The Australian federal government’s Classification Review Board announced today that Valve Software’s Left 4 Dead 2 will not be awarded an MA 15+ rating, which the game requires in order to be legally sold in Australia.
The board originally refused classification for Left 4 Dead 2 last month, which forced Valve to appeal the decision and quickly throw together a less graphic version of the game in order to meet the November release date. The three-person panel, which voted unanimously to refuse classification to Left 4 Dead 2, explained their reasoning in a press release made available today on the board’s website.
The computer game [Left 4 Dead 2] contains a level of violence which is high in impact, prolonged, repeated frequently and realistic within the context of the game.
In addition, it was the Review Board’s opinion that there was insufficient delineation between the depiction of general zombie figures and the human figures, as opposed to the clearly fictional ‘infected’ characters. This was a major consideration of the Review Board in determining the impact of this game on minors.
The decision has reignited the debate concerning Australia’s lack of an R 18+ rating for video games. Video game classification in Australia remains the strictest of all classified media due to its lack of an R 18+ rating. Valve plans to submit a modified version of the game to the board for review.
Welcome to Australia, where violence against zombies is a real issue! Personally I the classification board needs to suffer in the presence of the almighty, disturbing Renee
That’s a stretch. They should just introduce an R 18+ rating so they can classify stuff instead of censoring it.