When I was younger, I always dreamed of traveling to Australia to take in the beautiful scenery, dangerous wildlife, and excellent accent. But that was before I realized that the Australian public isn’t allowed to have fun video games. What would I do with my down time in Australia? Read? Knit? Scrapbook? Read about how to scrapbook? What do normal people do with their free time?
Rebellion, the developer behind the upcoming Aliens vs Predator game, had some choice words for the Australian Classification Board after the board banned the game from Australia.
Many developers try to be as nice to the Australian Classification Board as possible. Most even submit stripped down versions of their games to gain access to the country. Some studios, like Rebellion, take the “fuck you” approach to the situation and refuse to submit an edited version for review. Even fewer studios, like Rebellion, post inflammatory comments about how Australian citizens aren’t allowed to make their own choices.
We will not be releasing a sanitized or cut down version for territories where adults are not considered by their governments to be able to make their own entertainment choices.
Ouch. That is bound to upset someone. Since I agree with Rebellion, I can’t let them take the heat for this alone. Hey, Australian government, remember when your country was just a big prison? Doesn’t look like much has changed! Up high, Rebellion!
I keep waiting for Australian citizens to rise up and do something about all this gaming injustice, but I guess I’m in the minority of people who feel that video games are an important cultural medium. Besides, I realize that it’s hard to eat Combos, hold a controller, AND protest against a classification board. The last thing I want to do after ingesting over six ounces of pizza stuffed pretzel is protest, especially if I’m about to level.
