Borderlands Censored for Australian Market?

Friday, October 23rd, 2009

The Left 4 Dead 2 saga appears to have left the Australian gaming community somewhat spooked. Speculation is now mounting as to whether Gearbox Software’s upcoming FPS/RPG hybrid Borderlands has been modified for the Australian market. While hard evidence that this is the case is rather thin on the ground, the controversy does raise a number of issues in relation to Australia’s antiquated classification system.

The initial rumours of censorship stemmed from some peculiarities on the Borderlands page on digital PC game store Steam. While Australian customers could view the page, the ‘Buy’ button was, for a time, noticeably absent. This problem was remedied a couple of weeks later, but those viewing the page from Australian IP addresses noticed that the game was now listed as Borderlands Australia. The only other country known to have a region-specific version of Borderlands listed on the Steam store is Germany. Anyone who has followed the issue of video game censorship will be aware that Germany’s low tolerance for video game violence has seen numerous games (including Borderlands) modified for that country’s market. So perhaps Australian Borderlands fans in Australia do have something to worry about.

At this stage most forum users are willing to be optimistic. After all, Borderlands received an MA15+ rating back in August, and there has been no official word that anything untoward has occurred. But who’s to say a modified version of the game was not submitted for initial classification (as was the case with console versions of GTA IV) in order to avoid the very problems that have plagued Left 4 Dead 2? And what’s in it for the game’s publisher, 2K Games, in letting Australians know that they’re getting a modified version of Borderlands? Surely releasing this information will only drive consumers to either import the game– upsetting the publisher’s local retail partners– or to find a pirate copy of an overseas version.

Optimists have also taken solace in the visual style of Borderlands. The cel-shaded look of the game is far less realistic than that of Left 4 Dead 2, a game which is scarcely life-like to begin with. But looking overseas, the American ESRB rating summary for Borderlands gives some cause for concern. The following is their description of the violence in the game:

The combat is frenetic, and enemies moan or scream when they are hit. Damage from weapons also results in large spurts of blood, dismemberment, and decapitation. When a human or creature is decapitated, an effect resembling a fountain of blood will shoot from the neck for a few seconds and stop. Some weapons cause enemies to split in half, the top being separated from the waist.

Sound familiar? Remind you of a certain other game of post-apocalyptic survival?

All this speculation is probably just a storm in a teacup. It has been suggested that the quirks of the Steam page are simply the result of solving some glitch or other with the store’s listing of Borderlands. Elsewhere, there are claims that the Borderlands developers themselves told visitors to Perth’s GO3 Electronic and Entertainment Expo that nothing has been censored. All this sounds entirely plausible, but the lack off an official statement still leaves lingering doubt. And these seeds of doubt in gamers’ minds will only grow and prosper until an R18+ rating for games in Australia becomes a reality. For every game that is refused classification, publishers will be increasingly likely to modify their games in order to ensure smooth passage through the classification system. In turn, gamers will become less certain that they are getting the genuine article and become less and less willing to part with their money. This can only serve to harm the Australian video game industry at all levels.

Huge thanks to Sam Whitton for writing this submission! If you’ve got something to say, email me.

R18+ Roundup, July ’09

Sunday, July 26th, 2009

Sincere apologies for the lack of updates. Personal issues that I won’t delve into here have prevented me from being as active as I would like. There’s been quite a bit of activity since I last posted, so let’s try and summarise it all.

1) Necrovision Banned, Censored, Unbanned

The alternate-history shooter Necrovision became the first casualty of the Australian Classification Board in 2009, being banned for excessive violence in April. In May, a censored version (with slightly less blood) was passed with an MA15+ rating. The uncensored edition is still available in other countries with an 18+ rating.

2) ACS Releases Policy Statement on Video Game Rating Recommendation

In a move that is to be applauded, the Australian Computer Society has come out in strong support of an R18+ rating for video games in Australia. This is a well-respected group of IT professionals in Australia and it’s fantastic to see them putting some more pressure on in favour of this much-needed change. You can download their policy statement by clicking here.

3) Australian Government To Censor Game Websites

On the flip side of the coin, the Australian Government has promised to use its incredibly controversial (and just plain stupid) internet censorship regime to block access to game websites that contain or promote content that would be Refused Classification in Australia.

Unfortunately, as we know, for something to be Refused Classification in Australia it simply has to be judged unsuitable for a 15-year-old to see. Which is, of course, utterly ridiculous.

So if you were hoping to use services such as Steam, idly click through some flash games which might have some animated violence, or even play World of Warcraft or Second Life (which aren’t technically rated in Australia), well… good luck to you. You’re going to need it.

4) R18+ Games Rating Discussion Paper Delayed

In April, the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General met to discuss the change to the classification system, but were unable to come to a unanimous agreement. As a result of this, each Attorney-General was going to release their discussion paper under their own name. So far, no discussion papers have been released, and no word about their release has been given. The discussion paper, like the future of an R18+ rating in Australia, remains entirely in limbo.

5) R18+ Games Australia seeking contributors

It’s become clear to me that it is impossible to properly maintain this site entirely on my own. My personal life is too disorganised to effect a constant flow of meaningful updates, and this is unacceptable to me given how important I view this issue to be. I am officially putting out the call for contributors – if you can write well, speak maturely, are abreast of current news, and are willing to contribute, then please get in touch with me and we’ll work something out.

That’s about all I can think of for now – feel free to email me if you’ve got anything I should know about. I have some large changes in mind for the site in future, and I’d like you and everyone else to be a part of it. Stay tuned.