Australia Rejects Uncensored Left 4 Dead 2. Again

The full unedited version Left 4 dead 2 has once again been rejected by the Australian Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC). The board has stated (.pdf of the verdict here) that there is “insufficient delineation between the depiction of general zombie figures and the human figures”, meaning that the  zombies look too much like humans.

Australia bizarrely only has up to an MA 15+ classification, meaning that overseas games that are 18+ have to be censored. In this case the Australian board seem to have a problem with decapitation, wound detail and piles of bodies. This is the second time Valve has failed to get the full version of the game saleable in Australia.

It’s been said before and it’ll be said again, Australia needs an 18+ rating for games. It has them for films and TV but the OFLC refuses to give one for videogames. This is obviously more “videogames are going to kill our children” bullshit, and it devalues the medium. Most  regulatory boards used (in Britain for example) are more concerned with protecting children from content that is inappropriate. Having a 10 year old watch violent or sexual images could be argued as damaging, because the child is not old enough to understand the context of the images. Sit a kid in front of South Park and they won’t get the irony or subtle cultural analysis. They’ll see swearing, violence and nudity.

But that’s why we have the 18+ rating, it gives people who are old enough a chance to enjoy the content. Yes, you can do some pretty nasty things in Grand Theft Auto, but I’m clever enough to understand that it’s not OK for me to pick up a prostitute, use her services and then kill her to get my money back. Just because I do it in a videogames doesn’t mean I’ll do it in real life. And why is it only videogames that are put under such scrutiny? It’s because they’re this decades’ evil. Rockstar’s Leslie Benzies put it beautifully a few months ago:

There is a big fear factor here. It’s the coming of the railways; it’s Elvis shaking his hips. It’s cars going over 25 miles per hour and making people explode.

An edited version of the game has been approved, but does not include any of the “objectionable content” listed above, which is frankly pathetic. Australia continues to cross the line of censorship, with Left 4 Dead 2 another case of Australians not being able to play games the way they are meant to be played.

Via: Joystiq