Australia bans San Andreas
by Ross Miller 
{ Jul 29th 2005 at 4:00PM }
It was a matter of time before this became official. Australia, notorious for its strict policies on movies
and games (they've kind of used Crocodile Dundee as a ratings standard - just kidding), has finally banned Grand Theft
Auto: San Andreas from the country. Australian had been doing its own investigation into the Hot Coffee matter,
and now the Attorney-General has decreed that GTA would exceed its MA15+ (Mature, for 15 years and up) rating, and
since that's the limit the game is therefore barred from being sold anywhere in the land down under.
So, this just further adds to the pileup of bad news for Rockstar. For our Australian readers, how do you feel
about banning a game for its content?
[via GameInsider]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Carl @ Dec 18th 2005 10:08PM
I'm suprised "Hot Coffee" was in there, I was under the impression Aussie copies were severely edited, and many parts of the game were removed already... oh well, just gives them a reason to ban it I guess
Carl @ Dec 18th 2005 10:08PM
This now means that everyone there who hadnt imported it to begin with now have to... lol, and THAT copy will have the "full version" of the game.
Jeremy @ Dec 18th 2005 10:08PM
" how do you feel about banning a game for its content?"
What other reason wold you ban a game in the first place?
David @ Dec 18th 2005 10:08PM
Why are Australians being treated like criminals?
Dan @ Dec 18th 2005 10:08PM
GTA III was originally released completely uncut in Australia for a period of time, but the OFLC (Office of Film & Literature Classification) re-reviewed the game, taking it off sale sale for a month or not. When it was allowed back on shelves it was an edited version with (mainly) the prostitutes removed from the game. GTA:VC was edited from day one in Australia, again with similar cuts to GTA III. However GTA:SA was released with no cuts being made, despite having the same "banned" content as the previous two.
Down under we have an 'R' category in our ratings system which makes it illegal for anyone 17 and under to view R rated content. However only Films, DVDs, Magazines and (very rarely) Books have this criteria. The highest rating for games is MA (which is accessible to anyone 15 and up, with parental supervision where applicable), hence our seemingly frequent bannings of games.
To date the government has shown no interest in revising the rating system to include an R rating, possibly because it perceives that gameing is a "children orientated" pastime.
josh @ Dec 18th 2005 10:08PM
#3, check out british history around 1800
Chris McDowell @ Dec 18th 2005 10:08PM
I wonder if there is much smuggling of these games in. Or if you can bring them in if your travelling there. That would suck if movies and games got banned just cause they were a certain rating.
Boomhauer @ Dec 18th 2005 10:08PM
I hate censorship.
Please, please, please, please do not vote for Hillary Clinton in 08. Please. She will make the US like Austrailia. Say what you will about Bush and the religious right, but they simply are not as into banning and censoring things as their liberal counterparts.
funkonaut @ Dec 18th 2005 10:08PM
Once again, the government knows what's best for you better than you do. Aren't you glad that liberals are there to tell you what you can and can't play on your own game console? Sha-whew!
Chris @ Dec 18th 2005 10:08PM
Good call, #9. Australia's government isn't at all conservative and going along with the Bush agenda. Oh wait, dammit, I forgot, John Howard is probably more conservative than Dubya could ever dream to be.
Gee, maybe we should learn that assuming that "liberals" are behind all things bad isn't such a good idea.
Dave Metzener @ Dec 18th 2005 10:08PM
Boomhauer, If you think for one minute that Bush and his administration, not to mention conservatives in general, is going to sit back and let "Hot Coffee" be, you are saaadly mistaken.
Have you seen the list of movies that are OK for catholics? Tons of violent films, no films with any skin showing at all. It really makes no sense at all!
