Mortal Kombat publisher appealing Aussie 'Refused Classification' decision

by Alexander Sliwinski on Mar 2nd 2011 11:40AM

Warner Bros. Interactive's Australian arm will appeal the RC (Refused Classification) "unrating" bestowed upon Mortal Kombat by the Australian Classification Review Board. The designation prevents the game from being sold by retailers in the country.

"After reviewing both the gameplay and the Board's original decision, WBIE Australia believe the violence in the game is on par with numerous other titles readily available for sale in the Australian market," reads the publisher's statement, obtained by IGN AU. "As such, the company wants to exhaust all options to make the game available to Mortal Kombat fans in this country. An identical version of the game will be submitted for appeal."

Two years ago, Valve resubmitted an unedited version of Left 4 Dead 2 to the Aussie classification board in an appeal to an earlier RC ruling and ... lost.

Source: IGN AU

Tags: appeal, Australia, microsoft, Mortal-Kombat, mortal-kombat-2011, oflc, playstation, ps3, r18, ratings, WBIE, xbox

Reader Comments (30)

admittedly I have never read up on their laws or what have you, but is the rating system there done by the Government or is it an entity ran by a completely independent company like the ESRB is here?

@Chris DPSN AggieCEO XBLThe Aggi

The Australian Classification Review Board is overseen by the Aussie government.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Classification_Review_Board

I wonder what the appeal will say...
"Other games rip out spleens and use them to whip limp-less bodies too!"

I believe it's the government.

The Australian government is very strict with things. If they think something will "harm" you, they ban it. The two or three people in charge of this area (rating movies and games) think the people don't need to see it, so they ban it. And it's tough shit if you don't like it, it's the government.

They have an officer dedicated to censoring things. It's a shame such a beautiful country with so many unique species has to be ruined by it's government.

@Truant

with the Government being over it then I understand whats going on here.....and proves furthermore WHY the US government getting involved in something the ESRB does fine would be a BAD idea

@Drakkenfyre

in it's defense the australian government isn't that bad. I mean they have no debt, a great health care system, a great education system, there's not a lot of violence there and their kids have great morals.

Point is... maybe they're doing something right.

@eat it Doing A, B and C right, doesn't mean that D can't be stupid. and this is stupid. Who the heck doesn't have a rating for adults/18+?? It doesn't even make sense - it's like saying adult individuals shouldn't be able to play computer games. And don't even think about replying with anything about children - that's what ratings are for and their enforcement is an entirely different matter. Having an 18+ rating will not turn Australia's children into some gun-toting sex crazed lunatics or whatever else they might be afraid of.

@2late2die

"Who the heck doesn't have a rating for adults/18+?? "

The Adults Only rating is 18+ in america. But currently that is banned by Sony, MS, Nintendo, and every store. so it doesn't exist in america either.

@eat it

Some company needs to break with convention and just do PSN distribution for AO titles. Problem solved...

This would be a great way to re-release manhunt 2 without edits. Now that Move is out especially.

@eat it

Calling bullshit, the education system here sucks and the kids have great morals? no more than anywhere else I've been, still and equal spread of nice guys and assholes. The government here is a joke.

Just the other night at band practice, two guys I was listening to for entertainment started talking about how a guy with aids worked with them and they hated it, because he had aids, brilliant morals. Not saying it's terrible here, but we're not exceptional at much of anything.

ever watch the Horseman, it's on netflix. it's a very graphic aussie film about a dad on a revenge mission through rural OZ killing people that may or may not have been involved in killing his daughter in a snuff film.

but yeah MK is too violent to sell

@eat it

Fifty femur bones exploding from a human body is very disturbing.

@thisredengine

a person with 50 non-exploding femurs is disturbing

@thisredengine

So don't buy the game. Non-problem solved.

@eat it

I literally cannot stop laughing at your comment, by the way. + a billion, if that was at all possible.

@thisredengine
Fifty femur bones? You must work for the Aussie Ratings Board.. lol

I hear they also eat 72 babies!

@The Pork It was a joke...Have you ever played MK2 and seen the humor in the fatalities?

@The Pork

Judging by your reaction, you have no idea what a femur bone is or how many of them are in a human body.

@thisredengine

Judging by your reaction you have no idea what his reply says.

Hopefully WB carries more weight in AU than Valve did due to their film and television industry.

