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Silent Hill: Homecoming unbanned in Australia

Australian Classification Board revises refused classification status; Konami's survival horror game green-lit for sale.

Australia's strict video game classification regime claimed several high-profile game casualties during 2008. Shellshock 2: Blood Trails, Silent Hill: Homecoming, Dark Sector, F.E.A.R 2: Project Origin, and Fallout 3 were all refused the maximum MA15+ rating, effectively banning them from sale down under. The latter three games were eventually passed fit for sale either by resubmission with edited content or through the appeals process. However, despite being banned in late September, Silent Hill: Homecoming's fate has remained unknown until now, with the game sitting in refused-classification limbo.

An update to the Classification Board's online rating database dated January 5, 2009 now clearly lists Silent Hill: Homecoming as conforming to the maximum MA15+ rating for video games, making it legal to be sold in Australia. The site lists the rating as "revised," with consumer advice identifying strong horror violence and themes.

At the time of the ban last year, an Atari spokesperson (Atari is the local distributor of the Konami game) confirmed to GameSpot AU that the board's grievances were with the game's high-impact violence, copious blood spray, decapitations, partial corpse dismemberment, and depictions of torture. The spokesperson also indicated that the distributor's intention was to resubmit the game "early next year," after discussing the feasibility of making edits to the game for the region. An Atari spokesperson was unavailable at time of print today to confirm what, if any, changes have been made to the Australian version of the game to pass Aussie censors.

In Australia, the highest rating available for a game is MA15+, as opposed to other forms of media, such as film or DVDs, which have an R18+ classification (the R rating prohibits sales to anyone under the age of 18). Games that feature content deemed unsuitable for an MA15+ rating are refused classification and are effectively banned from sale.

For more about Australia's game-classification system, check out GameSpot AU's in-depth Censory Overload feature.

51 Comments

  • tawagivercetti

    Posted Jan 7, 2009 11:29 pm GMT

    What about GTAIV for consoles??? Why hasn't it been unbanned yet, its fully unedited on PC! Rockstar has been treated like crap by the Australian censors (sad little deprived men)
    BTW Aussie Gamers RULE and we will have our way. We cannot be defeated.

  • imprezawrx500

    Posted Jan 7, 2009 9:14 pm GMT

    "Man I was going to move to Australia to get a job , that sucks" come to New Zealand instead, we have a r18.

  • rockatanski

    Posted Jan 7, 2009 7:12 pm GMT

    Swallow and suck on that Atkinson, you pecker headed conservatist imbecile.

  • InfectX

    Posted Jan 7, 2009 11:57 am GMT

    damn labor party

  • kibbik

    Posted Jan 7, 2009 9:08 am GMT

    @ranjeet because it is a fact that young children can be genuinely scarred by viewing acts of violence as they cannot all distinguish between whether something is real or make believe, it is also a fact that it can effect their behaviour. games are a hell of a lot more realistic than 15 years ago, and to not have any ratings system at all would be an incredibly irresponsible thing to allow. that's not to say the system doesn't need an overhaul pronto, because in the current gaming climate an R+ rating is required so mature age gamers are not disadvantaged with edited game content thus spoiling the experience.

    as for silent hill making it through the censors, i'm rapt. i love horror games.

  • ranjeet_murba

    Posted Jan 7, 2009 5:15 am GMT

    y do they hav to rate games anyway

  • spacemariens22

    Posted Jan 7, 2009 1:27 am GMT

    who cares if the game was crap thats not the point the point is we need a r18+ rating so we dont have to worrie about games being allowed here or not!

  • aryoshi

    Posted Jan 6, 2009 9:58 pm GMT

    I think it's simply outrageous that the board only limits the highest to 15+. What about those 18 year old gamers? Or the older ones? I have no doubt in my mind they're feeling the kick in this especially. Besides, how far do you think you're gonna keep the younger crowd sheltered by simply "banning" these games? Movies tend to have more realistic and graphic content, including nudity and blood. I personally think it's silly to go butthurt over pixels. Sure I don't think a game revealing Hot Coffee-like content should be available to kids, but as far as cursing, slight nudity, blood, and so on? Big deal. You get more out of watching those streetgang interviews and watching life in those max-security prisons than just pixels. Australia should really just lighten up and worry about more important things than just simple pixels and fakeness. I highly doubt 95% of the board even bothers playing games, so what the hell would they know really?

  • Media_Mind

    Posted Jan 6, 2009 8:27 pm GMT

    too bad the game stinks

  • SleepingDragon7

    Posted Jan 6, 2009 8:13 pm GMT

    and i'm just worried that madworld won't make it through classification. PLEASE, AUSTRALIA!

