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In 6 Months, Australia Bans More Than 240 Games

Posted by timothy on from the it-gets-easier dept.

dotarray writes with this snippet from (apropos) Player Attack: In the 20 years from 1995 to January 2015, there were 77 games Refused Classification in Australia. After January though, more than 240 games have been effectively banned by the Classification Board — an average of 40 per month. Most of these games are mobile- or digital-only releases you're unlikely to have ever heard of, with names like League Of Guessing, 'w21wdf AB test,' Sniper 3D Assault Zombie, Measure Bra Size Prank, and Virtual Marijuana Smoking showing up in just the first few pages. What games are banned in your country?

136 comments

  1. Get the CROCODILE HUNTER by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Immediately. It's an E-MER-GEN-CY!

  2. fewer and fewer... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Because publishes self-censor.

    1. Re:fewer and fewer... by Noah+Haders · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I agree, in US fewer and fewer games are banned (as a percent of all video games). This is because the number of avenues for games publishing is mushrooming, opening the door for many devs to publish games that wouldn't have gotten wide exposure before. At the same time, the costs of game development is dropping, creating a space for indie devs who aren't making the next AAA shooter.

      This creates a vibrant scene where we're seeing games about topics that would have been unthinkable before, because they would have been considered unviable and not worth the investment. Games about censorship. Games about cancer. Games about all sorts of topics, including ones that would be banned under traditional media, either by a govt agency or through self-censorship.

      It's the golden age of gaming!

    2. Re:fewer and fewer... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's the golden age of gaming!

      Didn't we already have that during the 1980s and early 1990s?

    3. Re:fewer and fewer... by Noah+Haders · · Score: 2

      fine, it's the silver age, like marvel/stan lee.

    4. Re: fewer and fewer... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You do realize that games can't be banned in the U.S. right? As long as they don't depict stuff that can be considered child pornography they're legal. Games are protected speech. Sure people can refuse to sell the games, but they're not banned under law.

    5. Re: fewer and fewer... by Noah+Haders · · Score: 2

      the OP had it best. they can be effectively banned if they won't sell. the publishers will self censor and focus on games that will sell. if walmart, target, gamestop etc refuse to sell a game then that scares the publishers. Combine this with an industry-wide rating system that evaluates content for appropriateness and you have a pretty effective censorship system, at least under the old industry structure. The new way, with google play and other online stores, publishers have much more freedom to explore game content. Apple is still pretty strict about content guidelines, but otherwise there's more freedom.

    6. Re:fewer and fewer... by cheesybagel · · Score: 2, Informative

      Australia can't have a game with blood in it and Germany can't have a game with Nazis in it.

    7. Re: fewer and fewer... by phantomfive · · Score: 4, Insightful

      the OP had it best. they can be effectively banned if they won't sell. the publishers will self censor and focus on games that will sell. if walmart, target, gamestop etc refuse to sell a game then that scares the publishers.

      Note this is different than Australia, where if you are caught trying to import censored video games (or movies), you can be fined and the censored objects will be destroyed.

      "People don't want to buy this game" is not the same as censorship.

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
    8. Re:fewer and fewer... by Z00L00K · · Score: 1

      Banned games? None that I know of where I live (Sweden).

      Of course - there are people crying that this or that should be banned for moral reasons, but unless it's classed as breaking some law like distribution of child pornography or being a trojan it's not going to be stopped.

      --
      If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker would destroy civilization.
    9. Re:fewer and fewer... by Z00L00K · · Score: 1

      It's not blood - it's red transmission fluid.

      --
      If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker would destroy civilization.
    10. Re:fewer and fewer... by Nyder · · Score: 1

      I agree, in US fewer and fewer games are banned (as a percent of all video games). This is because the number of avenues for games publishing is mushrooming, opening the door for many devs to publish games that wouldn't have gotten wide exposure before. At the same time, the costs of game development is dropping, creating a space for indie devs who aren't making the next AAA shooter.

      This creates a vibrant scene where we're seeing games about topics that would have been unthinkable before, because they would have been considered unviable and not worth the investment. Games about censorship. Games about cancer. Games about all sorts of topics, including ones that would be banned under traditional media, either by a govt agency or through self-censorship.

      It's the golden age of gaming!

      I do not agree with this being the Golden Age of Gaming. With the exception Nintendo, we have console companies that trying to bring PC gaming to the masses, with crappier hardware, questionable controls, a higher price and NO mod ability. Then the PC gets the crappy ports of the console games with the developers shitting on PC users.

      I don't even want to get started about the mobile game market. While there are a few gems, it's mostly copy cat crap, and finding the good stuff is like finding a needle in a haystack. On top of that, the in app purchase nags and other ways to get your money blow.

      PC side, we got developers that demand DRM, do some crappy Always Online Connection crap, which backfires, but then they keep doing that same thing, fore release after release. PC developers out right lying to their customers, saying something isn't possible when it damn well was. We got MS who says every few years about how they are going to be supporting PC gaming, and then never goes thru with anything.

      We've always have Indy Game Developers on the PC, it's just with the last 2 generation of Consoles, all the big developers think they need to do it Hollywood style, big triple AAA titles that have to sell 20 million units to make a profit. And guess what? That hasn't changed much in the last 20 years.

      It is not the Golden Age of Gaming.

      --
      Be seeing you...
    11. Re: fewer and fewer... by Jack+Griffin · · Score: 1

      "People don't want to buy this game" is not the same as censorship.

