In a bit of a shocker, Australia’s notoriously strict game rating board, the OFLC, has given the upcoming black & white & bloody Wii game, MadWorld, a “M15+” classification, meaning that it will reach retail shelves in the land down under, and will be available for sale to anyone over the age of 15.  As reported by IGN, Sega has stated that the version rated “has not been edited or adjusted for Australia.” England’s ratings board, the BBFC, gave MadWorld a classification of “18+”, and while the ESRB has yet to give their assessment, most assume that a “Mature” rating is forthcoming.

Is the normally draconic OFLC getting soft on us?  MadWorld’s classification is the same as far less blood-soaked affairs like Fight Night Round 3 and Jade Empire, and Australia has essentially banned games with significantly less offensive content, like Marc Ecko’s Getting Up: contents Under Pressure and Blitz: The League.  The OFLC’s inconsistency has been the subject of much criticism, and this puzzling classification serves to give credence to its detractors.

 It is possible that the game received such a rating as a demonstration of the OFLC relaxing its criteria as an alternative to a proposed “R18+” rating, which has been opposed by Australia’s censorship ministers.  Seriously, censorship ministers; that’s their title.

MadWorld is slated for a March, 2009 release in Australia.

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