Dark Sector Banned in Australia
Storyline, outcomes, and blood prove too much for ratings board.
By Mark Whiting, 02/14/2008
They're serious about cracking down on game violence in the Land Down Under -- and not just for gratuitously messy paramilitary stuff either. Word's now come down (via IGN Australia) that the Office of Film and Literature Classification -- Australia's ratings agency -- has just denied an MA 15+ rating for upcoming disc-throwing shooter Dark Sector, effectively killing the game for mainstream release.
While Dark Sector is on track in other territories for a late March launch on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, the Aussies won't be seeing it in any form unless developer Digital Extremes goes back to the drawing board to edit out some of the violence -- described by the OFLC as "exceeding strong, and unable to be accomplished in a MA15+ classification."
Says the OFLC: "Dark Sector is a violent and sometimes gruesome game with a sinister storyline and ominous outcome. The violence and aggression inflicted upon the protagonist is of a high level, naturalistic and not stylized at all. For instance, when Hayden cuts off his opponent's limb with the glaive, large amounts of blood spray forth from the stump and the injured person screams in agony which increases the impact."
Adam Zweck, sales and product manager for AFA Interactive (the game's Australian distributor), was optimistic about the chances of a content edit and an eventual Australian release, saying "This is (hopefully) not the end of the line for the game, just a pretty substantial, but temporary, setback." Sadly, at the moment, Dark Sector's fate down there seems to be in the hands of its creators.
It is unsurprising that Australia's attitude to the matter of game violence seems to be squarely in line with the general cold front and subsequent chilling effects we've seen sweeping lately across the policies of other nations -- especially the United Kingdom. It's ironic that a population whose median gaming age stands squarely in their mid-to-late twenties should be subject to censure on the basis of gratuitous gore and violence unsuitable for the eyes of children... but hey, maybe the OFLC knows something we don't when it comes to the matter of our collective moral decency.
What i would like to know is this...what is the difference between having a game with some gore and violence in it,to watching the new resident evil dvd?.
I mean who are these people that think they have the right to tell us what we can watch and what we can play?.
There are heaps of gory horror films out there that i am sure would pale in comparison to a video game.Shouldn't we have the right to choose wether we want to play a violent video game or not?.
Erikjust
You know if i was a government official, i bet i could give a really weak answer as to why you can not have the right to choose what you want ot see and what you want to play.
But since I am not I can only say I agree whit you.
As for why this has been brought forward iŽll bet you anything it is some stupid low iq parent or somebody like that, who says that they canŽt allow their children's mind to be corrupted whit such violence.
And so forth.
Black Flag NC
That's so silly. It amounts to the government being the "parent" to a whole nation. I've never known any government that was fit for that job.