      It's the same end result. I used to work for a game distributor, and just like every other distributor in every other industry, there are channel managers who decide what products they think are worth trying to distribute. If your product comes across as unmarketable, then your game was effectively "un-buyable". Obviously this is no longer true in the age of the Internet, but the same goes for government censorship attempts.

    12. Re:fewer and fewer... by allcoolnameswheretak · · Score: 4, Informative

      You can have games with Nazis in it in Germany. But it has to be censored and all Nazi symbology has to be replaced or removed.
      For example, the new Wolfenstein game from Bethesda is available, but the swastikas in the German version are replaced by the stylized "W" from "Wolfenstein", and "SS" symbols like the deathshead or the "SS" itself have been removed entirely.
      Also, one scene where you wake up in a gas chamber surrounded by corpses has been altered and all corpses have been removed.

      The original "Wolfenstein 3D" was completely banned in Germany, because there was no censored version available.

      Personally, I think that is bullshit. Nazi symbols are generally illegal in Germany, but allowed under special circumstances such as for "artistic purposes". But then for some reason, they don't have to be removed from movies, such as Indiana Jones... I really don't see the justification for allowing it in movies but forbidding it in video games.

      But that's not all. Extreme kinds of violence in videgames are almost always also banned in Germany unless softened for the German market. Fallout 3 for example, where you can blow up individual body parts, is also altered to be less violent.

    13. Re:fewer and fewer... by Noah+Haders · · Score: 1

      there are plenty of online curated guides to help you cut through the crap, like toucharcade.com. steam and console platforms allow indies to post games for online download for a couple bucks. yes, before anybody could distribute their own shareware games and people could download them off their website, but that's not like today with massive distribution channels.

      I was corrected in another thread, it's the silver age of gaming.

    14. Re:fewer and fewer... by Daniel+Hoffmann · · Score: 1

      To me Wolfstein has the same artistic value as Inglourious Basterds. Wikipedia says that the film was not censored in germany, but the posters and such were. Yet the content itself of one was censored and the other was not.

    15. Re:fewer and fewer... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > I really don't see the justification for allowing it in movies but forbidding it in video games.

          Not so much 'allowed' in movies... it's just that for video games its easy & for movies it's harder. In games a production house can make it easy with some pre-planning. Just replace the graphic file with another one and republish the game's file: (offending.jpg with friendly.jpg). This easy change affects the whole game.

          Movies are different in that (for already existing productions) the required post-production editing sessions are problematic... they require getting the source film/video footage, editing out the real-life imagery, keeping it looking real (flags waving in the wind etc), and even getting permission. If it's a new film, that considers these offending images ahead of time, they'll just do the friendly logo to begin with- video editing is time consuming & expensive.

    16. Re:fewer and fewer... by allcoolnameswheretak · · Score: 1

      That might be a factor. But I think the major reason is that historically, film in Germany has enjoyed a good reputation as a cultural or entertainment asset. Videogames on the other hand are still somewhat stigmatized. If you out yourself as a gamer, there is still a sizeable portion of the German populace that will regard you as an immature time waster.
      If you have South Korea on the one side, where videogames are practically universally accepted and integrated in society, Germany is close to the opposite end of that.

    17. Re:fewer and fewer... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Can I get you a tissue, sweetie? Maybe some cream for your PC butthurt?

    18. Re:fewer and fewer... by MooseTick · · Score: 1

      "in US fewer and fewer games are banned (as a percent of all video games). This is because the number of avenues for games publishing is mushrooming"

      Are those same avenues not available EVERYWHERE?

      --
      Ninjas don't carry tic tacs
    19. Re:fewer and fewer... by Noah+Haders · · Score: 1

      I suppose, perhaps, depending on regional availability of these app stores and language support for non-English languages. I can only speak to the US experience.

    20. Re: fewer and fewer... by parkinglot777 · · Score: 1

      It's the same end result. I used to work for a game distributor, and just like every other distributor in every other industry, there are channel managers who decide what products they think are worth trying to distribute. If your product comes across as unmarketable, then your game was effectively "un-buyable". Obviously this is no longer true in the age of the Internet, but the same goes for government censorship attempts.

      Even though the results look similar, you can't still say censorship is the same and no one wants. One is to intentionally block (force) and the other is demand & supply (willingness). If you said the result is the same anyway regardless the path to get there, then there is a huge problem with your thought.

      What if your family is starving to death. You attempt to get food to feed them by either stealing from others or working hard to earn food for your family. Yes, the result is the same -- your family get fed -- but the approach to get there are 2 completely different paths. Please don't over simplify by looking only at the results.

    21. Re:fewer and fewer... by Cederic · · Score: 2

      I pity your blinkered view of gaming.

      I'll get on with working through my backlog of high quality PC games with gameplay experiences to match anything released historically and often graphics and sound that are far better.

      Console ports are lazy and don't represent the high-end of PC gaming, but that doesn't negate the other options available, whether it's indie games that match the AAA games of just a couple of years ago, the AAA games that fully exploit PC capabilities or the esoteric games that reach a market previously unavailable and genuinely do different and interesting things.

      Golden age of gaming? Maybe, maybe not, but I've never had access to so many such high quality games before.

    22. Re: fewer and fewer... by Monkey · · Score: 1

      They can pry my Platinum Edition of "Virtual Marijuana Smoking" out of my cold dead hands.

