If you were confusingly scouting the PlayStation Store from an Australian PlayStation 3 today and wondering why you couldn't find Telltale's freshly released The Walking Dead adventure game, it's because they haven't had it classified for Australian sale yet.
In reply to a confused post on the Telltale forums (thanks Player Attack), a Telltale spokesmen had the following to say:
Sorry, but due to the OFLC ratings laws in Australia and New Zealand, and the fact that this is a mature game, we do not currently have plans to release the game there on consoles.
The Australian Classification Board currently have no listing of the game having been sent for classification, so it appears as though the developer has seen the 18+ ratings it was saddled with in other countries and decided it would be a waste of resources attempting an Australian rating. Unfortunately for New Zealand -- who actually do have an 18+ classification for video games -- they seem to have been lumped into the same basket.
An Xbox 360 version of the game was also supposed to launch this weekend and will likely meet the same fate, however PC gamers are currently able to obtain the game from Steam (which unlike PSN and XBLA doesn't require local ratings approval for regional sales) just fine.
On a related note, The Walking Dead TV Series recently started airing on Foxtel's new FX channel and has been rated MA15+ by the Australian Classification Board.
Watch the launch trailer for Telltale's The Walking Dead video game below.
If Steam doesnt require local ratings approval, why was L4D2 censored?
It was classified by EA for it's local boxed retail release.
Local classification isn't mandatory for digital sales from international online stores like Steam. For several years after launch, World of Warcraft had not actually been classified by the OFLC. They weren't required to because it was an online-only game and they presumably wanted to coast by without that big blue M sticker on the box persuading parents out of potential sales.
XBLA and PSN would require local classification as part of their certification process as both consoles have parental locks that need to work with all software. Steam and other online PC stores don't have anything like that.
I'm not entirely sure, but if a game Steam is selling has been formerly classified locally, the publisher responsible would probably have some obligation to display that.
That actually looks pretty good, and after reading a reviews, sounds pretty good. And its only $25 on Steam for the whole season (all five episodes). Think I'll have to pick this up..
Local classification isn't mandatory for digital sales from international online stores like Steam.
Super interesting, puts the whole censorship debate into question. Thanks Dan :)
edit - actually, maybe being restricted classification is something else entirely...... but RC wouldnt happen unless it was submitted for classification in the first place. I'm getting nowhere right now.
Nah, nothing like L4D. It's more like a point & click adventure with a few fairly basic puzzles and mini Mass Effect dialogue sections that record what choices you made and they carry through. It's sprinkled with mad clicking quick time like events for zombie attacks, but I reckon they're pretty satisfying - it's nowhere near as craptastic as that might make it sound.
Posted 05:20pm 26/4/12
Posted 05:30pm 26/4/12
Hearing awesome things about this game btw, but I haven't seen the series. Apparently it's a lot like Heavy Rain, with QTE's and branching storylines.
Posted 06:30pm 26/4/12
Local classification isn't mandatory for digital sales from international online stores like Steam. For several years after launch, World of Warcraft had not actually been classified by the OFLC. They weren't required to because it was an online-only game and they presumably wanted to coast by without that big blue M sticker on the box persuading parents out of potential sales.
XBLA and PSN would require local classification as part of their certification process as both consoles have parental locks that need to work with all software. Steam and other online PC stores don't have anything like that.
I'm not entirely sure, but if a game Steam is selling has been formerly classified locally, the publisher responsible would probably have some obligation to display that.
Posted 08:04pm 26/4/12
Posted 10:10pm 26/4/12
Posted 12:38am 27/4/12
Posted 01:27am 27/4/12
Super interesting, puts the whole censorship debate into question. Thanks Dan :)
edit - actually, maybe being restricted classification is something else entirely...... but RC wouldnt happen unless it was submitted for classification in the first place. I'm getting nowhere right now.
Posted 06:17pm 28/4/12
Posted 06:14pm 01/5/12
Posted 07:15pm 09/5/12
Posted 11:16pm 09/5/12
Posted 10:37am 10/5/12
Posted 10:23pm 10/5/12
My only complaint would be the lack of content. But other then that it has to be one of the best RPGs I have played in years.
Posted 11:09pm 10/5/12
besides that, a really enjoyable game. if it's anything like the rest of the series, Lee is going to get his ass kicked.
Posted 02:50am 11/5/12
Andrew.
Posted 10:04am 11/5/12
It's on Steam?
Posted 10:10am 11/5/12
Posted 11:11pm 11/5/12
Posted 11:36pm 11/5/12
It reminds me more of Heavy Rain than anything. Heavy Rain with zombies, and less Jason.
Posted 12:22am 12/5/12
Yeah I realised I wasn't giving it the rap it deserved, it's quite good. Would recommend A+++ and all that.