Valve Appeals Left 4 Dead 2 Australian Ban

25 Sep 2009 at 11:52:04 by Andy Alderson

Valve has announced it is appealing the Australian Office of Film And Literature Classification’s (OFLC) decision to ban Left4 Dead 2.

As we reported last week, the OFLC refused to award Valve’s zombie sequel an age rating due to the inclusion of melee violence in the game. Valve has since issued a statement confirming it will appeal the ban.

“Valve today announced an update on the ratings status of Left 4 Dead 2,” said the statement.

“The title, targeted for release exclusively on Xbox 360 and PC November 17, has been rated in the majority of the world and awaiting final ratings in the UK and New Zealand, where final ratings are expected in the coming days. Meanwhile, the ruling in Australia from the OFLC has been appealed by Valve.”

The OFLC is quickly becoming notorious in the gaming community for its censorship decisions, with numerous titles including Dark Sector, Fallout 3 and Grand Theft Auto IV all being refused classification or requiring re-edits.

The problem, it would appear, stems from the fact that the highest rating a game can be awarded in Australia is MA-15, meaning mature titles aimed at players 18 and above are unlikely to be passed by the OFLC. Recently, Aussie developers spoke out against the OFLC, with the Game Developers Association of Australia (GDAA) describing Australia’s “antiquated” censorship system as “a  joke.”
 

Comment