CrimeCraft Refused Classification

Monday, November 30th, 2009

Upcoming MMO CrimeCraft was Refused Classification in Australia last Thursday. CrimeCraft is a free-to-play MMO of team-based co-operative urban combat, and was awarded a Mature rating by the ESRB in the United States, making it suitable for persons 17 years or older.

Refused-Classification.com suggests that since the ESRB’s rating did not mention drug use and there appears to be very little sexual content in the game besides skimpy clothing, it is most likely that violence has been the reason for the banning.

From the ESRB’s report:

Content descriptors:
Blood, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence

Rating summary:
This is a third-person shooter in which players can select a character and gain experience points through completion of various missions/quests. Players can roam around the fictional setting of Sunrise City and engage in several types of massively multiplayer online (MMO) games: team deathmatch, capture the flag, robbery, and free-for-all.

Players are able to shoot and kill other characters by using a wide variety of guns (handguns, shotguns, machine guns, rocket launchers) and thrown weapons (grenades, Molotov cocktails, etc.). Small splashes of red blood indicate successful hits, and bloodstains are depicted on the ground under some defeated characters.

Achievements and mission titles sometimes contain profanity (e.g., achievement called “F**king Ridiculous”; missions called “I Ain’t Movin’ B*tch,” and “Poppin’ a Cap in Yo A*s”). Players can customize female avatars so that they only wear a bra and thong-style panties or outfits that expose deep cleavage; players can also trigger a brief dance in which an avatar caresses her body.

However, if violence is the issue, then again we are forced to question the inconsistency of the Classification Board, as titles like Fallout 3, Dead Space and Mad World – all rated MA15+ for Australian audiences – contain high levels of violence that Crimecraft would surely find difficult to surpass.

We have contacted the Classification Board for comment, and will let you know of any correspondence we receive.

Gamers4Croydon Needs South Australians

Monday, November 16th, 2009

As you may be aware, fledgling Australian political party Gamers4Croydon is taking Michael Atkinson up on his challenge and running a candidate in his electorate of Croydon at the 2010 South Australian general elections. Gamers4Croydon founder David Doe was recently in Croydon to collect signatures, but he still needs at least 50 more South Australians signatures in order to register Gamers4Croydon as a legitimate political party!

If you are enrolled to vote in South Australia, please head over to the site and fill out the membership form.

It doesn’t cost anything to join and will go a long way towards bringing about the change this country needs in its ratings system.

As well as running in Croydon, Gamers4Croydon is aiming to run in other electorates, and even to run at least one candidate for the Legislative Council so that all South Australian gamers can put their votes behind the party at election time.

Even if you’re not registered to vote in South Australia, donations to a registered Australian political party are tax-deductible up to $1500 and every dollar given will go to help Gamers4Croydon succeed in 2010. Please visit the site and do what you can to help out.

Left 4 R18+ Rally for November 21st

Monday, November 16th, 2009

A rally is currently being organised to show support for the R18+ games issue. Scheduled for November 21st, the rally is to be held outside Attorneys-General offices across Australia starting at 11 AM. The rally’s organiser Nick informs me that he is expecting at least 100 people at the Adelaide and Melbourne demonstrations, so get along if you can and join in!

You can find out more information at the official site or visit the Facebook Event page to confirm your attendance.

L4D2 Censorship Comparison

Monday, November 16th, 2009

A conscientious YouTube user has uploaded this video which demonstrates the differences between the censored Australian version of Left 4 Dead 2 and the uncensored international version.

A word of warning: the video contains material that the Classification Board has deemed unsuitable for persons under 15 to watch.

While this may seem excessive, games like Dead Space and Mad World both feature equivalent, if not greater levels of violence, and yet both have been rated MA15+.

The arch-irony of all of this is that it took users all of two whole seconds to figure out the simple steps to unlock the restricted content so that they could play the uncensored version. Now anybody purchasing the game on the PC in Australia will be able to completely circumvent the censoring and play the game as it was originally intended – which just goes to further prove the pointlessness of trying to prevent the flow of electronic information.

Left 4 Dead 2 goes on sale on November 20 in Australia, under an MA15+ rating.

Facebooking for R18+

Monday, November 16th, 2009

Though there is no official Facebook group for this site, many people have been emailing in links to Facebook groups that have sprung up to support this important issue. If you’re on Facebook, please consider visiting these groups and adding your support.

• Australia needs an R18+ Classification on Games!
• Grow up Australia – R18+ for Video Games
• The official Facebook group for Gamers4Croydon

If you are organising support for this issue on Facebook or anywhere else, please email in and let us know.