EA Slams Classification Board; Refuses to Censor Syndicate

Wednesday, December 21st, 2011

Games On Net says that EA Games will not release Syndicate in Australia, modified or not. They have released a statement heavily criticizing the Classification Board’s decision to ban the game.

It’s regrettable that government policy in Australia is denying adults the right to play Syndicate. The game will be not be available in Australia despite its enthusiastic response from fans. We were encouraged by the government’s recent agreement to adopt an 18+ age rating for games. However, delays continue to force an arcane censorship on games – cuts that would never be imposed on books or movies. We urge policy makers to take swift action to implement an updated policy that reflects today’s market and gives its millions of adult consumers the right to make their own content choices…

· We are not releasing Syndicate in Australia. The reason for this is because we do not have an R18+ in place as yet.

· We will not be appealing the RC decision. Syndicate is a game made for a mature audience and any changes to would significantly affect the game’s quality and appeal.

· Syndicate will continue to be released in New Zealand (unchanged) on the 24th February 2012, and has a confirmed rating of R18

EA chose not to release Syndicate for two reasons. Firstly, as mentioned, the game is designed for adults, not those under eighteen.

And secondary, it costs a lot of money to appeal the decision, and to send the game back to the developer so that they can tone down the content just for Australians and release it under the MA15+ banner. Other companies may do this, but not EA.

Syndicate Refused Classification

Tuesday, December 20th, 2011

According to Kotaku Australia, the Classification Board has just slapped the Syndicate reboot with an RC rating.

games.on.net has managed to get a hold of the Classification Board’s report explaining why the game had to be banned. Matt Williams, the author of the article, has named two games that already feature the type of violence the report covers.

It is not clear what EA Games will do following this decision. They have three options on their hands. They can release the game in Australia, in a modified form; appeal to have the rating lowered to MA15+; or just refuse to sell the game in Australia.