    23. Re:fewer and fewer... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Fuck Stan Lee.

    24. Re: fewer and fewer... by Jack+Griffin · · Score: 1

      In one example the classification board prevents distribution (product is still accessible on black market)
      In the other the Channel Manager of the distribution company prevents distribution (product is still accessible on the black market).
      Same, same. Someone somewhere has an opinion which affects the availability of a product. In the case of a distributor it is worse because a large distributor can own the rights to distribution from a studio, thereby guaranteeing your product never sees the light of day. With public classification, you can always appeal your case, or tweak it slightly to get it approved.

    25. Re: fewer and fewer... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Bullshit. It is simply illegal to sell unclassified games in Australia, it is not illegal for individuals to own unclassified games.

  3. What does "banned" mean? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They come and arrest you if you install it?

    1. Re:What does "banned" mean? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Probably that the customs confiscate the game if you try to import it and arrest you if you try to conceal the import. It is time to amuse the people with "The Assembly", the game! Organize you own demonstrations and parades! Set up a set of riveting political meetings! Speak and whisper behind the armored backs of the establishment! Get gassed, rolled over by tanks, shot at, beaten to death and then dismissed by your employer, all in the same day! Learn what freedom of assembly and speech really means!

    2. Re:What does "banned" mean? by bloodhawk · · Score: 3, Informative

      nope, it means the game was refused classification and it is illegal to sell it or import. Even after they opened up the classification laws we still have a range of games that will never be legal to be sold here, anything that shows illegal drug use, violence on woman etc etc. The summary makes it sound like the bans have gotten worse, in actual fact the laws have become far more relaxed here in the last few years with the introduction of an R classification, just the proliferation of people trying to cash in on cheap gimmick apps to attract immature buyers has increased 100 fold.

    3. Re:What does "banned" mean? by mjwx · · Score: 2

      nope, it means the game was refused classification and it is illegal to sell it or import. Even after they opened up the classification laws we still have a range of games that will never be legal to be sold here, anything that shows illegal drug use, violence on woman etc etc. The summary makes it sound like the bans have gotten worse, in actual fact the laws have become far more relaxed here in the last few years with the introduction of an R classification, just the proliferation of people trying to cash in on cheap gimmick apps to attract immature buyers has increased 100 fold.

      This is also something that is never and realistically can never be enforced.

      By the sounds of it, most of the games are mobile games (I still have trouble accepting mobile games as proper games, they're the modern equivalent of the old flash games I used to play in a browser in the early 00's) so a lot of the sales will never take place in Australia, the method of distribution doesn't take place in Australia and the method of distribution is pretty much unstoppable. This is just government bureaucracy trying to say it's doing something.

      However this is the kind of shit that happens when elect an ultra conservative government. As an Australian this wasn't even on my radar and realistically, still isn't because we have so many other problems such as the government trying to make it possible for them to strip citizenship (in the name of fighting teh terr'sts), trying to neuter the ABC, trying to strip the public health and education systems, increasing unemployment and destroying the economy. Australia elected it's own George W Bush in Tony Abbott and yes, we were warned.

      --
      Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
    4. Re:What does "banned" mean? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      it is enforced and very successfully so, they don't enforce this through end users, it is done through the providers. The enforcement is at the providers, it is Googles, Apples, software distributers etc legal responsibility to remain within the law. games cannot be sold without a classification. like anything you can't 100% stop everything but in general this is well and truly enforced. Can you get around it as a user, yep easily, but that isn't really the point.

    5. Re:What does "banned" mean? by phantomfive · · Score: 1

      What happens if you download the game off the internet? (For example, most of the games mentioned here are on the Android play store).

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
    6. Re:What does "banned" mean? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The R rating is still bullshit though. The original proposal was for the games R rating to be the same as the R rating for other media, but that was shot down. The R rating we got is more restrictive, just not quite as much as before.

    7. Re:What does "banned" mean? by mjwx · · Score: 1

      it is enforced and very successfully so,

      How? They cant even get Apple and google to comply 100% of the time and bypassing this is simple.

      Steam barely does anything and Gog completely fails to give a shit. I can buy games that have been banned in Oz for years (Postal series) on Gog.

      You're definitely not Australian or you'd realise how much bollocks you've just posted.

      --
      Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
    8. Re:What does "banned" mean? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I am Australian and they most definitely "CAN" get Apple and google to comply and they have been. They are called fines, over time if they continually fail to comply the fines increase significantly. you really have no clue on how the world works, just because it is easy to get around the restrictions doesn't mean it isn't being enforced. the vast majority of users have never heard of gog let alone use them to purchase anything. They use the major distributers, shops for physical and apple, google, steam for digital.

    9. Re:What does "banned" mean? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      nothing happens to you. however google would be in breach of classification laws in Australia if they are not blocking Australians from buying those titles. The laws and requirements are implemented against the distributers/sellers not end users.

    10. Re:What does "banned" mean? by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 1

      What about, say, Amazon Appstore?

    11. Re:What does "banned" mean? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      When you submit a game to the Android store, you have to select where your game/app will be available, and you have to fill out an IARC (international rating committee) questionnaire describing whether your game has violence, drug use, etc. If IARC refuses certification for a region/country, then it won't be published (i.e. available) there; if you lie on your IARC cert., then your app can be pulled from the store.

    12. Re:What does "banned" mean? by Zaelath · · Score: 1

      I assume you mean amazon.com and their apps: they don't even (legally) sell to Australians, you need to go through the amazon.com.au store and regional rules apply, both for content and robbing us blind on software/ebooks.