I just can't see how a "free" country won't allow grown adults to play a videogame. It's backwards for them to treat adults like this.

@theSkillfull1 True, but i think are bigger issues in life than video games getting slighted.

@thisredengine

Undoubtedly there are, but seeing as how this is a video game blog, and the topic of this post is about Australia not allowing adults to purchase a video game, I was commenting on that subject.

No doubt hunger, weather, finances, family; many things are more important, I agree with you 100%.

It's a good thing not to be australian :D

As much as I hate the nanny state mentality in the US, at least I can go to the store, pick up a copy of Mortal Kombat, and play it in my own home.

I guess Australia doesn't think that a 40 year old man is capable of making that type of decision for himself. Good thing their government is there to take care of those tough decisions for them.

Does that put a ban on private importing as well? (ebay etc?) since the games arent region locked from what I know

@Sepirioth

No it doesn't. Video Games that are refused a classification are simply illegal to sell in a brick and mortar store.

You can still load up your local web browser and buy them for half the price in a manner of seconds.

skeletor!

i feel bad for all the MK Fans there ! looks like they will have to wait or buy it online... blahhhh thank god i live in NY

Why is this newsworthy? this is the xxxth time we hear about australias crappy laws.
Dude, People come here for important or interesting gaming news, not to have our rss feed spammed by updates from backwater countries.
Whats next? "Top 10 games in Somalia"?

Mortal Kombats success will NOT depend on some rating board in australia!

@mokolejoe: Suppose I can live with being in a 'backwater' where I own my own home, don't have 'kevlar' listed as a pre-requisite to studying at university and don't have to roll sideways to get through a door. And it's a shame I have a stable, permanent job that pays above the median for my industry.

Shame about MK - after nearly 20 years - gets the ban hammer now. Especially seeing as many of us played the original in arcades with our parents cringing as they gave us more coins to feed the machines.

Here's hoping for success on WBIE's part.

And that gentlemen, is what will happen to Americans if Democraps continue to inject more censorship into our daily lives.

Mortal Kombat (2011)

Mortal Kombat publisher appealing Aussie 'Refused Classification' decision

Reader Comments (30)

Posted: Mar 2nd 2011 11:44AM Chris DPSN AggieCEO XBLThe Aggi said

Posted: Mar 2nd 2011 11:55AM Truant said

Posted: Mar 2nd 2011 12:02PM Drakkenfyre said

Posted: Mar 2nd 2011 12:06PM Chris DPSN AggieCEO XBLThe Aggi said

Posted: Mar 2nd 2011 12:18PM eat it said

Posted: Mar 2nd 2011 1:02PM 2late2die said

Posted: Mar 2nd 2011 4:19PM eat it said

Posted: Mar 2nd 2011 4:41PM kentuckyfried said

Posted: Mar 2nd 2011 6:22PM Killface for President said

Posted: Mar 2nd 2011 11:54AM eat it said

Posted: Mar 2nd 2011 12:15PM thisredengine said

Posted: Mar 2nd 2011 12:20PM eat it said

Posted: Mar 2nd 2011 12:36PM The Pork said

Posted: Mar 2nd 2011 12:37PM The Pork said

Posted: Mar 2nd 2011 12:38PM xreadmore said

Posted: Mar 2nd 2011 1:20PM thisredengine said

Posted: Mar 2nd 2011 1:21PM thisredengine said

Posted: Mar 2nd 2011 5:33PM This Little Man Says His Name Is said

Posted: Mar 2nd 2011 12:57PM theSkillfull1 said

Posted: Mar 2nd 2011 1:32PM thisredengine said

Posted: Mar 2nd 2011 2:50PM theSkillfull1 said

Posted: Mar 2nd 2011 1:47PM Cafecito said

Posted: Mar 2nd 2011 2:14PM OverMuch said

Posted: Mar 2nd 2011 4:03PM Sepirioth said

Posted: Mar 2nd 2011 5:35PM This Little Man Says His Name Is said

Posted: Mar 2nd 2011 4:46PM kentuckyfried said

Posted: Mar 2nd 2011 4:54PM TeamDaiGurren said

Posted: Mar 2nd 2011 9:08PM mokolejoe said

Posted: Mar 3rd 2011 9:06AM (Unverified) said

Posted: Mar 3rd 2011 11:31AM Sandite5 said

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