James Delahunty
25 Sep 2009 14:03
Valve is appealing a decision by Australia's Office of Film and Literature Classification that denied Left 4 Dead 2 a rating in the country, effectively banning the game in the territory. In all other territories, the game has received an 18+ or Mature rating, given by ESRB, USK, CERO, KGRB etc. but in Australia there is no 18+ certificate for videogames on the market.
"The title has been rated in the majority of the world and awaiting final ratings in the UK and New Zealand, where final ratings are expected in the coming days. Meanwhile, the ruling in Australia from the OFLC has been appealed by Valve," a statement from the Valve reads.
The OFLC said that the game depicts "unrelenting violance" and is unsuitable to be given a rating of 15+, the highest it could be given in the country. "It's funny that a place like Australia, which has come up with some pretty violent material in the past with something like Mad Max, can effectively ban videogames for the same reason," an Electronic Arts spokesperson said.