating, effectively banning it in the country. Rebellion says it won't be submitting an edited version for another round of classifications, however. (As Valve did with Left 4 Dead 2.) They said, 'We will not be releasing a sanitized or cut down version for territories where adults are not considered by their governments to be able to make their own entertainment choices.'"

4 of 277 comments (clear)

  1. Good to see game developers put their foot down by He+Who+Has+No+Name · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Refusal to put up with bullshit like Australia and Germany's ratings boards is the only way to bring them down. Tolerance for censorship only breeds familiarity and further tolerance.

    1. Re:Good to see game developers put their foot down by Mr.+Freeman · · Score: 5, Insightful

      "How do you refuse when they are backed with the full force of law?"

      You do something illegal. Very simple. Armed rebellion IS a legitimate choice.

      I'm surprised to hear all of this "I want to change the government because it is poor and doesn't represent my interests.... but I won't do anything illegal". FUCKING PICK ONE. Either put up with the bullshit, or do something about it, don't sit there and bitch like a whiney fuck.

      --
      -1 disagree is not a modifier for a reason. -1 troll, flaimbait, redundant, overrated are NOT acceptable substitutes.
  2. Apparently there's an I in democracy by ghmh · · Score: 5, Informative

    Quick explanation: Pretty much most of Australia would be happy to have an 'R' rating for computer games.

    This guy (Michael Atkinson), however would not. He has the power to veto it and continues to do so.

    Due to his geographical location, there's bugger all the majority of Australia can do about it from a voting perspective.

    I don't blame game publishers for not releasing stuff here. Effectively we're all just waiting for 'Nanny' Atkinson to become senile and finally leave his post as South Australia's attorney general.

    The thing that really worries me is how come they have this veto power for things like this in the first place....

  3. If I worked on AvP, I'd be partying over this. by zullnero · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If a ratings board bans their game, even if it's a derivative piece of movie-spawned crap, it's pure gold for marketing. There's no way that the Australian government is going to block kids from getting the game...they will find a way one way or the other. But they're definitely doing yeoman's work in promoting the game everywhere by giving it a big "bad" rating. All the ratings system does is provide a free benchmark for a particular genre to strive for because they know that's what will turn heads and sell their product.

    I know that if I were representing the company for this product, I'd be scheduling a big party to celebrate the rating and ban, not trying to make a political/free speech point out of it. The ratings system is an amazing helping hand to this particular venue.