The Classification Board today advised that F.E.A.R. 2 has been unbanned following an appeal by publisher Warner Bros to the Classification Review Board. In an impressive about-face, the Review Board has decided that Monolith’s horror-themed FPS isn’t quite as violent and gory as first thought and will now see release – in unedited form – in Australia in February.
The forums trolled by Xbox Live subscribers are thick with accounts of bannings today, with what appears to be a broad sweeping set of Live accounts deleted, keeping thousands from accessing online gaming. At this point, we’re not sure of the root cause — and neither, does it appear, do those affected — but there is rampant talk in the Xbox Scene forums, at least, about the abuse of pirated copies of games like Gears of War 2 and Call of Duty: World At War. It’s all cleaned up “played early” and “back up copy” talk — thinly veiled “I pirated Game X before launch day” — amongst some users.
Thailand’s Ministry of Culture, fully swept up in the hysteria that has followed an allegedly Grand Theft Auto-inspired murder, has officially banned five “dangerous” games, according to a report from CNET. The Technology Thailand blog writes that the following titles are no longer to be sold or distributed under the threat of legal action: Hitman, 300: The Video Game, Killer 7, Hitman: Blood Money and 50 Cent: Bulletproof.
Curiously, Grand Theft Auto titles don’t appear to be on the “banned” list. It cannot, however, be imported or distributed due to its dangerous status.
The Thai government is also spearheading a vague 90-day effort to protect impressionable youth from “dangerous games” and establish regulations for pay-to-play gaming centres that feature such titles.
Thai Ministry of Culture wages war on gaming [CNET via GamePolitics]
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