Mortal Kombat Remains Fatalitied by Classification Review Board

Post by Steve Farrelly @ 02:12pm 14/03/11 | 61 Comments

Warner Bros. reappeal of the refusal of classification for NeverRealm's Mortal Kombat reboot has been unsuccessful, according to Kotaku AU, who also have a statement from Warner Bros. on the game's RC status.

We’re obviously extremely disappointed that the refused classification decision has been upheld by the Classification Review Board. We want to thank the thousands of Mortal Kombat fans in Australia and around the world who have voiced their support during the appeal process.

Given the game's high profile, this could be seen as a win for the need for an R18+ rating here in Australia, which will be finally decided upon in July.

In the meantime, however, Mortal Kombat will obviously be sitting by the sidelines; out of legal reach for adult gamers here in Australia.

r18+ rating refused classification mortal kombat australia

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Latest Comments

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DM
Posted 02:22pm 14/3/11

Unless you own a PS3 in which case go nuts on importing region free games.

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Sc00bs
Posted 02:23pm 14/3/11

i knew there was a reason i got a ps3 =)

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Dazhel
Posted 02:24pm 14/3/11

Hehe, I'd imagine it went something like this:

WB: We don't deserve RC, please reconsider
ACRB: Have you taken out all the s*** we didn't like?
WB: Nope, MK is awesome and we're not changing it.
ACRB: Thank you, come again.

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molokoplus
Posted 02:31pm 14/3/11

Just import from NZ or UK for 360

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carson
Posted 02:38pm 14/3/11

Are they going to cave and censor it to fit in under the MA15+ rating? Or are they just going to leave it?

I hope to god they don't change anything. We need a high profile game to be RC'd!

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implode
Posted 02:49pm 14/3/11

I'll be ordering it from overseas. I refuse to play censored games, & I refuse to be told what is suitable for me by government f***wits.

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Phooks
Posted 03:55pm 14/3/11

so is it legal to import RC stuff?

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ravn0s
Posted 03:58pm 14/3/11

glad it ddidn't pass. it will hopefully help in the fight for an R rating. i find it funny that it got a M rating in america.

maybe we should get a non-government run body to classify s***?

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Dazhel
Posted 03:59pm 14/3/11

argh don't say that rav, you'll probably get the f*****g christian lobby putting their hands up for the job.

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gamer
Posted 04:10pm 14/3/11

so is it legal to import RC stuff?

No.

This was covered and sourced in the last RC thread we had.

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Dan
Posted 04:13pm 14/3/11

The R18+ option aside, Industry self-regulated classification like ESRB and PEGI should be the way things go. It's pretty absurd to think that a government organisation should be tasked with classifying every piece of software that can be sold directly the Australians anywhere.

It's going to be utterly retarded if they start trying to classify every app on mobile app stores.

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ravn0s
Posted 04:17pm 14/3/11

It's going to be utterly retarded if they start trying to classify every app on mobile app stores.

they have plans to classify apps, but only if they a reported to the classification board by the public.

can just see some retards reporting every app they can find.

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Khel
Posted 08:03pm 14/3/11

I think America has a different M rating to us though, cos the demo was rated M 17+

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Eorl
Posted 10:50pm 14/3/11

There legal age is 18 like us. I think the M17+ was just a modified rating maybe?

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Dan
Posted 11:11pm 14/3/11

Yeah, M is 17+ with the ESRB for Noth America. IMO Australia should just adopt and self-regulate with PEGI

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ravn0s
Posted 07:22pm 15/3/11

stolen from kotaku

James Kozanecki over at Gamespot has spoken to a spokesperson from the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service, who has confirmed that Mortal Kombat has been added to its list of prohibited items and that gamers who import could be subject to a fine of up to three times the cost of the game.

“Customs and Border Protection works closely with Attorney General’s Department to identify imported games that are banned in Australia,” claimed the spokesperson. “This includes games purchased over the internet from foreign websites…

“Any copies of the games detected at the border, including via international mail, will be seized.”

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paveway
Posted 07:32pm 15/3/11

http://au.gamespot.com/pages/news/story.php?sid=6303984

props to me for finding this

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Bah
Posted 07:36pm 15/3/11

Props to ravnos for beating you by 10 minutes.

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DM
Posted 07:38pm 15/3/11

Great. So now not only don't we get the game, but could get a hefty fine if we try and import it? Good thing piracy doesn't exist on consoles... Oh wait.

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Reverend Evil�
Posted 08:06pm 15/3/11

You can all thank James Kozanecki because customs will now be on the look out for it.

LOL

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thermite
Posted 08:08pm 15/3/11

that is ridiculous, they're treating it like it's horse porn

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Khel
Posted 08:19pm 15/3/11

I'm importing it anyway, I'm pretty sure opening every package that comes through customs to check if it contains Mortal Kombat is pretty low on their list of priorities in the grand scheme of things.

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Fixah
Posted 08:24pm 15/3/11

S***!