Clinton is just jumping on the bandwagon to get the press.
boxmyth @ Dec 18th 2005 10:08PM
Yeah, I agree Clinton is just a bandwagon jumper, but she lost my vote when I realized she'd put that before simple common sense. And joining up with Jack Thompson (or even listening to his religious fanaticism) is enough to make me want to impeach her now.
pingu @ Dec 18th 2005 10:08PM
Just buy it online. Our govt. can't censor that. I do think it is pretty stupid that one of the reasons that banned it was hot coffee. A THIRD PARTY utility which unlocks otherwise INNACCESSIBLE content shouldn't be a reason to ban a game. And if the little kiddies are smart enough to be able to do this without hot coffee, they can sure as hell can get access to porn otherwise.
evilhayama @ Dec 18th 2005 10:08PM
#5 summed it up really well but really, anyone who wanted this game has had months to buy it already. The worst part about our situation in oz is that games companies have to censor their own work to make it M15+. There are incredible numbers of gamers over 20, but no one cares.
PS, Playboy: The Mansion is still on sale here.
Ben @ Dec 18th 2005 10:08PM
That’s why the good lord invented Bit-torrent.
Fight the opression! Vive la revolution!
Lachy @ Dec 18th 2005 10:08PM
G'day. I'm from Australia and very glad to have picked up San Andreas before it was banned. Wasn't this code only in the pc version? It's not as if anyone could get the hot coffee part on ps2 or xbox yeah?
Anyways i'm sure the people who haven't got their copies will just import it.
PSP comes here sept 1st Yay!!!!
Sander @ Dec 18th 2005 10:08PM
I'm an Aussie, and as much as censorship sucks, getting shot sucks more =p
That said, well, this is just one big "Pirate This Game!" if we can't get ahold of it. Glad I have it already.
Boomhauer @ Dec 18th 2005 10:08PM
Why is it that neither main party truly supports free speech? The liberals will block "objectionable material" in order to protect society from itself. The religious right on the other hand attempts to impose its "superior" morality on the rest of the "hedonistic" society.
Vote libertarian
bandersnatch @ Dec 18th 2005 10:08PM
I completely agree, Boomhauer.
Both republicans and democrats stand for big government. They just simply define big government's role within the social contract differently.
Vote libertarian? Good luck preaching that to the masses. To quote Bernard Shaw -- "“A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.”"
getluv @ Dec 18th 2005 10:08PM
under Australian law, computer games will automatically
be Refused Classification if it has a sex scene, hence the Oz censors
decision. Microsoft would be pissed off though, the X-box version hasn't
been out for long.
Manhunt, has also been given a refused classification, because of
excessive violence. So its double standards, with other games like Manhunt out there.
Also it looks like independant film, Mysterious Skin could be faced
with an RC, some family groups are upset. However it seems unlikely it
will happen, Irreversible and 9 Songs were given R, for more racier and
horrific scenes.
Yes, Australians commonly buy their games from Europe, where PAL is
the format.
Timmi Tommi @ Dec 18th 2005 10:08PM
This is jus STUPID! violence, gore and killing other people os OK, but SEX is bad? I'm from Finland (the land of vodka and cute blond girls) and this whole hot coffee thing seems really stupid from my point of view... i mean we have full frontal nudity on prime time tv. Now i don't want to tell anyone else what to think, but my opinion is that love, sex and nudity is better for children then guns, blood and hitting freaking whores with a baseball bat!!
duerra @ Dec 18th 2005 10:08PM
"Oceania is at war with Eurasia. Oceania has always been at war with Eurasia."
Duskan @ Dec 18th 2005 10:08PM
Just as #14 stated, Playboy Mansion is still available here in Australia. I mean, didn't Playboy Mansion also include sex scenes without the use of any mod?
And why wasn't Leisure Suit Larry MCM banned as well? Doesn't that include explicit sex scenes without the use of any mod? Why is GTA the only game that takes all the blame?
Negative @ Dec 18th 2005 10:08PM
I am from Australia and I find this complete bullshit. The sex scenes can't be accessed without modifying the game files. Now, if GTA:SA is taken off because a 3rd party mod can make "naughty" things appear they should also take off "The Sims 2" off the market as with a 3RD PARTY MOD you can view them naked and see them have sex and etc.
Plus, according to the licence agreement..Im pretty sure it says you are not allowed to modify the files in the game.