    13. Re:What does "banned" mean? by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 1

      I mean the Amazon app store for Android, that is pre-installed on Kindle Fire, but can also be installed as an app on any Android device.

    14. Re:What does "banned" mean? by MarioXXX · · Score: 1

      I'm sorry, but how does this work? Is google somehow legally obligated to, despite, as far as I know, not operating in Australia? Or will google simply be censored if they don't comply?

      Comment Signature

    15. Re:What does "banned" mean? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Even after they opened up the classification laws we still have a range of games that will never be legal to be sold here, anything that shows illegal drug use, violence on woman etc etc.

      Does this mean Clash of Clans is banned, because every time my base defenses kill an archer, that's a depiction of violence against women (as all archers in the game are women)?

      Or should we ban Clash of Clans because it encourages people to steal what they need from others? Are we encouraging sociopathic behavior, or is this just harmless fun?

    16. Re:What does "banned" mean? by Zaelath · · Score: 1

      Yeah, and will be every bit as regionally racist as the rest of the Kindle range.

    17. Re:What does "banned" mean? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      amazon impose geographic restrictions on apps and state they will follow the law of the country you reside in.

  4. Everything is banned! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Here in Greece, a few years ago, in order to ban online gambling games, a law passed that banned ALL electronic games. The European Court (or something like that) told us to fix our shit but I'm not sure if the law has actually been corrected yet...

    Ha! Captcha is "juries"! How about that!...

    1. Re:Everything is banned! by Bartles · · Score: 1

      Ehh. In a few months Greece will totally implode and it won't matter anyway. Enjoy your generous social welfare system while you can.

    2. Re:Everything is banned! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Ehh. In a few months Greece will totally implode and it won't matter anyway. Enjoy your generous social welfare system while you can.

      This statement must mean you are in the US which has an imploding corporate welfare system.

    3. Re:Everything is banned! by Bartles · · Score: 1

      Well, there is lots of corporate welfare in the US. It generally doesn't work out. Greece being a fully socialist country, it's corporations are fully dependent on the State. Funny that you failed to mention that.

  5. Looking for a plus to censorship by Revek · · Score: 3, Funny

    Just imagine all those games get that free advertising. "Banned in Australia" could become the new measure of how cool a game is.

    1. Re:Looking for a plus to censorship by wispoftow · · Score: 2

      the new measure of how cool a game is.

      Or, just how stupid a game is.

    2. Re:Looking for a plus to censorship by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Why not, it worked for grand theft auto.

    3. Re:Looking for a plus to censorship by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      When I read Virtual Marijuana Smoking, I thought, "Hey, I could use a virtual toke right now!"

      I understand a virtual toke does not get one high, so it'd be legal to drive afterwards. And, if I apply for a security clearance in America,
      a virtual toke does not count. (I don't think...although the NSA may remember I virtually toked.)

    4. Re:Looking for a plus to censorship by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Probably still get you arrested in Dubai though

    5. Re:Looking for a plus to censorship by Jack+Griffin · · Score: 1

      It used to be that no classification of R18 existed for games. So an R18 game like GTA got "refused classification" since it couldn't be given any of the existing lower classifications (MA15 was the highest). There was an interesting political story behind this, since a change in classification rules required unanimous agreement from all 6 states, one State's Attorney General simply refused to discuss the matter saying he didn't want it. The entire country had to wait for him to finally retire before the new classification was introduced immediately after he left office.

    6. Re:Looking for a plus to censorship by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Saints Row has already cashed in on that in one of their trailers.

  6. Is Didgeridoo Hero banned too? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

  7. Es Jay Dubs by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's a sad state of the games industry when there are people "within" the gaming community who feel censorship and morality/tone policing superior to freedom of expression. This is what people are scared of.

  8. FFS RTFA It's a TRIAL by OzPeter · · Score: 3, Informative

    From TFA

    While this current trial will only last 12 months initially ...

    So the Oz government has signed up with a global, unified ratings system from the IARC. And all that is required from the game publishes is to submit answers to a bunch of questions to set a ratings level for their game. For free.

    Sure, the OZ government has probably tailored how the answers to the question map into the desired Australian ratings system, but this sounds like a great step forward with consistency and transparency. Also from TFA

    It's worth noting that the IARC has also submitted plenty of games which have been accepted by the Classification Board - we're still figuring out the exact number, but there are hundreds of digital/mobile only games classified R18+, MA15+, M, PG and G which have passed through the IARC process.

    --
    I am Slashdot. Are you Slashdot as well?
    1. Re:FFS RTFA It's a TRIAL by Great+Big+Bird · · Score: 1

      I find it troubling that they feel the need to censor at all.

    2. Re:FFS RTFA It's a TRIAL by Zaelath · · Score: 1

      It's just another media, and it's not like Americans don't censor either. When's the last time you saw an erect penis on American television (hint: never).

    3. Re:FFS RTFA It's a TRIAL by amalcolm · · Score: 1

      That's because they're all on the internet ... just not enoughto go around :)

      --
      Time for bed, said Zebedee - boing
    4. Re:FFS RTFA It's a TRIAL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm supposing you don't subscribe to the playboy channel then.

      You deal realize that just because you have to pay for it doesn't mean it's censored, don't you? Especially when by "pay for it" the total cost is about 3 hours of minimum wage work.

    5. Re:FFS RTFA It's a TRIAL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The cost is irrelevant, the fact is that broadcast television IS censored in the USA. The fact that uncensored alternatives exist does not change that.

