WB To Appeal Australia's Effective Ban on Mortal Kombat

dotarray writes "Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment have confirmed that they are appealing the Australian Classification Board's decision to effectively ban the reboot of Mortal Kombat in that country. The publisher has also confirmed that there is no intention to censor or modify the game – because then it 'wouldn't be Mortal Kombat.'"

Comments

They've got a point

[Shadow of Eternity]

Mortal Kombat without the (often hilariously) excessive violence is more or less like going to a strip club to look at shoes.

More publishers need to follow this example

[Anonymous Coward]

It's good to see a publisher appealing this totally stupid decision instead of folding and releasing another watered down "Australian" version. If enough publishers do this it will continue to let lawmakers know that Australians are not little kids who cannot handle mature video game content that the rest of the world can.

Re:More publishers need to follow this example

[Aeternitas827]

It's not a poor decision that adults shouldn't be able to hop on down to their local game outlet and pick up a title they want, because the kiddies' heads might be addled by it?

It's not red tape, it's idiocy. Yes, the guidelines are set and codified, and they're ridiculous. Saying something isn't appropriate for a 15 year old (a generalization so ungodly vague, I can't even begin to analogize it) isn't suitable for sale to ANYONE in the country is preposterous; only someone saying that it's completely off-base (for one reason or another) is going to have a chance to bring attention to, and possibly change, the status quo.

End of the day, here's a brilliant idea: how about, worldwide, parents be parents. Take an interest in your child(ren)'s idle time, monitor what they do, what they buy, how they act, and how they communicate with the world outside of your home. And, holy hell, if you see or find something you find unsettling, talk to them about it, and if you're not successful in doing that, get outside help. Will there be some children that still fly off the handle? Unfortunately, yes, there will be--there's no sure-fire way to prevent someone who is truly ill from slipping through, and in some cases, those who are ill will take inspiration from creative works. But, remember, correlation does not equal causation, and if a parent pays goddam attention, some of the bull being blamed on games probably becomes avoidable.

Re:More publishers need to follow this example

[wildstoo]

It's more likely that they realise that a lot of parents are fucking morons who don't give two shits about what they're buying for their children and the lawmakers are actually worried that little kids are a hot-button issue that could mean the difference between re-election and having to get a real job.

FTFY.

I'm an Aussie, I just don't buy games in Aus

[AbRASiON]

I own a PS3 (and a PC) - I just import my games, they are cheaper, region free on the PS3- and normally 50% cheaper (sometimes less, often MORE than 50% cheaper)

Even if I haven't heard news that the game is going to be cut for Australian audiences anymore, I can't bare to risk the stupidity. Example GTA4, no one (in the public) really seemed to know about the US version having slightly different sex than the Aussie version until a few weeks after release. Fuck that stupidity, I'll just pay less - have the patience to wait a week or two and enjoy my games as they were designed.

Re:Not released in australia..

[Anonymous Coward]

No, they cannot. As a German I can tell you that stores like Direct2Drive, Gamersgate, Impulse, Steam, etc. ALL enforce region restrictions. Games that are censored/banned here generally aren't being sold to Germans, even if the seller is a US (or some other country) company. It's fairly common to see restrictions like "this game is not available in your country" or even "this game is available worldwide except Korea, Germany and Australia".