I just told my supplier that i'll be keen on ordering at least 10 copies of the game and have him ship them individually, to which he agreed to

There goes that idea :/

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Khel
Posted 08:32pm 15/3/11

Can he chuck them in dvd cases that don't say "Mortal Kombat", cos that might help if your package gets opened though.

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Fixah
Posted 08:55pm 15/3/11

Yeah but are peeps willing to accept paying for a game that doesnt come with its original case? Plus if customs open the the case they can still find out.

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Enska
Posted 11:05pm 15/3/11

I'd pay for this game if it came in one of them little white sleeves by leaky boat.
I've been playing the demo (cheers khel) and it nails the feel of the originals by a mile compared to recent efforts.

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Fireblood
Posted 11:31pm 15/3/11

I'd be interested to see Warner Bros sue someone for downloading it illegally when no other option exists!

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tspec
Posted 11:35pm 15/3/11

Sigh. I'm tempted to just get a cheap flight to NZ after game comes out and bring it back in my carry on luggage. I will be keen to hear if people successully get it imported though.

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RUSTA
Posted 11:46pm 15/3/11

I'm importing (already preordered) and see what happens. We need to get Teq interested so he can use his $5000 a day lawyer if customs intercept his copy.

How much is a return trip to New Zealand these days?

last edited by RUSTA at 23:46:37 15/Mar/11

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tspec
Posted 11:51pm 15/3/11

Couple hundred return but depends of course on a number of things like which airline, dates etc.

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Reverend Evil�
Posted 11:56pm 15/3/11

LOL at spending hundreds of dollars on flights just to play a f*****g game. I bet you could still order it and it will come thru fine.

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tspec
Posted 12:01am 16/3/11

heh, don't mind me, I'm just thinking out loud but realistically, I can't really take the time off work which is why I'm keen to see whether others are successful with importing. This time last year would have been perfect though because I did actually go over there on holiday.

last edited by tspec at 00:01:09 16/Mar/11

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tspec
Posted 12:09am 16/3/11

Having said that, I would find it amusing if some random happened to buy one of the previous MK games online and had it seized by customs. I can't imagine customs would know MK game from another.

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RUSTA
Posted 12:10am 16/3/11

I can see it now. A guy in a trench coat gets off a plane from NZ at Sydney airport. Customs officers surround him. He opens his trench coat and he has 20 copies of MK strapped to his body.

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Fixah
Posted 01:32am 16/3/11

Khel i've just been thinking about your suggestion of getting the games packed into a different casing. Is there anyone else who is willing to buy it without it's original case? I'm still waiting for the official pricing but the more people we have interested the more I can try and arrange this 'special order'. It'll also make it easier to negotiate on price. Only thing is that the game you get will obviously not be sealed, but I reckon it's worth a shot.

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scuzzy
Posted 01:29am 16/3/11

I'm buying the s*** out of this game now :o

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Crakaveli
Posted 01:32am 16/3/11

I can just see the briefing room for customs officers.

"hey guys don't worry about all the drugs/weapons/etc being smuggled through, be on the look out for Mortal Kombat."

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Fixah
Posted 02:51pm 16/3/11

OK here's the deal:

If people want to import it anyway then let me know and i can arrange the group by after i get you the official pricing. If people dont want to risk it I can try having it in a different case, but i can't promise that just yet. Either way it'll be drop shipped to your address so at least there won't be any suspicions raised about reselling. I'm happy to do this at my own cost price as well (as long as I don't have to pay too much out of my own pocket).

From the older MK thread:

Sc00bs - PS3
Paveway- PS3
Slinky - PS3
Tspec - PS3
Martz - PS3
Enska?

Above people are not confirmed, i'm just listing them to see if they're still interested given the new circumstances. Either way i'm happy to be the guinea pig since i'm going to import at least 1 copy for myself to test the waters.

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scuzzy
Posted 01:58am 16/3/11

I'm in Taiwan till the end of April, and I've got my Australian Xbox here. I'll see if I can pickup a copy on release date and check if it works or not.

edit: I sure hope play asia has an update on pal compatability before then!

last edited by scuzzy at 01:58:51 16/Mar/11

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Khel
Posted 02:03am 16/3/11

Was reading in the comments on the Kotaku article, that apparently some places (Play Asia was given as an example) are refusing to ship to Australia now? Anyone able to confirm or deny that? Cos that would REALLY suck :(

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Fixah
Posted 02:21am 16/3/11

My biggest concern is if customs have sniffer dogs trained to sniff out MK 9.

Might be a good time to get into drugs and weapon smuggling now that the focus is on banned video games.

But seriously though, I'm definitely going to get in touch with this contact i have in customs and i'm going to personally ask him myself about this bulls***. Maybe i can even get him to slip a few through! (ok not really, but that'd be such an adrenaline rush)

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kos
Posted 08:14am 16/3/11

A game that has been RCed is illegal to promote or sell in Australia, meaning the title is effectively banned Down Under. And for those considering importing the game to circumvent the ban, it seems the Australian authorities are already on the lookout and ready to stop copies from reaching the nation.

This seems strange to me, if it's only illegal to promote or sell then to me that doesn't mean the same as being banned. I guess I can understand the import thing because I think with an import the sale technically happens in the destination country (does it?).

