news

It’s almost like a proud tradition at this point.  Every time Rockstar releases their newest GTA adventure, a separate, less offensive version of the game is created to suit the needs of the Australian market.  See, Australia’s Office of Literature and Film Classification has no 18+ rating for games, so everything that’s released in the land down under needs to comply with their 15+ rating.  Since GTA III, Rockstar has been altering its games for the Aussie audience, including removing prostitutes, gory deaths and, of course, a certain high-temperature morning beverage, from the games.  GTA IV will be no exception, with Rockstar once again having to comply with Australia's rules.

 So what’s Grand Theft Auto IV going to be missing in Australia?  Well, no hard info yet, but Rockstar promises that while there are “some minor differences between the Australian and US/EU versions", they "are not significant and we do not believe they take away from the level of scope and detail that make GTA IV such an incredible experience."

Despite their game allegedly not suffering at the hands of the OFLC, Rockstar still issues a plea for Australia to get with the times and offer a classification for adult games, stating “We strongly support the OLFC and will continue to work within their guidelines; however we believe the government needs to bring games in line with other media by introducing an R18+ rating, or edits to games will continue to be necessary. We encourage consumers to let their politicians know that they support an R18+ rating for games.”

We won’t know what edits have been made until it’s released later this month. I expect that there will be no blood in the game, no dismemberment (weak!), and possibly some cleaned-up language.  Now if people find that the only weapon in their armory is a boomerang, you can expect some very unhappy gamers in Australia.


Related Articles:

GTA IV Intro Leaked?

British Retailers to Have a Hard Time Meeting GTA IV Pre-Orders

GTA IV’s Music Download Plan

Share this article: