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News \ Rockstar Statement on GTA IV Censorship
Below is a direct statement from Rockstar Australia regarding the censorship of Grand Theft Auto IV in Australia and the games MA 15+ rating.
The Australian version of Grand Theft Auto IV was rated by the OFLC in December 2007 as MA15+. Unlike the US and Europe, Australia still lacks an R18+ rating for video games and as a result many games are edited for release in Australia, including most previous Grand Theft Auto releases. While there are some minor differences between the Australian and US/EU versions, they are not significant and we do not believe they take away from the level of scope and detail that make GTA IV such an incredible experience. We would not release the game in Australia if we believed these differences compromised the quality of the game in any way. We strongly support the OLFC and will continue to work within their guidelines; however we believe the government needs to bring games in line with other media by introducing an R18+ rating, or edits to games will continue to be necessary. We encourage consumers to let their politicians know that they support an R18+ rating for games.
Thanks to Simon at Rockstar Australia.
Submitted by Gaetano
10/04/2008
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hmmm interesting 
13/04/2008
Melbourne, Victoria
Kudos: 1,659
Mates: 65
get over it guys what are you a bunch of 10 year olds???
the vast majority of the violence,blood guts,gore beating the lights out of citizens will still be there and the game is the best feature itself..
grow up guys...
Kudos: 2
Mates: 1
yeah it all sucks about our lack of R18+ my guess is some of the cocaine and the prostitution aspect is taken out i just hope the blood splatters still good. if only theyd listen to all of us ive sent hell messages to the oflc but we really need to get onto this or we could get a dumbed down versions of all the good future grand thefts i mean it sucks being told what to watch and not to watch.
Kudos: 455
Mates: 9
NZ have the R18+ rating. like I said before, Gameplanet is a NZ store which you can order the 18+ version from
Kudos: 2,575
Mates: 222
that dosnt help at all, i wana know what where gona miss
10/04/2008
If the cops started arresting more criminals then they hired then the legal system would actualy work....................Brisbane, QLD (PSN = denim_geno)
Kudos: 119
Mates: 3
Yeah for sure, before this forum is locked too.
Kudos: 658
Mates: 12
Good to see Rockstar coming out on this matter, anyone know if NZ has a R18+ classification?
10/04/2008
melbourne, australia
Kudos: 376
Mates: 6
Gaetano said:
How is that Rockstar selling their product? I consider Rockstar to be a boutique developer, not like EA or Ubisoft. They don't lie and their PR media is precise, accurate and truthful. I think they genuinely believe that the game's quality won't be compromised in any way by the censorship. If they didn't, they are the kind of developer to protest and let their fans know how they feel.
That is confirmation right there. What other comfirmation do you need? Everyone is blowing it up. Every GTA game has been censored, as have many other games that are otherwise unnoticed.
I'm not saying that he's lowering the face of his copmany, we all know that rockstar hold their chin high for the great developer it is, no arguments there, and i'm in no way comparing there sercetive techniques to EA's 'up yours' techniques. I know rockstar appreciate their fanbase.
What I mean by 'rockstar selling their product' is exactly that, rocktar has a product, and they will not, under ANY circumstances, talk it down to the public, becasue that would negatively affect sales. That statement is just trying to take the heat out of the topic by saying that it is minor, without giving any details.
Even if the quality of the game is not compromised, I think there is just cause for rockstar to detail what elements have been cut, as there are alot of people who are very excited about this product.
What other confirmation do we need? details my friend!
10/04/2008
mid north coast NSW
Kudos: 10,688
Mates: 146
good info for those who want to know how much has been removed
Kudos: 1,770
Mates: 58
Wish they would just tell us what has been cut.
I had Vice City from Europe and also now have the Aust Version, couldnt see any difference at all.
10/04/2008
Planet Earth, New New York
Kudos: 104
Mates: 7
I think deep down everyone knows that Rockstar wouldn't release the game in AUS if they felt the gaming experience would suffer as a result of the cuts. I can understand why people are flaring up and using this as the catalyst for the censorship/rating system debate. The debate surrounding the classification system for games in AUS and censorship of games has been raging for close to 10 + years, with titles such as Carmageddon and Postal coming under fire from conservative groups back in 96 and 97. Doesn't surprise me that with such a huge release as GTA 4 being affected by this that it is really bringing the debate to the forefront again.
Kudos: 292
Mates: 7
Import DEF 
10/04/2008
Melbourne, Victoria, PSN= Armige
So we still dont know what exatly they changed. But any way I'm geting the Aus version as it honistly dosnt worry me that much. I played the Aus versions of vice city and san andreas and the eidits to those games didnt worry me one bit.
10/04/2008
Central Coast (NSW)
Kudos: 119
Mates: 3
Kudos: 2,199
Mates: 48
FamiliaGTX said: "While there are some minor differences between the Australian and US/EU versions, they are not significant and we do not believe they take away from the level of scope and detail that make GTA IV such an incredible experience."
OK so thats rockstar pushing to sell their own product...
it is now confirmed then that there IS differences in the AU version, however, still no details on what they are, even if they are minor.
agreed that the OFLC (or is it OLFC hehe) need to get an R18 + games classification.
I still think it's a letdown to the fans to keep them guessing, but I expected no less for such a huge title. The phrase that sits in my mind is, no news is better than bad news. which could be why rockstar won't reveal actual details on the changes
How is that Rockstar selling their product? I consider Rockstar to be a boutique developer, not like EA or Ubisoft. They don't lie and their PR media is precise, accurate and truthful. I think they genuinely believe that the game's quality won't be compromised in any way by the censorship. If they didn't, they are the kind of developer to protest and let their fans know how they feel.
That is confirmation right there. What other comfirmation do you need? Everyone is blowing it up. Every GTA game has been censored, as have many other games that are otherwise unnoticed.
Kudos: 1,193
Mates: 12
Yes lets all write to our local members of parliment and let our views on R rating's be known.
10/04/2008
My life style, determins my death style.
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