  9. Cool by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Cool

  10. Where's Michael J. Dundee? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Australia used to be a country of bad-asses. How did they turn into such pussies so quickly?

    1. Re:Where's Michael J. Dundee? by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1

      Yes, whatever happened to the country's old reputation as a freedom-loving "America done right"?

    2. Re:Where's Michael J. Dundee? by DeathElk · · Score: 1

      It started when bicycle helmets became mandatory across all Australian states in the early 90s. They've been hacking chunks out of personal freedom ever since.

    3. Re:Where's Michael J. Dundee? by DeathSquid · · Score: 2

      Australia has had authoritarian, paternalistic governments since, at least, the end of WWII. Consequently, the best and brightest tend to leave the country (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_diaspora). This leaves Australia with two major pastimes: digging coal out of the ground and selling houses to one another.

    4. Re:Where's Michael J. Dundee? by quenda · · Score: 1

      It started when bicycle helmets became mandatory across all Australian states in the early 90s. They've been hacking chunks out of personal freedom ever since.

      No - it started long before that. Seatbelts in cars compulsory from 1970. Motorcycle helmets before that. Horns on horseless carriages.

      If bicycle helmets are your biggest whinge, you've been lucky so far. Try something like building a house, or running a small business, and see how many pointless regulations there are to make your life difficult. At least helmets are useful, even if the laws are not.

    5. Re: Where's Michael J. Dundee? by therufus · · Score: 1, Interesting

      You mean selling houses to the Chinese.

      --
      You moved your mouse. Please restart Windows for changes to take effect.
    6. Re:Where's Michael J. Dundee? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Research has found that bicycle helmets actually are on a whole a larger killer than not wearing it.

      Having to put on gear before stepping on the bicycle is an extra hurdle so that one could just as well take the car instead of the bike. The hassle of a helmet includes the one where you have to carry it everywhere you go.

      Without a helmet a bike is really a convenience, you can take it and drive to the store or to your friends, etc.

      More people riding bikes will increase the health of the people and die less of hearth problems, this upside is higher than the few accidents that a bicycle helmet will prevent. Also a lot of research went into those helmets and only very few accidents are helped by it. Many helmet crashes where the helmet cracked, would not have been so bad when you where not wearing it, since the helmet itself will cause your head to move differently from when you not wearing it.

      Of course if you drive really fast then a helmet will probably help, however not when just driving it in everyday use.

      A better cause of action would be to create bike lanes that are properly separated from other road traffic, like they do in The Netherlands.

    7. Re:Where's Michael J. Dundee? by Dog-Cow · · Score: 1

      I was riding to work one day and woke up in the hospital. Without my helmut, it's quite likely I would never have woken up at all.

    8. Re: Where's Michael J. Dundee? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Germans have been waking up without a helmut since quite some time.

    9. Re:Where's Michael J. Dundee? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I noticed you left out HOW you ended up in the hospital. Probably because you were doing something stupid. Bike helmets: for those folks so unaware of their surroundings, they keep hitting their head on stuff.

  11. Mino and other independent tetromino games by tepples · · Score: 4, Informative

    The game Mino is banned in the U.S. because a district court ruled three years ago that The Tetris Company owns the exclusive right to make falling block video games using the seven one-sided tetrominoes. Tetris v. Xio . And I expect an eventual lawsuit against the Free Software Foundation over M-x tetris in GNU Emacs because Tetris co-founder Alexey Pajitnov believes that free software "should never have existed" because it "destroys the market".

    1. Re:Mino and other independent tetromino games by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      To be fair, Xio duplicated the game's color selection for the pieces, the rotation mechanics (there are many variants of how to rotate pieces in a tetromino game), the drop slide mechanic, etc. It was as close to a copy they could make without duplicating assets. The courts did not rule that no one else could make a tetromino game, just that Xio tried to duplicate Tetris.

      I've made several block dropping games, and there were fudsters incensed by sensational media claims all over the place at the time of the trial. Some people actually canceled their own block dropping games. It's sad, really, since if they had read the judges decision they could have just chilled out.

      They didn't just duplicate the game, they also duplicated the precise "look and feel". It would be like me drawing a pixel perfect reproduction of Mario sprites, backgrounds, etc. then duplicating the gameplay as closely as possible. Only a pro would be able to tell the two apart. They didn't say the code infringed copyright, but the appearance did, right down to the specific way Tetris does T spins.

    2. Re:Mino and other independent tetromino games by tepples · · Score: 2

      Anonymous Coward wrote:

      To be fair, Xio duplicated the game's color selection for the pieces

      That's as if someone had a copyright on green means go and red means stop, or if the NBA sued the NCAA and high school leagues for using an orange ball.

      the rotation mechanics (there are many variants of how to rotate pieces in a tetromino game)

      Are you referring to the SRS wall kicks? In 2009, a Tetris licensee used the DMCA to take down YouTube videos of fan games using the simpler center-right-left kick mechanic used in games like Dr. Mario and Puyo Puyo.

      the drop slide mechanic

      Are you referring to the "infinite spin" mechanic? In 2009, a Tetris licensee used the DMCA to take down YouTube videos of fan games using the simpler "step reset" system used in Columns, which locks the piece half a second after the last net downward movement.

      Some people actually canceled their own block dropping games. It's sad, really, since if they had read the judges decision they could have just chilled out.

