The Gore Stays in the Game: Aliens vs. Predator Developer Bucks Australian Censors

Considering that one guy basically decides what games are appropriate for sale in the entirety of Australia, and that one guy thinks every game should be suitable for four-year-olds, you may not be shocked to hear that Alien vs. Predator was effectively banned by the Australian Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC).

Normally when the OFLC refuses to classify a game, the developers choose to modify the title in order to comply with the MA15+ guidelines. Unfortunately, when this happens the game usually looks and plays terribly. If you've seen footage of the Australian version of Left 4 Dead 2, then you know what I mean. Bodies disappear before they hit the ground, blood is barely visible and giblets are non-existant. The OFLC forced Valve to make an adult game "kid-friendly" -- something which is almost impossible.

True to their name, Rebellion Developments, the team behind AVP, have refused to release a "sanitized or cut down version for territories where adults are not considered by their governments to be able to make their own entertainment choices." [via News.com.au]:

The inherent problem is that Australia does not possess a "mature" rating for video games. While films with overt sexual or violent themes earn an M18 rating, the OFLC operates under the draconian assumption that video games are solely made for children. Reading news stories which concern Australia's policy toward violent video games, I often come across terms like "civil liberties" and "human equality." Well, I'm not certain that the refusal to classify AVP is a restriction of human rights, but I do know that I'm willing to support Australian gamers in their fight to defeat the alien and predatory OFLC!

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Keith Schloemer

December 07, 2009

"We will not be releasing a sanitized or cut down version for territories where adults are not considered by their governments to be able to make their own entertainment choices"

Bravo. We live in a world where the government thinks and in most cases KNOWS that they have more sense and self-control than the people who put them in power. Which is ironic in and of itself.

Shame on the Atkinson for having no sense.

Omar Yusuf

I'm curious how much campaigning is done over there. I'm confident that if Australian gamers rallied in support of a less rigid rating scheme, the government would eventually succumb to their wishes.

Or maybe I'm an optimist. Who knows? The Australians, that's who!

From what I understand, there is MUCH campaigning, but this Atkinson is the very definition of egoism. He is trying to pass it off as altruism, but where he goes wrong is by starting every sentence with "what I'd like to see is...":

http://www.escapetheory.com.au/blog/?p=445

Atkinson goes so far as to say the movie ratings board has it all wrong because they cater to the industry. He's an egoist. Off his rocker even though he *knows* his way is the right way. Egoism vs altruism:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethical_egoism

Adam Hardiman

It's not the OFLC's fault that we're seeing so many games refused classification in Australia, it's the fault of a single man, and that would be the aforementioned Michael Atkinson.

The OFLC are just doing their jobs and using the existing guidelines to rate games, they can't change the classification laws at all.

For the classifications to change, all the state attorney generals need to agree on the proposed changes, and Atkinson is the one man stopping an R18+ rating going through, all the other state attorney generals agree with it.

So it's not the OFLC/Classification Board we need to fight, but Atkinson.

As for campaigning, there's the Gamers 4 Croydon group who are trying to get a member to oppose Atkinson for his seat of Croydon, in hope to remove him from his position.

There's also a Petition in Queensland to allow games which have been RC to be sold in Queensland under an R18+ rating (or at least that was the gist of it).

We're a little bit stuck though.

Anyway, just wanted to clear a few things up.

Aaron Betts

Thanks for linking to my article Omar :D Really sucks that we have yet another game rc'd but that's how its going to be until Atkinson gets the boot sadly. Cant wait for the elections to start so we can finally be rid of that horrid man, assuming enough people vote against him. :P

Lance Darnell

Great post, and great comments. Aaron has written some good posts on this same issue.