  • SleepingDragon7

    Posted Jan 6, 2009 8:10 pm GMT

    did you know there's a petition going for R18+ to be unbanned in Australia? It's in Toowoomba at the moment. (That's where I live, it was in the newspaper this morning.)

  • Sendmn23

    Posted Jan 6, 2009 7:25 pm GMT

    whats point? I mean Silent hill 5 was'nt that great... it was'nt even scary.... people get a life.....

  • Zythyl

    Posted Jan 6, 2009 6:40 pm GMT

    Mmm I love the taste of Steam in the morning.

    Retail is for U16yo's ; let the gaming world progress and DD now!

  • 2x4b96123

    Posted Jan 6, 2009 5:54 pm GMT

    ok.. priority 1. introduce R18+ rating.. priority 2. fix the pricing of games... when the price of a new release 360 game is $120AUD and the Australian dollar is 80 US cents.... we're getting ripped off on two fronts here!!
    DAMN THE SYSTEM!!

  • Spider-Jim

    Posted Jan 6, 2009 5:42 pm GMT

    iMPORT iS my frIENd!!!!!!!!

  • Scarshi

    Posted Jan 6, 2009 5:00 pm GMT

    I guess there will always be a line drawn when it comes to sex and violence in general. Anyone can get their mits on sex and violence movies easy, control on this subject was brought in too little - too late. But, I think games are still something the government feels they can at least try and control to some extent.
    In the end, no business feels they need the pressure of policing kids in a computer game store with newly accepted R18+ rated games sitting next to a Wii Mario Party game and controlling the kiddies to "not look or touch". Especially when it only takes just one game sold to a minor to send your business down the gutter in hefty fines and ruined reputation by being on the evening news.
    Buying the unedited games will always be a FACT of ordering online from some distant country. So wait and buy edited, or try and impress your "friend/s" with unedited. Whatever makes your gaming playable.

  • dr_jashugan

    Posted Jan 6, 2009 3:47 pm GMT

    Looks tough being a gamer in Australia.

  • Krammin

    Posted Jan 6, 2009 3:40 pm GMT

    I watched an ABC report the other night that reported on this issue. The report came across quite strongly that an R18 classification should be brought into Australia as they discussed, there are more gamers over 18 then there are under. The average age of Australian gamers is now 30, so it makes sense. Then they interviewed Michael Atkinson (the man stopping this from happening) and he was doing the interview while playing the Nintendo Wii, was kinda scary because that image alone summed his views up without even saying a word.

    The problem is local retailers are loosing a lot of $$ as we gamers over 18 just import because it's to much hassle in our own country. Pathetic.

  • FelixTheGreat15

    Posted Jan 6, 2009 3:05 pm GMT

    Yeah good thing the ESRB isn't banning games, there would probably be some legal things if that started happening. This doesn't matter though, the game wasn't that good so it's not like this unbanning will help it that much.

  • ceetizzy

    Posted Jan 6, 2009 3:01 pm GMT

    Hmmm, I did not know that....lighten up Aussie classification board!

  • magicquebec

    Posted Jan 6, 2009 2:24 pm GMT

    Banning games is the most stupid thing ever... Movies are a 1000 times more graphic and violent, a movie is way more real than a game...

    The only thing that could get a game banned is nudity/sexuality... IMO.

  • dubb55

    Posted Jan 6, 2009 2:23 pm GMT

    Man I was going to move to Australia to get a job , that sucks

  • bigd575

    Posted Jan 6, 2009 2:22 pm GMT

    Well at least there getting one of the games to bad they can't get all of em.

  • Judza

    Posted Jan 6, 2009 2:19 pm GMT

    Should never have happened in the first place. It's obvious that the OFLC are inept at classifying games without the R rating in place for gaming. To have so many double standards and contradictory "reasons" for banning games; it is obvious the system is flawed. Now the game is rated MA15+. That has positives and negatives,

    +1 for the Aussie gamers who want to play the game (since it is now legal to purchase it over here).

    -1 since kids can still get their hands on the game just as easily.

    If the review board had access to the R18+ rating, I have no doubt that this game and various other "mature" games would be reclassified to have this rating.

    It is much more informative for parents that buy games for their children, to know that the games they are buying are R18+ rated, rather than MA15+.

    If that blasted SA attorney general (for Labor might I add) would get his head out of a place I'd like to kick, then maybe...just maybe the ratings system for Aussie gaming will be reworked to have an R rating included. As a result, this entire fiasco of having to alter content/reclassifying etc. would hardly ever occur, and minors would not be getting their grubby little hands on games that should not have anything less than an 18+ rating on them.

  • DrKill09

    Posted Jan 6, 2009 2:16 pm GMT

    The Australian government needs to realize the year is not 1981. NOT ALL GAMES ARE FOR KIDS, FIX YOUR RATING SYSTEM! I may complain about the ESRB, but compared to their screwed up system, the ESRB is perfect.