      For some fan game developers, it was more along the lines of "even if I am right, how am I going to afford to hire a lawyer to prove it at trial?". In any case, if I ever bring LJ65 back, I've settled on a different piece set: the 3, 4, and 5 block pieces that fit in a 3x3 box and do not contain the 2x2 O as a subset. This means no 4-block I piece, which means you can't make a Tetris and thus all the scoring needs to be redesigned anyway.

      It was as close to a copy they could make without duplicating assets. [...] It would be like me drawing a pixel perfect reproduction of Mario sprites, backgrounds, etc.

      Reproducing the Super Mario Bros. sprites would be "duplicating assets".

    3. Re:Mino and other independent tetromino games by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They didn't just duplicate the game, they also duplicated the precise "look and feel". It would be like me drawing a pixel perfect reproduction of Mario sprites, backgrounds, etc. then duplicating the gameplay as closely as possible. Only a pro would be able to tell the two apart. They didn't say the code infringed copyright, but the appearance did, right down to the specific way Tetris does T spins.

      Which happened. They're not really around any more, having since been bought by another company, but there was a game company that basically duplicated Super Mario Bros. 3 for PC in a hope to convince Nintendo to license them to port it. When that fell through, they changed up the assets to make it their own thing, but it started life as a SMB3 clone. Somehow they managed to duplicate SMB3's basic sidescrolling gameplay without being sued out of existence and used their initial success to create some 3D titles, effectively creating an entire new genre of games.

      I don't know if anyone remembers them, I think they were called "Id."

  12. What games are banned in your country? by turkeydance · · Score: 3, Funny

    cock fighting, bear baiting, and tackle football (NFL doesn't like it, anymore).

    1. Re:What games are banned in your country? by Uberbah · · Score: 1

      tackle football (NFL doesn't like it, anymore).

      Miss the days of players deliberately making helmet-to-helmet tackles without penalty? If you want to have the brain of an 80 year old Alzheimer's patient before you can run for the Senate, go volunteer yourself, Sparky.

    2. Re:What games are banned in your country? by ArsonSmith · · Score: 1

      I don't expect them to get the big bucks without risk.

      --
      Paying taxes to buy civilization is like paying a hooker to buy love.
    3. Re:What games are banned in your country? by Nidi62 · · Score: 1

      tackle football (NFL doesn't like it, anymore).

      Miss the days of players deliberately making helmet-to-helmet tackles without penalty? If you want to have the brain of an 80 year old Alzheimer's patient before you can run for the Senate, go volunteer yourself, Sparky.

      I miss the days where a player would be taught to break down, plant their facemask in their opponents chest,wrap up, and drive through. No shattered knees, no concussions. Now their idea of tackling is dropping their heads and launching themselves at people's knees.

      --
      The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
  13. My 0.02 by DaMattster · · Score: 1

    I read about this and I'm really glad I don't live in Australia right now. America still has SOME freedom left although it is rapidly dwindling.

    1. Re:My 0.02 by OzPeter · · Score: 3, Informative

      I read about this and I'm really glad I don't live in Australia right now. America still has SOME freedom left although it is rapidly dwindling.

      Read TFA .. the ESRB has signed up to the same service as Australia and both Goole Play and Firefox Marketplace support the IARC.

      --
      I am Slashdot. Are you Slashdot as well?
  14. LOL by Type44Q · · Score: 0

    What games are banned in your company

    They play "Pump Kin" in Arkansas, pretty sure it's illegal though...

  15. Mortal Monday by Spy+Handler · · Score: 2, Informative

    Mortal Kombat was banned simultaneously in Australia, Germany, U.K. and several other countries on what became known as Mortal Monday, 1993.

    Fatality!

    1. Re:Mortal Monday by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Scratch the UK off that list, it never got banned there; It was everywhere in arcades, and the game shops sold the popular console ports with no problem from anyone.

      If there was an issue, the magazines would have covered it.

    2. Re:Mortal Monday by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Be glad they didn't ban Manic Miner.

      But for the Bangles fans that would have been, "Just another Manic Monday"

      (Yeah, there's a reason why I'm posting as AC)

    3. Re:Mortal Monday by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Lol a total Myth.

      Mortal Kombat wasn't banned in Australia. Video games rating classifion/censorship was only introduced into that country in 1995.

    4. Re:Mortal Monday by RogueyWon · · Score: 1

      Indeed, still remember buying my copy.

      The banning of video-games has never really taken off in the UK, though not for want of trying. The BBFC had a good go at it with Carmageddon, but the subsequent backlash and (successful) appeal scared that organisation away from heavy involvement with games for quite a long time afterwards.

      Manhunt 2 was originally banned in its uncut form, I think, though it was granted certification after a few seconds of footage were cut. And I think there was some other PS2-era shooter (The Punisher?) which was also refused certification without minor cuts.

      Actually, the most notable "banned game" in the UK was never actually banned at all. It was Rule of Rose, a generally inoffensive (though not, to be honest, very good) Japanese PS2 survival horror game. Some fuckwit Brussels politician decided he was going to launch a moral crusade against games and picked this as his target. He made allegations about the game's content with were so egregiously untrue that they'd have made even Jack Thompson blush. However, as releases like that are generally have a marginal business case as well and as the game was being (incorrectly) accused of promoting paedophilia and child-murder, the publisher canned the release in the UK and a handful of other European countries.

