Late February Australia struck down another video game from being sold in their country due to the violence in the game.  This time it was NetherRealm’s and Warner Bros’s bloody good fighting game, Mortal Kombat.  The reason for the ban involved a series staple, the fatalities.

The Australian Classification Board which refused to rate the game said, “……The game includes over 60 fatalities (some of which are noted above) which contain explicit depictions of dismemberment, decapitation, disembowelment and other brutal forms of slaughter. Despite the exaggerated conceptual nature of the fatalities and their context within a fighting game set in a fantasy realm, impact is heightened by the use of graphics which are realistically rendered and very detailed.”

The ban should come as no surprise considering that Valve’s Left 4 Dead 2 had to be remade after their appeal was lost.   The blood and body parts were removed in order to jive with Australia’s rating system.

While all of this news may seem depressing for fans of the series in Australia, the good news is that Warner Bros. is fighting back by appealing the classification boards rating and the statement below is proof that they are working to get the issue resolved.

“After careful consideration Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Australia have decided to appeal to the Australian Classification Review Board against the RC (Refused Classification) decision given to Mortal Kombat. After reviewing both the game play 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. 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.” (IGN AU)

Whether or not Warner Bros. will be successful in their appeal remains to be seen, but unfortunately appeals usually do not work with Australia and game ratings.

via IGN AU and Game Podunk

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That sucks. I wonder what makes people so paranoid and be so strict.

I don't understand the AU gov't sometimes.

Yeah. The classification board is not very good here. Its always very strict but still refused to introduce an R18+ rating. They are still stuck thinking that gaming is for children, and therefore we can't see that sort of violence. No offense to fellow Australian gamers, but the way we act in reaction to the boards bad decisions is childish. Everyone here needs to wake up.

sucks to be an australian gamer

Wrestling crocodiles in real life. *thumbs up*

Pressing buttons to punch people into a bloody pulp in a video game. *thumbs down*

I feel bad for Australians. Not only do they get shafted on video game releases but the prices are ridiculously exorbitant.

Remember Chris...doing fatality in a game will make you want to it in real life.

Yup. And if I play Naughty Bear I will violenty dismember, dispatch and otherwise do very nasty things to stuffed members of the Ursidae family.