Grand Theft Auto V has been rated R18+ by the Australian Classification Board.
The consumer advice identifies drug use as the sole ‘High Impact’ element. The remaining classifiable criteria (themes, violence, language, nudity, and sex) are noted in the marginally less severe ‘Strong Impact’ column. You can inspect the rating here.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at IGN Video Games
On Monday afternoon it was announced that Saints Row IV had been slapped with a fresh Refused Classification rating by the Australian Classification Review Board. The Classification Review Board is a separate panel which reevaluates classification decisions made by the Australian Classification Board. Its decisions then take the place of the original ones.
It’s easy to be cynical about what looks like just another layer of classification bureaucracy but publishers have successfully had RC ratings overturned in the past. In December 2009 the Classification Review Board quashed a Refused Classification decision for Aliens vs. Predator, opting for an MA15+ rating instead. The Classification Review Board agreed with SEGA’s Australian branch that the violence in the game, while extreme, was acceptable within the context of the Alien franchise.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at IGN Video Games
PlayStation fans were greatly saddened when, in August of 2012, Sony shuttered Sony Liverpool, the studio responsible for the PlayStation-exclusive franchises Colony Wars and WipeOut. But at least some of the folks from Sony Liverpool have moved on to other things.
Joystiq reports that “a group of four former Sony Liverpool employees” are toiling away on a game called Men’s Room Mayhem. Their new development house is called Sawfly Studios, and its new game was accidentally leaked by the Australian Classification Board (the Australian version of the ESRB), a listing first spotted at NeoGAF.
From: http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/04/12/your-newest-ps-vita-game-mens-room-mayhem
By The Huffington Post News Editors
james Franco is speaking out against Australia‘s ban on “I Want Your Love,” the new gay-themed film directed by Travis Mathews.
In a new video originally posted by Out Magazine, Franco, who collaborated with Mathews on “Interior. Leather Bar.,” calls the Australian Classification Board‘s decision to yank the film from planned screenings at gay film festivals in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane “really silly” and “very short-sighted.”
Noting that “sex in films hasn’t had a chance to grow and become a sophisticated storytelling device,” Franco adds, “Frankly, adults should be able to choose … I don’t know why in this day and age, something like this…is being banned. It’s just embarrassing.”
After being refused classification upon its initial submission in early 2011, and again upon a subsequent appeal from publisher Warner Games, it seems a third time’s the charm for the most recent Mortal Kombat game. According to listings on the Australian Classification Board‘s website, Mortal Kombat Komplete Edition has been rated R18+ and will finally see a release in Australia (well, aside from Queensland) for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
Telltale’s critically-acclaimed adventure title The Walking Dead has been classified MA15+ by the Australian Classification Board. The multi-platform rating paves the way for a console release should Telltale choose to proceed with one.
The game has been available via Steam and iOS in Australia for some time thanks to classification loopholes, but console owners missed out since the game required a rating to be distributed on PSN and Xbox Live.
In April last year a Telltale representative confirmed that the developer had no plans to release the game on console in the region, blaming the lack of an adults-only rating in Australia for the decision.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at IGN Video Games