Dead or Alive: Dimensions, which was pulled from sale in Australia just over a week ago, has now been reclassified.
Today at Game-Tech, the Assistant Secretary from the Classifications Operations Branch, Jane Fitzgerald, discussed the difficulties involved in classifying thousands upon thousands of apps a rapidly evolving mobile environment. Could we move to a system that enabled the Australian Games Industry to self regulate and make everyone’s job a little easier?
“It’s quite a leap,” she claimed, “but not an inconceivable one.”
Namco Bandai has confirmed to Kotaku that The Witcher 2 has been modified for Australian release under an MA15+ rating. The change comes after the Classification Board refused to give an MA15+ classification due to ‘sex as a reward’ appearing in one particular side quest.
Yesterday the Minister for Home Affairs Brendan O’Connor courted controversy by suggesting that Apps on the App store would only be properly classified if consumers directly lodged a complaint against particular titles. While we welcomed the move as a pragmatic compromise, plenty were critical – openly questioning why the Australian government would attempt to subvert Apple’s own global classification strategy. In the ruckus surrounding this controversial issue one question remained unanswered – why should Apple get it so easy?
The Entertainment Software Rating Board, America’s classification outfit for video games, has a new iPhone (and Android) app out, and it’s surprisingly handy!
