Another game banned in Australia

[PARANOiA]

Blitz: The League

http://au.gamespot.com/news/6164484.html?tag=topslot;title;1&om_act=convert&click=topslot

It's only a few weeks into the New Year and Australia's restrictive game classification system has already taken its first scalp, with Xbox 360 sports title Blitz: The League being refused classification down under.
Australia's Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) has refused classification for Midway's American football title, effectively banning it for sale down under. Blitz: The League was set for release in Australia on February 22. The official ruling from the OFLC states that the game was refused classification because of in-game drug use.
"In the course of the game, the player may access what are purported to be both legal and illegal performance-enhancing drugs for the members of the team. Choosing to use these drugs (by selecting from a menu) will have both negative and positive effects on team-members, for example, by improving their speed while making them more susceptible to injury. Each drug has different characteristics. Fake urine samples may also be acquired for avoiding positive drug tests. While the game-player can choose not to use the drugs, in the Board’s majority view there is an incentive to use them. By using them judiciously, the player can improve the performance of the football team (while managing the negative effects) and have a better chance of winning games, thereby winning bets and climbing the league table," the OFLC board report stated.
Under the Australian Computer Games Table of the National Classification Code, titles that "depict, express or otherwise deal with matters of sex, drug misuse or addiction, crime, cruelty, violence or revolting or abhorrent phenomena in such a way that they offend against the standards of morality, decency and propriety generally accepted by reasonable adults" will be refused classification.

Sigh. Yay for Australian censorship.

 

[Martin Eddy]

Who are these people. Have they ever played a video game in their pitiful lives!

 

[NERO]

si pihsrosnec nailartsuA

 

[Martin Eddy]

is what?

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Backwards, I presume.

 

[Martin Eddy]

Doh! I haven't had a coffee yet.

 

[JacksBleedingEyes]

Blitz: The League

http://au.gamespot.com/news/6164484.html?tag=topslot;title;1&om_act=convert&click=topslot



Sigh. Yay for Australian censorship.

Sorry guys but I have to agree with the censorship on some games. I really hate how everyone also hides behind the mantra of "It's just a game". The mentaility here in Australia especially in regards to sports is about having a fairness in sport and I just don't see how it would really work here anyway.

The next game we make should be about growing poppies and in Afghanistan and handling our heroin creation import and export. The more people we get addicted, the more money we make and the higher our ranking goes. Fucking rubish.

 

[vazel]

The next game we make should be about growing poppies and in Afghanistan and handling our heroin creation import and export. The more people we get addicted, the more money we make and the higher our ranking goes.

Sounds fun. I'd play that because yes it's just a game. I clearly separate fantasy and reality in my mind. Although I do think there are already games about drug dealing for the PC.

Edit: Here's one I remember, Dopewars. http://sourceforge.net/projects/dopewars/

 

[Rainbow Man]

The problem in genreal with censorship and legislating morality is you create a floating border between what's allowed adn what isn't.

Movies with drug use aren't banned but video games are. But if you ban a product of one media for whatever reason wha'ts to stop them from doing the same for another reason. Or banning a product from another media for that matter.

"Since we did X it's not very far from doing Y also so why not?" is sort of how the slippery slope goes.

Peace.

 

[babcat]

I'm very, very sick of censorship.

Australia needs to realize that people have the right to buy games which depict drug use if they want to. It's none of the governments business to try and stop them. Basically, they are trying to censor speech. What's next? Will they ban a book or TV show just because it includes drug use?

Of course if they had their way they would ban any television program that had any content other than citizens paying their taxes, worshiping their government, and rejoicing over the fact the government no longer allows free thought.

 

[JacksBleedingEyes]

I'm very, very sick of censorship.

Australia needs to realize that people have the right to buy games which depict drug use if they want to. It's none of the governments business to try and stop them. Basically, they are trying to censor speech. What's next? Will they ban a book or TV show just because it includes drug use?

Of course if they had their way they would ban any television program that had any content other than citizens paying their taxes, worshiping their government, and rejoicing over the fact the government no longer allows free thought.

I agree with the fact that there is a slippery slope to censorship. And one needs to be very carefull in not taking rights away from the masses. But in the same regard people are stupid, and people are very easily influenced. The more you expose a particular facet of life the more it becomes socially accepted. Womens rights, Gay rights, African American rights, Aboriginal rights we're all positive. Unfortunatelly some things shouldn't be exposed. Violence is in your nature and regardless of how you censor it nature will not change. Exposing drug use however and never defining that fine line of "drugs are bad mkay" seems to be making it more socially acceptable. In my opinion that is wrong.

 

[Colourless]

Other games have drug use, or drug related activites (even the good old bad Grand Theft Auto Sanitized Australia Version still has all the drug activites in it) and they aren't baned. Drug Use itself wont get you instantly banned.

The reason why this game is banned is due to the way it treats the use of Performance Enhancing Drugs in sports. If it is true that "there is an incentive to use them. By using them judiciously, the player can improve the performance of the football team (while managing the negative effects) and have a better chance of winning games, thereby winning bets and climbing the league table" as mentioned in the report, then there is a problem. Use of Performance Enhancing Drugs in sports is not tollerated in this country and glorifying their use also wont be tollerated.

If there was a movie about a sporting team that used Performance Enhancing Drugs, intentionally evaded detection and went on to win a championship without being caught, then it would probably be banned to.

Do I agree with everything the OFLC does? Hell no.
Do I agree with this decision? Yes, unless there is other evidence to suggest they were off base with their decision

Of course in the end I blame the government for keeping the OFLC on a tight leash and causing the governments standards of morality to be imposed onto the OFLC, that should be independant of the government.