Imp @ Dec 18th 2005 10:08PM
Quite honestly, if you don't see the difference between GTA:SA and The Sims, you're a freaking idiot.
chill @ Dec 18th 2005 10:08PM
Yeah sorry #8 but Bush and his right wing party are trying to regulate paid cable/satellite and the internet...Both sides are trying to censor what adults choose to play, watch and hear!
Eskimo Bob @ Dec 18th 2005 10:08PM
"Boomhauer, If you think for one minute that Bush and his administration, not to mention conservatives in general, is going to sit back and let "Hot Coffee" be, you are saaadly mistaken."
I haven't heard them say anything about it... If I were them, I'd just sit back quietly and make the Democrats look like the obsessive censorship party. I hope they do.
Blue Balloon @ Dec 18th 2005 10:08PM
Frankly, to have porn in game isn't really fun to play.
Loki @ Dec 18th 2005 10:08PM
#28 Then dont buy it, see how simple that is!
ill trooper @ Dec 18th 2005 10:08PM
"She will make the US like Australia."
Boomhauer, read the news more - banning a video game won't happen, never worked for books or movies, won't start now... WalMart might not carry it. That's all.
If you want to start panicking about government censoring things, the Democrats aren't anyone you need to worry about. Gore's wife was the head of the PMRC (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PMRC) and after eight years of Clinton/Gore, albums I buy still have cursing in the lyrics, so nothing happened there except some stickers were put on my CDs.
You want to worry about something? Ask yourself why normal people with no connection to terror events can be dragged in and held for questioning ( http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/2004-02-25-patriot-main_x.htm ), but when Bush campaign advisor Karl Rove gives the press an easy trail to figure out who a covert agent was, an agent who was ferreting out information on terrorism, Rove isn't even asked to give up his top security status? At least temporarily? He's a modern day Benedict Arnold for that bitch move, in my eyes. But Rove will never be questioned, despite the fact that he has put an American secret operative in danger, and comprimised all of her connections. TOTALLY unpatriotic move...
But he stays - Why?
Bush could invoke the Patriot Act on him, but he won't - he's Bush's friend.
I mean, video games are important to me, but wake up, there are more important matters at hand: if you want to start paying attention to politics all of a sudden, look deeper than 'Hot Coffee."
Simon @ Dec 18th 2005 10:08PM
Why are they banning the Xbox and PS2 versions?. It's my understanding that you can't access the clothed sex scenes (unclothed is an option in the PC version, but the nude skins come from the mod, not Rockstar) in the Xbox and PS2 versions unless you use an Action Replay cheating thingy.
They don't need to ban the game for some shit 90% of people CAN'T access, let alone be bothered to buy a friggin Action Replay just to access it. I just bought San Andreas a couple of days ago for the Xbox, and I have no urge to buy an Action Replay to play the sex minigames because it's just...not worth it. I can't be fucked.
Ban the PC version if you must, but leave the console versions alone.
I highly doubt the censors even knew how to access the content on the console versions cos they don't know jack shit about games. We need to let people choose what they want. Stop censoring stuff.
markgreyam @ Dec 18th 2005 10:08PM
Duskan, LSL:MCL was banned in Australia, before it was even released.
Manhunt was originally M15+ but banned after a West Australian MP (Minister of Parliment) asked for it to be re-classified, and as a result it was classed as an 18+ game and subsequently banned.
But the PRIME example of how clueless a country I'm lucky enough to live in, a certain New South Wales MP asked the OFLC to look at Project Gotham Racing 2 with the consideration of banning it because it had Sydney tracks in it that encouraged people to drive around streets that existed in real life in a dangerous manner. I kid you not, someone actually asked for PGR2 to be banned here. The game actually appeared on Australia game store shelves a good 3-4 weeks before it's intended release date, which in some quarters was seen as an attempt to get as many sales as possible before a possible ban was put in place. I know myself and a friend charged out to get it ASAP once we were aware it was available. Of course, sanity for once prevailed and it wasn't banned, but that should hopefully give you an idea of the level of stupidity Australia gamers like myself have to deal with.
