A while ago, we reported that Telltale Games wouldn’t be submitting the award-winning adventure game The Walking Dead for classification in Australia, for fear of it being considering above our ceiling of MA15+. But as of yesterday, the Classification Board has The Walking Dead registered and ready for sale. The classification? MA15+.
While the classification report cites themes and violence with a strong impact, oddly, it claims the game has no offensive language. Anyone who has played or seen the game knows this isn’t true. It’d be fair to say the language is “realistic” to a zombie apocalypse.
The Classification Board relies on videos sent from qualified applicants that show a game’s most questionable material, as well as presentations from the applicant to explain what’s happening. If one were to speculate on how that might occur, it’s possible the videos that Telltale sent didn’t include the colourful language spread all throughout the game.
A difficult task, since nearly every intense moment has a verbal reaction.
If they were to send a video without swearing, it begs the question, why didn’t they submit it in the first place? Perhaps they thought the violence alone was enough to be refused classification, and not worth the money to apply. Luckily, this hasn’t stopped many Australians from playing the game.
It’s impossible for the Classification Board to rate all the downloadable titles that come to our shores. Big publishers are more likely to adhere to regional guidelines, but it seems Telltale Games simply didn’t fix the mistake of The Walking Dead being available to us through Steam and iOS. As a result, many of you, like me, would have already bought, downloaded and played the game.
It’s now ready for a multi-platform release, however, so we may even see the multiple Game of the Year award winning title on shelves soon. Keep an eye out!
Thanks, @Shane!
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