      I ended up importing a US copy just to see what the fuss was about. It was all pretty tame stuff (and the game itself was crippled by terrible controls and a lot of backtracking - common problems in survival horror games of that era). Most video-game controversies, like Carmageddon, Postal, Grand Theft Auto and Hatred, are at least partly courted by the game's developer. I always felt sorry for Rule of Rose, despite the fact it wasn't very good, because the controversy came out of the blue.

    5. Re:Mortal Monday by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      Mortal Kombat was never banned in the UK. "Mortal Monday" was the name of the simultaneous multi-platform launch day.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    6. Re:Mortal Monday by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 3, Funny

      Be glad they didn't ban Manic Miner.

      He's called Bipolar Geological Engineer now.

      --
      systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
  16. Thanks by akademix · · Score: 1

    Thank you for sharing

    --
    porno film izle http://fullhdseksizle.org
  17. Capitalism by Pharmboy · · Score: 1, Insightful

    It has been banned for all but the very rich, thanks to a wave of new regulations. 90 percent, yes 90 percent of my industry is gone and we are paring back.

    Capitalism used to be a fun game to play in America.

    --
    Tequila: It's not just for breakfast anymore!
  18. Who bans Pokemon? by tepples · · Score: 1

    If cock fighting video games were banned, Nintendo and its fans would be up in arms, and the mainstream news media would have run a story about a country where kids are forbidden to spend their POcKEt MONey on a video game that has been rated "Everyone (Comic Mischief, Mild Cartoon Violence)" by the U.S.-based ESRB.

    1. Re:Who bans Pokemon? by dbIII · · Score: 1

      Are you suggesting that pocket monsters are cocks?
      Now that I think about it, there's a reason they shortened the name a bit so that it's acceptable to play with your pocket monster in public.

    2. Re: Who bans Pokemon? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I have a cock in my pocket.

  19. Patents, sync rights, and master rights by tepples · · Score: 2

    A 30 second unskippable ad before a 45 second video, probably inserted by a "rights holder", raises an important point. Rhythm games are a minefield for patents, sync rights, and master rights. If Didgeridoo Hero were real, I wouldn't be surprised if it were banned in at least one major market for failure to secure the appropriate licenses.

    1. Re:Patents, sync rights, and master rights by Wabbit+Wabbit · · Score: 1

      I would play the shit out of Didgeridoo Hero. Also Sackbut Hero and Cornet Hero. Or maybe those are available as (shudder) DLC.

      --
      Nothing is inexplicable; only unexplained -Tom Baker, Doctor Who
  20. None by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Nobody cares.

  21. None by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The Netherlands may be pretty boring, but we don't do bullshit like banning games. Our next-door neighbors on the other hand...

  22. Banned for being too similar by tepples · · Score: 1, Informative

    They can't be banned for content objectionable to parents, but they can be banned for being too similar to an incumbent's product. See, for example, Atari v. Philips (similarites between Pac-Man and K.C. Munchkin for the Odyssey2 console), and Konami v. Roxor (similarities between Dance Dance Revolution and the StepMania-powered In the Groove).

    1. Re:Banned for being too similar by Z00L00K · · Score: 2

      That's a completely different issue and a question of immaterial rights. Not a question of banning on the reason for being morally questionable.

      I wonder how many games that will end up having hidden content (easter eggs) with some questionable material not visible when the game is approved.

      --
      If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker would destroy civilization.
    2. Re:Banned for being too similar by CronoCloud · · Score: 1

      That's a copyright issue involving companies trying to copy another's idea, not a "ban" issue.

    3. Re:Banned for being too similar by OutOnARock · · Score: 1

      they did teach us to correctly conjugate the phrase "Romans go home".

  23. Wintertime blues by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Must suck to be down under there. Hello from up over here where it's summertime. And be sure to hang on. Don't want you to go falling off and all.

  24. A category springs to mind... by MrMacman2u · · Score: 1

    Anything Apple won't publish is essentially banned.

    --
    This signature is lame.
    1. Re:A category springs to mind... by tepples · · Score: 1

      Similarly, there are things Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony won't approve for use on retail consoles. The Binding of Isaac is among them.

    2. Re:A category springs to mind... by CronoCloud · · Score: 1

      /me shakes head.

      You're doing that thing again where you assume that because something was true at one time or for one particular group, that it is still true. Your hyperfocus and obsession with how you percieve indies being disregarded by Sony/Microsoft/Nintendo, seems to stop you from updating your knowledge. In other words, Where have YOU been?

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

      https://store.playstation.com/...

    3. Re:A category springs to mind... by tepples · · Score: 1

      Some games are rejected by Nintendo and approved by Sony. Your first link states that Nintendo rejected The Binding of Isaac for 3DS. But other games are rejected by Sony and Microsoft, such as Manhunt 2.

    4. Re:A category springs to mind... by CronoCloud · · Score: 1

      But other games are rejected by Sony and Microsoft, such as Manhunt 2.

      Tepples, why the heck do you keep stating such outdated and incorrect info? I know you have your axe against the console makers because they don't just hand out devkits and whatnot to every "garage developer" with a dream, but that's no excuse for getting facts wrong or exaggerating the facts to grind your axe against the console makers.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

      Platform(s) Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Wii

      https://store.playstation.com/...

      The rejection was more "nuanced" than you implied. The AO version was rejected, the game was then edited to M status, and that was released.

  25. can't we just kill all the conservatives instead? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    why do a handful of uptight fucks get to ruin the planet for everyone else?

  26. Nothing new by Karmashock · · Score: 1

    Australia has been ban happy with games for years.

