Some rumblings on the internet recently speculated that Epic’s upcoming shooter Bulletstorm had been ‘modified’ for an Australian audience – but after speaking with both EA and the Classification Board, I can confirm that the game has gotten through classification unscathed!
The source of said speculation can be traced to the above – the decision from the Classification Board. If you scroll down you can see that the version seen by the Board has been marked ‘MODIFIED’.
This doesn’t necessarily mean, however, that the game content has been modified in any dramatic way. Speaking to the Classification Board this morning, we were informed that ‘MODIFIED’ doesn’t necessarily mean ‘changed’.
“We usually use the word ‘modified’ when we get a second version of the game in for classification,” claimed a Classification Board rep, “and that often happens for a number of different reasons.
“For example, if the game is multi-format, and the Wii version has extra characters, then we’ll term that version ‘MODIFIED’. Same goes for any other extra content – extra levels, stuff like that. It doesn’t have any bearing on the classification itself.”
A quick phonecall to EA confirmed that Bulletstorm’s ‘MODIFIED’ status had nothing to do with the game being altered for the Australian market.
“The game hasn’t changed and is the same as the UK/US titles,” a rep from EA claimed. “The reason it says it’s modified is because of the Bulletstorm Epic Edition and all the extra bits included like the Gears of War 3 Beta.”
Phew! Glad that’s all cleared up. Thanks to all the concerned citizens who alerted us to the situation!
Patrick Ashforth
Friday, January 7, 2011 at 10:49 AMIn weird related news: Manhunt is available on the Australian Steam store as of today. Did that game get unbanned at some point?
Ray
Friday, January 7, 2011 at 10:59 AMWait WHAT? What the hell is that?
God, how about some consistency in 2011, Classification Board? Same thing happened with GTAIV!
Now my pre-banned copy of Manhunt seems a little less shiny.
Crazyguy1990
Friday, January 7, 2011 at 11:01 AMHuh, I noticed this too. How does that work out? :S
Korwin
Friday, January 7, 2011 at 5:47 PMMmm noticed that. Rockstar finally pulled their thumb out and is now letting Aussie’s buy stuff from their library, I can finally add Max Payne to my steam list :).
Ray
Friday, January 7, 2011 at 11:26 AMSO ANGRY WITH THE CLASSIFICATION BOARD RIGHT NOW.
So banning Manhunt ten months after release because of an incorrect media story in the UK and pressure from that idiot Phillip Ruddock somehow no longer applies?
Do you ever stand by your initial rulings or what? Or are they in fact, just convenient at the time and not really rulings at all?
YOU ARE DAMAGING THE GAME INDUSTRY IN THIS COUNTRY WITH EVERY ONE OF YOUR STUPID DECISIONS.
Adam De Cruz
Friday, January 7, 2011 at 12:45 PMThey are proving to be quite idiots :)
Jamesmacusedmyhandle
Friday, January 7, 2011 at 11:29 AMUnmodified Testostebone for all!!! I was worried that the board was going to mess with this.
doubleDizz
Friday, January 7, 2011 at 11:44 AMThanks Mark! You’re a real dick! …um, Private Eye.
Denaz
Friday, January 7, 2011 at 12:03 PMThank god I read this! I was just about to preorder from the UK today :P
Chuloopa
Friday, January 7, 2011 at 12:10 PM*little happy dance*
warcroft
Friday, January 7, 2011 at 12:15 PMI emailed you guys about this last night after reading the people on the Official Xbox forums were getting worried.
Many thanks for clearing this up for all of us.
Still, is strange how a game like this can get through unscathed and yet a game like Dark Sector from a few years back, which is rather mild in comparison, gets banned.
The Cracks
Friday, January 7, 2011 at 12:37 PMThis just goes to show that we need that R18+ rating :P
Adam De Cruz
Friday, January 7, 2011 at 12:44 PM….uncensor Left 4 Dead 2 then? Seriously, I am dying from going to my friends house, just to play L4D2 censored, then to come back home to play it on Steam uncensored.
Blackwater
Friday, January 7, 2011 at 1:40 PMWait australia IS getting the Epic edition? *runs to EB*
Ray
Friday, January 7, 2011 at 1:46 PMHey here’s my anger in blog form:
http://preparationsforbirth.wordpress.com/2011/01/07/manhunt-now-unbanned-in-australia-wait-what/
Excuse me while go punch a wall several times.
Matthew
Friday, January 7, 2011 at 2:13 PMchances are manhunt isn’t unbanned, and is a mistake, i’ll be expecting the board take action on steam for it.
Grandmaster B-Funk
Friday, January 7, 2011 at 9:05 PMsteam is an online store, and thus, doesn’t have to listen to the ratings board, since online media can’t be rated, hence why games always say something like “rating could change online” because they aren’t legaly able to classify it, so steam can do whatever the hell it wants
Chris Bobridge
Friday, January 7, 2011 at 10:21 PMThe reason for ‘rating may change online’ etc for titles with online play is that even if the game is rated G for example, if you allow user created content and chat, people could easily ensure that rating is upgraded.
So essentially – our game is rated G, but who knows what those crazy people on the Interwebs may do?
crotchdot
Saturday, January 8, 2011 at 10:55 PMYep, it was a mistake, as of Saturday, it’s gone from the Aussie store.
706-2
Friday, January 7, 2011 at 4:08 PMHopefully Duke Nukem Forever makes it through ok too. “Oh whats that, you’ve been waiting for this game for 10 years, sorry, BANNED”
TurboPhoenix
Friday, January 7, 2011 at 4:57 PMManhunt is crap anyway, who cares if it’s unbanned?
Jehan Hapuarachchi
Saturday, January 8, 2011 at 5:24 AMIt’s not a bad game, it’s honestly one of the few Rock Star games I have finished.
nightFlarer
Sunday, January 9, 2011 at 6:32 PMWasn’t this the same deal before Halo Reach came out? Everybody was worried that we were getting a “MODIFIED” version of Reach, and now it looks like the same thing has happened again with Bulletstorm.
http://www.kotaku.com.au/2010/07/calm-down-halo-reach-is-not-censored-in-australia/