Yet the Punisher game and Resident Evil 4 sit happily on store shelves without anyone raising an eyebrow. Actual game content appears to have little to do with a lot of this, it's really just if someone happens to stumble across the content or if it makes the news elsewhere.
zano @ Dec 18th 2005 10:08PM
i am going to make numerous copies of the pc version of GTA:SA and hand them out free. muaaaaahhahahahah the gov cant stop us , ever.
AP @ Dec 18th 2005 10:08PM
"Oceania is at war with Eurasia. Oceania has always been at war with Eurasia."
Amen duerra :)
Kev @ Dec 18th 2005 10:08PM
to #30 :- That's exactly what we should be thinking. As everybody else is so fond of pointing out, GTA is only a game. Why make such a big fuss out of it?
The only things that this whole mess highlights for me is that Rockstar and the programmers there are complete idiots. They are well aware of the controversy that each release of GTA generates, and they are quite happy to push peoples' buttons about it. They are only reaping what they've sown, and the fact that they were stupid enough to leave an amateurish sex-game in there is a good indication of them being in the shortlist for the next Darwin awards.
As for the political controversy - Well, I don't know about anybody else here, but Hilary Clinton has absolutely no authority or credibility with me when it comes to moral standards, given that she let her husband off the hook after he betrayed his own family's trust and perverted the spirit of justice (no matter how much I might also diagree with the zealots who pursued him in that matter.) The fact that she's jumping on such an ephemeral bandwagon as videogame violence is no recommendation.
As for the other comment about The Sims not being similar, well yes it is. It's not a game I've played much, as it doesn't really appeal to me as much as one would expect (although the GBA version was actually amusing for a while...) However, think about the fact that there are a lot of people (including younger players) that "torture" (for want of a better word) the characters that they have control over.
Of course, ever since games have been made that allow the player to inflict virtual suffering on the characters, plenty of players have been doing so, with no small amount of pleasure. That's something I can't really identify with myself (other than the time I put the weapons cheat codes into GTA-VC and found a comfortable spot on top of one of the dock warehouses ), but of the people I've met who've done this sort of thing, they certainly don't seem like psychopaths. Although... They never do, do they?
Perhaps games like the GTA and Sims series should be looked at as not provoking or condoning violent behaviour, but as kind of "social barometers" that indicate the state of mind of the people playing them. Why is the player doing this, and what is going on in their life that's provoking this kind of anger? More importantly, what can we do as a society to address these frustrations? I'd love to see a game really try to address that.
Personally, the appeal of GTA-VC to me was the immersive world and the exploration. This was fantastic, for a while. I quickly lost interest when I was progressing through the missions and hit a brick wall with one of them. At that point, the game had little to offer, as it was relying on the mission-based narrative to open up more areas and features. That spoilt the whole thing for me, and really emphasised how linear the game really was. It's also why I haven't bought GTA-SA; I don't even feel tempted to install an illicit copy of it, I'm so disillusioned with the franchise. Even the graphics don't look much better than Vice City.
Anyway, this was supposed to be a comment, not a thesis. Hopefully there is somebody out there thinking along the same lines as I am and will release a game I'd really like to play. Recently, the only game I have really enjoyed and really got into (after I finishe HL2) is Darwinia, despite the user-interface.
Nike @ Dec 18th 2005 10:08PM
I liv in AUS and own this game. It is great. It suks that they would ban it but most people that want it have already bought it anyway.
matt @ Dec 18th 2005 10:08PM
thats just stupid they should just make a rating r for 18 and overbut it was very stupid putting a sex mini game in gta sa the people at rockstar should be ashamed the prostatutes were fine but sex mini games what next a sex mini game where you undress them then put a condom over his penis thats just to far they should be sewed
Zac johnston @ Dec 18th 2005 10:08PM
To Zano #33, I live in OZ, where do you live, I support you in giving away copies of GTA,if you are actually serious, could i please get my hands on a free PC GTA-SA.
If you WERE serious, Email me at:
zac.johnston.00@ulh.tas.edu.au