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Rockstar: GTA IV edited for Australia

5 April 2008 21:12 by James "Dela" Delahunty | 26 comments

The bad luck experienced by the Grand Theft Auto series of video games in Australia has continued with the upcoming GTA IV. Rockstar confirmed to the Sydney Morning Herald that the game has indeed been edited, with certain things cut out so that it can receive an MA15+ rating. The Office of Film and Literature Classification awarded the game the rating making it suitable for individuals over 15, while it does not have a rating for over-18s.

In its rating, the board advising consumers that the game contains "strong violence, strong coarse language, drug and sexual references". Rockstar did not reveal exactly what was cut out of the game for the ratings board to consider it suitable enough for 15 year olds.

Back in 2001, Grand Theft Auto III was refused classification (although sold thousands of copies beforehand) because players could pick up prostitutes. An edited version of the game was released in the country later, and an edited version of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City was also sold to Australians to gain a rating.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was pulled from retail shelves despite having an MA15+ rating after the "Hot Coffee" modification disaster hit the developer. Soon after, an edited version was sold in the territory (and others). Grand Theft Auto IV will be released in Australia on April 29.

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Permalink to this article | Topic: Consoles

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Discuss this article!	There are more user comments available, read them here
Lidawano (Newbie) 5 April 2008 22:11
I cant believe this.... [ + quote]
oappi (Junior Member) 5 April 2008 22:48
well at the time this game will be released on the best game & entertainment system (pc) ppl wont care... i migh not have ps3 or xbox but my friends have.. so by the time they might (or might not) release it on pc ppl have already played the game trough. argument that they want to prevent piracy is stupid... the game will not only be downloaded from internet when released on pc, but people who would have played have already borrowed their friends xboxes and the game. what i have heard it aint the same as old gta anyway so good luck with spending your time at simulated traffic with curse words censored. [ + quote]
viny1313 (Inactive) 5 April 2008 23:06
LAMO Oh well, they gotta make money right? [ + quote]
Mik3h (AfterDawn Addict) 6 April 2008 5:00
I'm not sure which region Australia is, but isn't it possible to import a copy from the US or something..? [ + quote]
ville30 (Newbie) 6 April 2008 5:43
*Originally posted by Mik3h:* I'm not sure which region Australia is, but isn't it possible to import a copy from the US or something..? No, Oceania is a region. I'd probably move out of Australia, lols. [ + quote]
Lidawano (Newbie) 6 April 2008 8:55
Oceania is a Continent :P Yes, we COULD just import a copy from the US but... ugh... gay... [ + quote]
tripplite (Senior Member) 6 April 2008 10:27
poor aussies...... [ + quote]
mrgooey (AfterDawn Addict) 6 April 2008 17:41
Thank god i dont like in Australia or ill be missing a good game [ + quote]
Hunt720 (Junior Member) 6 April 2008 19:13
Well the PS3 games are region free basically... there are PAL vs. NTSC issues, but if you use an HDTV it doesnt change a thing. [ + quote]
gozilla (Member) 6 April 2008 21:04
not really an issue for PS3 oweners, just by a copy from overseas. would end up cheaper too, think i saw a RRP of $AU120 for both the xbox & ps3 release. RIDICULOUS!!! It would be cheaper to buy it from the U.S and ship it over than pay for that over inflated retail price!! [ + quote]
locobrown (Member) 7 April 2008 3:02
That's wack! If they are trying to ban GTA they should also ban all movies that promote sex and violence as well, and see how that affects their economy. Australia needs an updated new generation rating board; its citizens have it real bad now a days. I would hate to import my games or buy my console from another country and need to import a region designated TV in order to play my games, ridiculous! [ + quote]
sandeep14 (Newbie) 7 April 2008 4:45
at least you have another option though, which is to import the game from overseas (if you wish). [ + quote]
hoip (Member) 7 April 2008 5:04
*Originally posted by Lidawano:* Oceania is a Continent :P Yes, we COULD just import a copy from the US but... ugh... gay... oceania is a region well we its a shame though, alot of ppl would end up ebaying a US copy [ + quote]
pensfan12 (Newbie) 7 April 2008 5:32
This wouldt happen if we had a R 18+ rating for games (AKA games rated for 18 + people) Fucking retarded! [ + quote]
sparky26 (Newbie) 7 April 2008 7:12
poor australia eh thank god im on the other side of the world lol EIRE :-) [ + quote]
CNDLG (Newbie) 7 April 2008 11:05