So just to clear it all up a bit, does anyone actually know 100% how it all works? Surely it's not illegal to possess a copy of this game in Australia, is it only illegal to purchase in Australia or purchase as an import from within Australia?
And if that's the case then what if someone sent a copy of the game as a gift to someone in Australia? That's not actually a sale or an import so how would customs know the difference?

Also, I'm living in the UK at the moment, so if I bought a copy for myself and then flew in with it in my luggage then surely they couldn't take it off me could they?

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paveway
Posted 08:45am 16/3/11

we'll see you on border patrol, buddy

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kos
Posted 08:50am 16/3/11

I'll be the guy punching the camera then being sent to Villawood after they find the disc in a condom up my arse.

Also, I wish the demo would hurry up and change from being a PSN Plus exclusive in the PS Store already, they promised March 15!

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paveway
Posted 09:00am 16/3/11

just taking a step back from it all

this really is f*****g pathetic

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Dazhel
Posted 09:07am 16/3/11

after they find the disc in a condom up my arse.

f'n ouch.

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myWhiteWolf
Posted 09:11am 16/3/11

I'm definitely going to get in touch with this contact i have in customs

Arab, knows people in customs, hates America.

publicly talking about breaking the law and smuggling illegal items through the border.

Jesus, you got big balls Fixah. I'd be too concerned that the authorities would blow what you did out of proportion if you got caught.

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Fixah
Posted 02:50pm 16/3/11

what you did out of proportion

haha, wut, what i did? hating america and knwoing someone in customs doesn't automatically incriminate me of smuggling or having intentions of taking down the statue of liberty. If that's what you're refering to that's absurd, unless i'm missing something.

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trillion
Posted 02:43pm 16/3/11

if fixah gets his loot through customs you'll probably see him pushing the dvd's at the rocklea markets or in some transient shopping centre stall on numerous fold out card playing tables when all the qgl preorder peeps don't come through with the cash

best case scenario ;p

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eski
Posted 02:45pm 16/3/11

Some great comments by Brendan Nelson in this article, it sounds like he's pretty much on the same level as most of us.

Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor says after a decade of debate, it is crunch time.

"We're becoming the laughing stock of the developed world, where we're the only country that doesn't have an R18 classification level for video games.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/03/16/3165063.htm

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Fixah
Posted 02:56pm 16/3/11

if fixah gets his loot through customs you'll probably see him pushing the dvd's at the rocklea markets or in some transient shopping centre stall on numerous fold out card playing tables when all the qgl preorder peeps don't come through with the cash

best case scenario ;p

In that case I guess I'm just going to have to play every single copy i have on every single system then off myself.

Fixah loses, Financial Fatality.

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trillion
Posted 03:35pm 16/3/11

ahaha Fixahari Kari

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Any
Posted 10:46am 18/3/11

Was just thinking... if MK was sold on the US PSN then it would get around our import issues, and aside from breaking Sony EULA by purchasing from US PSN, noone has done anything wrong? Am I missing something?

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Enska
Posted 11:44am 18/3/11

Yeah put me down for one on PS3 fixah, boxed or not I dun care.

Edit* - That's a good point Any, however I can't see it being sold on PSN straight off the bat.

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Fixah
Posted 12:39pm 18/3/11

Noted. I'll let you know of the price asap. Anyone else? (tspec i have you noted as well).

It doesn't even have to be put in a different case, we can have it arranged to just have the art paper covered by the outer plastic taken out and leaving the disc inside. In fact, we can have the art paper placed inside the case covering the game. I'm going to be ordering copy for myself so i'll be on the same boat.

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Any
Posted 12:45pm 18/3/11

I might be interested in this thanks Fixah

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Martz
Posted 01:09pm 18/3/11

still keen fixah

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paveway
Posted 02:12pm 18/3/11

yeah matey i always have the cash waiting, just let me know when

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Fixah
Posted 04:57pm 18/3/11

coo coo, so far (and in no particular order):

Paveway
Martz,
QGLMember1
Tspec
Enska
Any
Fixah

See if we can get another 3 more. Sc00bs and Slinky?

I'll get a final confirmation from the above once i get an official pricing. I'll be deleting my posts afterwards to pack less heat, n'ga.

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Fixah
Posted 06:28pm 18/3/11

I just asked a friend of mine online if he wanted to get on board with the import, he said:

"Nah man, i can get it from my local JB hifi, i live in NZ".

I'm like "ooooooh that's right...." and thought to myself "even f*****g NZ are on board with the R18, that says a lot about us".

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Damo
Posted 05:46pm 21/3/11

You have to wonder what Customs wants Australians to think about the penalties for importing a banned video game.

The Australian branch of Gamespot had a word with a Customs spokesperson this week regarding the recently-banned Mortal Kombat. It seems that the Classification Board let Customs know about its popularity and the likelihood that our borders will be inundated with imported copies of the eagerly awaited game.

http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/games/blogs/screenplay/split-screen-strange-customs/20110318-1bz93.html

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