GTA IV toned down to pass censors?

[Shrygue]

via Computer and Video Games


The Australian government is no stranger to banning video games. Plenty of high profile releases have come under the hammer of the authorities in recent months, deemed too violent for public consumption.

With this and the recent issues surrounding Manhunt 2 (which is still banned here in Europe), is it really too far fetched to suggest Rockstar is listening and taking notes of what it can and can't get away with more than ever?

Grand Theft Auto IV, the biggest game of 2008, has been rated Down Under and it came away with a 15+ (similar to the BBFC's '15'), rather than the expected (at least in terms of previous games in the series) 18 or Mature rating.

The certificate comes with the added incentive of a "Strong violence, Strong coarse language, Drug and sexual references" tag, which describes all the reasons exactly why it'll be the biggest game of next year from sales to controversy.

Cries of censorship are already reverberating around forums. We've since been told that there's no such rating as 18 or above for games.

Many gamers are hoping that this is just "the Australian version of the game", cut to get past the authorities, and that other territories around the world will receive the "full uncut" version. This is all speculation though at this point and we're not saying the game's been cut, but gamers are concerned it might have been.

But would Rockstar really risk its biggest game in years to get banned from going on sale by receiving an Adults Only certificate in the US, which would lead to the same issues as Manhunt 2 got caught up in? Of course not - no company is made of money.

Let us know what you think below.

[gutbub]

If they censor that game, I'll probaly return it. Whose the people with money to buy the games? Not 12 year olds. If all AO means is you have to be 18 or older to get a game, no biggie. But if the game whose sole purpose is to let me do what I can't in real life gets turned into Sesame Street, don't expect it to sell many copies. Well, thats my opinion anyway.

[JKKDARK]

wow that's strange. Personally I think this game should be 18+

[rioshin]

I'm afraid C&VG doesn't quite know what they're talking about.

Every single GTA game has been MA15+ in Australia, since it is the highest rating a game can get Down Under. R18+ is used only for movies.

(Australia has two different 15+ ratings, M15+ and MA15+; the difference being that M15+ is a recommendation, MA15+ is a requirement, meaning that a 14-year-old can buy M15+-rated games, but not MA15+-rated ones.)

[lmtlmt]

Yes you made a mistake in that article it would be MA15+ not 15+ they are 2 different ratings, mostly all games that are rated 18+ overseas are rated MA here without anything cut, its only in the rare circumstances that a game had been edited, take 50cent bulletproof for example they had to edit that here, but not what you would think, they didn't cut any blood or swearing. They only cut the arcade mode because it was senseless violence.

So i assure you, they did not edit the game to get it an MA release in australia, as all GTA games have been MA in australia and i dont see why this would be any different.


this article is much more accurate, but still needs more facts

http://www.joystiq.com/2007/12/14/gr...-in-australia/

[lmtlmt]

these are my games, and as you can see they are GTA and they are MA, and they were not edited for an australian release, well GTA 3 was edited so you couldnt screw hookers but you can in vice city and SA.

that is the old MA logo now thought the new one is red

[bah]

lmtlmt: They did take out the ability to screw hookers then kill them to get your money back in the Australian version of GTA3 though.

JKKDARK: I agree the games should be 18+ and have whatever contend the designers want to put in.
The absolutely ridiculous thing is Australia has no R18+ rating for games so things not fitting within MA15+ are banned/censored, and also that the USA has such a rating but no dev wants to make a game that would only fit that rating as its seen as a 'kiss of death' because a lot of retailers wont carry them.
If a parent feels their 15 year old is mature enough to play it then they can buy it for them.

But if the game whose sole purpose is to let me do what I can't in real life gets turned into Sesame Street, don't expect it to sell many copies. Well, thats my opinion anyway.

It seems even older episodes of sesame st are so terrible and non PC that they're 'not suitable' for today's cotton wool wrapped kids.

[lmtlmt]

oh yer sorry forgot about that. But you can do it in vice city and SA though so......that was kinda pointless, the hadnt been edited, except that one week when SA found the hot coffee thing then they removed that but yer other than that no edits to GTA from vice city onwards