*Originally posted by locobrown:* That's wack! If they are trying to ban GTA they should also ban all movies that promote sex and violence as well, and see how that affects their economy. Australia needs an updated new generation rating board; its citizens have it real bad now a days. I would hate to import my games or buy my console from another country and need to import a region designated TV in order to play my games, ridiculous! New rating board? Why? No one obviously plays videogames over 15 years of age in Oz! [ + quote]
susieqbbb (Member) 8 April 2008 3:09
Great another reason for countrys to pirate video games and install mod chips [ + quote]
Yubious (Newbie) 8 April 2008 11:42
*Quote:* *Originally posted by Mik3h:* I'm not sure which region Australia is, but isn't it possible to import a copy from the US or something..? No, Oceania is a region. I'd probably move out of Australia, lols. no, oceania is built up of regions [ + quote]
CNDLG (Newbie) 8 April 2008 18:54
*Quote:* *Quote:* *Originally posted by Mik3h:* I'm not sure which region Australia is, but isn't it possible to import a copy from the US or something..? No, Oceania is a region. I'd probably move out of Australia, lols. no, oceania is built up of regions just answer the question... and the magic number is.... 4! Region 4 includes Caribbean, Central America, Oceania, South America (except French Guiana), Mexico http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVD_region_code The games however a meant to be region free, but then you have the diff between ntsc and pal...so if your in Oz, you might want to try and import from UK and not USA. [ + quote] This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 8 April 2008 22:35
sirksam (Member) 12 April 2008 21:12
WTF??!!! Why the aussies! Thats my country! How can I enjoy the game as much as others if they cut out certain stuff...great, why can't they just release 18+ games like every other damn country does!! [ + quote]
gozilla (Member) 12 April 2008 23:40
*Quote:* WTF??!!! Why the aussies! Thats my country! How can I enjoy the game as much as others if they cut out certain stuff...great, why can't they just release 18+ games like every other damn country does!! It's because the people who work for the Office of Film and Literature Classification are complete morons. [ + quote]
culade (Newbie) 13 April 2008 10:21
*Quote:* It's because the people who work for the Office of Film and Literature Classification are complete morons. morons who believe that after the age of 15, people become disinterested in video games and start getting jobs/careers, paying bills, and living boring lives.. like these morons did. seriously though, can't australians who are 18+ do something like bitch at the right people who can get the changes done. im sure if all 18+ gamers got the attention of the OFLC or someone with influence over it, then they'd get their rating. [ + quote]
heraldsun (Junior Member) 13 April 2008 17:53
*Quote:* *Quote:* It's because the people who work for the Office of Film and Literature Classification are complete morons. morons who believe that after the age of 15, people become disinterested in video games and start getting jobs/careers, paying bills, and living boring lives.. like these morons did. seriously though, can't australians who are 18+ do something like bitch at the right people who can get the changes done. im sure if all 18+ gamers got the attention of the OFLC or someone with influence over it, then they'd get their rating. completely true what you have just said :) but they did a recent study and found that console games are played on average by people over the age of 24 ....i think it was,so this initiated some group (i don't know if it was a government department) to reconsider the ratings system for video games....I.E R 18+,for some reason it didn't come thru,it was plastered all over the news and our current affairs shows....I'm not really 100% sure but i think there reasoning behind their decsion was that video games didn't warrant an R18 + [ + quote]
wolf503 (Newbie) 21 April 2008 5:56
Rockstar did not reveal exactly what was cut out of the game for the ratings board to consider it suitable enough for 15 year olds. if u read it properly you'll notice that rockstar have done it again, with San Andreas they were supposed to cut stuff out but they left it on anyways and allowed a mod to be released. there is still hope they havnt removed too much from this 1. lol rockstar r gods of the gaming industry, they wouldn't let their fans down. i hope. [ + quote]
pensfan12 (Newbie) 21 April 2008 7:03
aus owners of ps3's should just buy them from America...the ps3 is region free with games here. [ + quote]
wolf503 (Newbie) 21 April 2008 20:50
lol the only reason i paid $800 for a PS# so soon was so i could get GTA 4, which im getting spec ed and thats $150, so all up i paid/paying $950 just to play this game, only 6 days left!!! and i cbf waiting for a USA copy lol AUS version will still b good it always is [ + quote]