EA lashes out at OFLC over Left 4 Dead 2 ban

PC News | No more clowning around.

In response to the the Australian Office of Film and Literature Classification's refusal to classify Left 4 Dead 2 (which has resulted in the title being banned for sale throughout Australia), the game's publisher Electronic Arts has hit back at the government entity in a scathing attack.

While Valve seemingly went gently into the night with their response to the ban, EA's Tiffany Steckler didn't mince words when she spoke to GameSpot Australia, implying that L4D2 is quite on par with some our own home grown entertainment fare.

"It's funny that a place like Australia, which has come up with some pretty violent material in the past with something like Mad Max, can effectively ban video games for the same reason," she said. "EA believes that adults should have the right to make their own choices when it comes to the content they consume."

Steckler declined to comment on whether Valve would implement any changes to the sequel in order for the game to get classification approval. Though it has been noted that the Australian classification ban has officially been appealed by Valve. Watch this space fellow gamers, it looks like the gloves are well and truly coming off.

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30 Comments

x7h3CUREx

2 years ago

djrussell wrote

Mad Max? Couldnt she come up with something a little more RECENT. What is this 1979?

EA are forgetting one important thing. We're allowed to watch violent movies, we're just not allowed to play violent video games because we'll get all immersed and go out and reinact the thing we do in the video games. That's some brilliant logic right there, I don't know why EA didn't pick up on it.

Oh wait, they're not living in the dark ages are they?

Azza

2 years ago

I never thought that EA would ever make me happy.

Hope this goes well.

THEMAN

2 years ago

I'd hardly say her comments can be labelled as "lashes out". The OFLC is retarded and the statement ought to have been a lot stronger.

Fly

2 years ago

Island_Wolf wrote

Do you reckon A-G know who EA are? and would they care if they are big? I'm pretty sure most of the A-G are without much knowledge of big gaming companies so it will just be something they read off the newspaper one morning and forget about it by the time it's noon.

Engineers Australia!

Quote

The Eighty Ninth Annual General Meeting of the Institution of Engineers Australia (Engineers Australia) will be held in the Canberra Room, Hyatt Hotel Canberra, Commonwealth Avenue, Yarralumla ACT 2600 on Thursday 26 November at 2.00 pm.

"I wonder why those cooky engineers are weighing in on the debate? I didn't know they played games! Mm this turkey bread is good, lets import some more!"

Or perhaps the sports minister will get onto it and contact Equestrian Australia and threaten them with RSPCA action if they don't quit their shenanigans this very instant!

What needs to happen is the game industry needs to dry up, people need to get pissy, they need to say "what the bloody hell?!?" while the government suddenly wonders why retail sales dropped before the people get mad, they get mad and they pull a Michael Long and rope some famous person to walk with them to Canberra until they accede to the demands!

Or we can all drive, because you know it's pretty far, and we'll get tired....

Blur

2 years ago

Seems to me that some people don't realize video games are no longer solely for children and can actually be potently regulated with certain titles ascertaining adult ratings. The OFLC are hands-down the most ignorant organization I've ever seen.

I thought politicians were meant to be smart?

Skiller

2 years ago

God damn the OFLC is so retarded and inconsistent. They let through HOTD: Overkill with a MA rating on a platform aiming at a family friendly market and included hand cannons so it's even sort of life-like, but a game on platforms for older people with less objectionable content and more abstraction gets banned. It's just crazy, they clearly can't do their jobs and should be sacked.

BTW does anyone else find it absolutely appalling that politicians can influence decisions in areas they don't have sufficient knowledge of?

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Left 4 Dead 2

Pre-order or buy:
PALGN recommends: www.Play-Asia.com

Australian Release Date:
  19/11/2009 (Confirmed)
Publisher:
  Electronic Arts
Genre:
  Shooter
Year Made:
  2009
Players:
  2
System Requirements:
- OS: Windows Vista, XP or 2000
- CPU: 3.0 GHz P4, Dual Core 2.0 or AMD64X2 (or higher)
- RAM: 1 GB for XP / 2GB for Vista
- Disc drive: DVD-ROM Drive
- Hard drive: At least 7.5 GB of free space
- Video: Direct X 9 compatible video card (Video card must be 256 MB or more and should be a DirectX 9-compatible with support for pixel shader 2.0)
- Sound: Direct X9.0c compatible sound card

Read more...