Censorship

While Rockstar Games are remaining tight-lipped regarding what was cut from the Australian and New Zealand versions of Grand Theft Auto IV, one enterprising gamer decided to call Take-Two’s (expensive) customer service line:

Okay guys, I have some news for you regarding what was edited from the AU release. I just gave Take2 a call (a friggin expensive 1902 number!) and this is exactly what I was told:

“Well in regards to what Rockstar have removed for the Australian release, as far as we’re aware there was only one sexually violent cut-scene which Rockstar felt would cause the game to be Refused Classification. Unfortunately we’re not able to go into specifics until after the game has been released but I can tell you that the scene involves a weapon being inserted into an enemies private area during a mission where Niko is taking revenge after one of his close friends was forced into sexual intercourse during his stay in prison.”

Seriously I thought he was joking ….I was like LOL you’re joking right? He says “No. This is what Rockstar felt needed to be removed from the game for it’s Australian release. We were recently given permission to release this information because as we understand, Rockstar originally made a press release stating that the game would be released uncut world wide. We felt it would be misleading not to release the information”.

While many would argue the absence of a particularly violent cutscene is inconsequential to the GTA IV experience, the idea of paying nearly double the price (AU$120 converts to US$112) for a censored version of a game is proving a hard one to swallow for many Australians.

Whirlpool via Kotaku Australia

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Australians are cancelling their pre-orders of Grand Theft Auto IV in a backlash against Rockstar Games and the government, after finding out their AUD$120 (US$112) purchase will leave them with a censored version of the game.

Many Australian gamers have cancelled their [GTA IV] orders.
Already angered by the price of the blockbuster in Australia - $120 compared to $US60 ($64) in North America - gamers have reacted with outrage to news… that developer Rockstar has edited the game for Australia in order to obtain an MA15+ rating.
Many gamers said they cancelled their orders with Australian shops and will import a cheaper, uncut version, flouting the law.

Australians are faced with a tough decision - either pay through the nose for a censored version of the game to play on launch day, or wait a few days for an International courier to arrive with their unedited copy of the game and hope that Rockstar Games and/or South Australian Attorney-General Michael Atkinson (the main roadblock to an R 18+ rating for games) read us loud and clear.

Australians aren’t the only ones copping an edited version of Grand Theft Auto IV - New Zealand’s R 18+ rating for games hasn’t even saved them this time - putting the kibosh on the plans of many Australians to import the game from New Zealand.

Gameplanet.co.nz sent an e-mail to pre-order customers in Australia this morning:

We have been informed today that New Zealand will be receiving the same version of Grand Theft Auto IV as Australia.

As you have placed your order after Rockstar announced that the Australian version was edited, we are assuming that you will no longer require the game to be shipped from us, as we can’t supply you with an uncut version.

The last thing we want to do is supply you with a product that does not meet your needs and we’ve therefore taken the liberty of removing your GTA4 order from our web site.

We certainly hope we can be more helpful to you in the future!

The only choice left for Xbox 360 users wanting the unedited version of GTA IV is to import from the UK. Thanks to the lack of region-locks, PlayStation 3 users can opt for the US version from an import shop like Play-asia - and at under US$70, this is likely to be the cheapest option.

Last month the OFLC refused classification for Activision’s Soldier of Fortune: Payback, making the distribution of the game illegal in Australia. Activision today announced that a revised version of the game been granted a classification of MA15+ and will be released in early 2008.

List of changes after the jump.

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Following Germany’s decision to deny Jericho a rating, Codemasters faced a similar predicament to Take-Two with Manhunt 2: either edit/remove content, or stand their ground on the game’s artistic merits. Their decision to proceed with the latter is an admirable one, but will also serve to irritate German Xbox and PS3 gamers.
Explaining their reasons behind the tough choice, Codemasters told GamesIndustryBiz,

Codemasters respects Mr Barker’s creative ideas, despite the German distribution and marketing consequences for the title. Therefore Codemasters will release only the PC version of Clive Barker’s Jericho in its original form for adult gamers and Clive Barker fans

Things are looking double-plus ungood for gamers in the UK. David Cameron, leader of the Conservative Party is ready to deliver a “mini-manifesto” on how to deal with crime, which includes (you guessed it…) dealing with violent video games.

Cameron told the BBC he believes the current Labour government is taking a one-dimensional approach to crime prevention:

We are never going to deal with crime unless we look at the broader context and say ‘Yes, tough laws, strong action on police, but also action to strengthen our society.’

And that includes, I think, videogames and things like that where we do need to think of the context in which people are growing up.

I fail to see how censorship is anything but one-dimensional. More importantly, if kids cannot perceive the difference between fantasy and reality (or determine that misogynist rap sucks) it is clearly education, not censorship, that governments need to be thinking about.

via gi