  • Awful_Cleric

    Posted Jan 6, 2009 2:14 pm GMT

    Doesn't matter AUS still has the largest list of banned games out there.
    You would think that the Aussie Govt. who were responsible for "The Lost Generation" would get it through their thick skulls that they should not interfere with the rights of any individual.

  • datniccah187

    Posted Jan 6, 2009 2:02 pm GMT

    Boo for all this censorship. Its all one big joke.

  • Ohno_Kateh

    Posted Jan 6, 2009 2:00 pm GMT

    Wasn't the reason for Fall out 3 originally being banned from australia was because the game used actual drug names?

  • jrabbit99

    Posted Jan 6, 2009 1:49 pm GMT

    Good, i hate it when games are banned.

  • friedweasel

    Posted Jan 6, 2009 1:23 pm GMT

    we already have fallout 3

  • Chief_Kuuni

    Posted Jan 6, 2009 1:11 pm GMT

    that's too bad, all them games. Hopefully they get fallout 3 soon

  • xXAcidXx

    Posted Jan 6, 2009 12:21 pm GMT

    lol i wonder if they could censor parts out in the game or repalce the gun sounds with rubber ducky noises. jk. but anyways Australia your gonna like the game

  • Paladin_King

    Posted Jan 6, 2009 12:20 pm GMT

    oh and the whole idea that "copious blood spray" was one of the reasons for the banning just sounds a little silly, somehow.

  • Paladin_King

    Posted Jan 6, 2009 12:19 pm GMT

    oh Australia.....you really need to fix your ratings system. When the average gamer is well over 20 years of age, yet the highest rating is "15+,' you know there's a big problem. And people complain about retailers not carrying AO games in North America...heh.

  • Ice_man_1985

    Posted Jan 6, 2009 12:15 pm GMT

    congrats Australia

  • Dreski83

    Posted Jan 6, 2009 11:53 am GMT

    Something about games that are too graphic being flat out banned tells me rules that are set in place to avoid children being exposed to such material are simply not good enough... or the people making the rules are just not good at enforcing them

    Why bother with filtering out the bad eggs when you can easily reject the whole batch from the get go... it makes sense, but still comes off kind of lazy to me.

  • rktPYZQShWz

    Posted Jan 6, 2009 11:36 am GMT

    Funny how all the comments knocking the PEOPLE BANNING GAMES IN AUSTRALIA are actually getting thumbed down.

  • buzzguy

    Posted Jan 6, 2009 10:54 am GMT

    Be happy you live in North America, guys. We get everything!!!

  • 360player_eq12

    Posted Jan 6, 2009 10:44 am GMT

    @TXMostWanted - China is bad about it also.

  • danjammer69

    Posted Jan 6, 2009 10:43 am GMT

    Australia used to be such a baddass country. I would not expect this from them. How did they get their knickers in such a twist?

  • TXMostWanted

    Posted Jan 6, 2009 10:30 am GMT

    It was outright banned? lol I didn't know a country could monitor content like this

  • ace244

    Posted Jan 6, 2009 10:29 am GMT

    (jadefury27 Posted Jan 6, 2009 5:59 pm GMT how a gamer can live there on in germany i'll never know...)

    um do you mean australia?

  • TAO-SIM posted Jan 6, 2009 10:24 am GMT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    TAO-SIM

    Posted Jan 6, 2009 10:24 am GMT (hide)

    why change the way it start changing things leave it the way it is

  • ASG_

    Posted Jan 6, 2009 10:08 am GMT

    What are those asses trying to prove?
    It's not like it's making them happier.
    "YAY another violent game we CAN'T buy! Even if others wanted to."

  • jadefury27 posted Jan 6, 2009 9:59 am GMT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    jadefury27

    Posted Jan 6, 2009 9:59 am GMT (hide)

    how a gamer can live there on in germany i'll never know...

  • gamer082009 posted Jan 6, 2009 9:55 am GMT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    gamer082009

    Posted Jan 6, 2009 9:55 am GMT (hide)

    I will never live in Australia, that's for sure. Thank god we don't have this type of nonsense here in the US.

  • BRK_Elite

    Posted Jan 6, 2009 7:34 am GMT

    Man im really getting sick of the Australian Classification Board. They let R18+ Movies and shows into Australia but not videogames. I think Gamespot, IGN and so forth need to make a petition and get it's subscribers to vote for R18+ games in Australia. They need to show that the majority of gamers in Australia want more violent games. And if kids are too young for them its the parents decision. Why should we all suffer because some stupid mother bought here 8 year-old son a violent game. Make a petition GS.

  • Sellwin

    Posted Jan 6, 2009 5:55 am GMT

    I hope it's unedited....I've been waiting for this one.

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