Mortal Kombat Vita banned in Australia

The Sony PlayStation Vita version of the Warner Bros. classic fighting game reboot Mortal Kombat has been refused classification by the Classification Board of Australia, earning an RC rating and making it ineligible for sale across the country.

Developed by NetherRealm Studios, the Vita version of last year's Mortal Kombat was submitted to the Classification Board of Australia by Warner Bros. despite the console versions of the game being banned in Australia in February last year for "explicit" violence.

According to Warner Bros., the publisher felt that the impact of the violence in the Vita version of Mortal Kombat would be lessened by the portable console's smaller screen size.

"We felt that because of the Vita's size, the smaller screen would minimise the impact of the violence in the game and we felt it might fit within the MA15+ category," a spokesperson for Warner Bros. told GameSpot AU. "Obviously, the Classification Board of Australia did not agree."

Warner Bros. clarified that the version submitted for classification in Australia was the same, unedited version of Mortal Kombat for the Vita that will be released globally.

The publisher also clarified that they did not submit the console version of the upcoming Mortal Kombat: Game of the Year edition for classification, fearing the game would also be RC because its content is identical to the original 2011 game.

According to Warner Bros, the Vita version of Mortal Kombat is purposefully designed for portable gaming, and includes "brand new gameplay features and content developed exclusively" for Vita. The game is due out globally on April 19.