    --
    I've decided to stop wasting my time responding to AC trolls/sockpuppets... so if you want a response from me... login.
  27. Virtual Marijuana Smoking by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    he
    \he
    hehehehehe
    hehehehehehehe
    Bwaaahahahahahaha
    Best
    Game ever.

  28. So games are being banned by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There are ways to circumvent that, right? I certainly hope so. Please provide links for those who are interested. That is the only way left to deal with this bullshit while people keep voting for more fascism, here's looking at you Europe! Hey Denmark! WTF? Izzat how you show your happiness?

    1. Re: So games are being banned by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Have no fear, the Danish vote will be... Corrected. National elections should be disposed of anyway, and all sovereignty ceded to the European Commission. You can't trust the people with important matter beyond the scope of the ordinary citizen anyway. There would be no EU if it were up to the man in the street. That's why we need an elite of statists, thinkers and intellectuals to guide us towards a better future.

  29. Good for Australians by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The State knows best. We Europeans know that. It's high time the rest of the world learns to follow. People don't need things the State deems unsuitable for them. People must have unity and a sense of purpose, and it's the government's task to provide it. I know that for mongrel races such as usians and australians it must be difficult, they have no culture and no defining ethnicity, but understanding that a citizen's life only has any meaning within the context of a greater reality is an important step ahead.

    1. Re:Good for Australians by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      +H: Hitler. Instant Godwin, just add water.

  30. Re: And you call yourselves free by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    People don't need "freedom". You can't eat "freedom". People need prosperity, which only comes with full unity and a common purpose towards which all must work. We Europeans realized that. But then, we're not a mongrel race whose ancestors were common criminals. :)

  31. Completely unrelated and off topic news from AU by LostMonk · · Score: 1

    An unusual and surprising spike in video game piracy has been noticed in Australia.

  32. Poker by Jacek+Poplawski · · Score: 1

    In Poland playing poker tournament without valid license is illegal. Online poker is also illegal. I am not joking. People here are so brainwashed by Civic Platform that they still consider this party "liberal".

  33. Fuck censorship by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Censorship is still censorship, regardless of how tiny it is, or who does it.

    This is primarily why I refuse to buy anything anymore.

  34. Re:can't we just kill all the conservatives instea by TheGoodNamesWereGone · · Score: 1

    Interesting to see the same SJW Gamergate types complain about this, that want to ban things *they* don't like...

  35. River Raid by dunkelfalke · · Score: 1

    I shit you not.
    In fact, it was the first game that was banned for minors. Not anymore, though.

    --
    "It's such a fine line between stupid and clever" -- David St. Hubbins, Spinal Tap
  36. Welcome to the world of tomorrow! by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 1

    In 6 Months, Australia Bans More Than 240 Games

    I knew something weird happens when you cross the international dateline, but I didn't realise it could send news back in time by half a year.

    --
    systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
  37. games forbidden? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I didn't even know that you have to ask for permission to publish a game !

  38. What games are banned in your country? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What games are banned in your country?

    None. I live in a free country. In fact, they can't even make it illegal to sell "rated M" games to children. Store policy can say "don't do it", but the law can't because the government can't infringe on people's rights like that.

  39. Most recently Banned Game by puddingebola · · Score: 1

    In my country, the most recently banned game is called "Leaking information of Private Contractors work on Government Surveillance Network installed to Spy on Ordinary Citizens."

  40. Re:can't we just kill all the conservatives instea by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I bet you think you're not a conservative yourself. You are.

  41. For those who miss the good old days on /. by cellocgw · · Score: 1

    What the heck...

    In Soviet Russia, video games ban government!

    Ok, that really doesn't make any sense.

    --
    https://app.box.com/WitthoftResume Code: https://github.com/cellocgw
  42. Hot Coffee by tepples · · Score: 1

    That's a completely different issue and a question of immaterial rights. Not a question of banning on the reason for being morally questionable.

    Bans for sex, bans for violence, bans for copyright (K.C. Munchkin), and bans for patent (In the Groove) are bans for very different reasons but still bans. This is in much the same way that copyright, patent, trademark, and trade secret are very different areas of law but still included in the umbrella term "immaterial rights" or "intellectual property".

    I wonder how many games that will end up having hidden content (easter eggs) with some questionable material not visible when the game is approved.

    The ESRB requires all disclosure of all Easter eggs that would materially affect the rating. Rockstar got in big trouble for the hidden "Hot Coffee" stuff in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

  43. Old anecdotes by tepples · · Score: 1

    Tepples, why the heck do you keep stating such outdated and incorrect info?

    Because I have not been made aware that a particular piece of information has since become outdated and incorrect. Would it be more proper to phrase all such anecdotes in the past tense, citing a particular article that was published in a particular month and year?

    "garage developer"

    Which I did not mention at all.

    1. Re:Old anecdotes by CronoCloud · · Score: 1

      Because I have not been made aware that a particular piece of information has since become outdated and incorrect.

      Don't you think it's your responsibility to make sure your facts are correct BEFORE you post things like that? And considering that Manhunt 2 was released 8 YEARS AGO, you'd think that you'd have paid attention to what had actually happened considering you remembered the initial refusal.

      Would it be more proper to phrase all such anecdotes in the past tense, citing a particular article that was published in a particular month and year?

      It would be more "proper" and a "best practice" to check your anecdotes for accuracy yourself. You've got google, use it.

      Which I did not mention at all.

      You didn't need to. I figure most frequent commenters know of your grudge.