australia posts(Subscribe to this feed)
Edge of Twilight developer FuzzyEyes laid off majority of staff
by Griffin McElroy 
{ Dec 3rd 2009 at 9:41AM }
Lu confirmed that the studio is still in business, and is transitioning as it sells a "portion" of its shares to an unnamed third-party company. During this transition, the studio will "suspend all onsite development," while outsourced development will continue on. Lu claims the studio will be fully operational once more, after the transition, and that a number of employees will be offered their positions back in early 2010. The statement promises more details once the transition is finished -- at which point, we'll hopefully learn the true fate of Edge of Twilight.
Gallery: Edge of Twilight
CrimeCraft's 'drug use' prevents Australian classification
by Alexander Sliwinski { Nov 30th 2009 at 2:00PM }
Gamespot UK reports the Australian Classification Board's main objection was to the use of "boosts," the drugs used in the game. The board declared there was "insufficient delineation between the 'fictional drugs' available in game and real-world proscribed drugs." On the bright side, Vogster can thank Australia's lack of a mature classification for video games -- and Attorney General Michael Atkinson's opposition to an R18+ rating -- for getting the game some press.
Gallery: CrimeCraft
Australian Attorney General Atkinson plans appeal of Modern Warfare 2 rating
by Alexander Sliwinski { Nov 24th 2009 at 9:30PM }
The anti-game antics of Atkinson are coming dangerously close to reminding us of the United States' disgraced, former attorney Jack Thompson. The Age reports Atkinson was recently on Aussie national radio and expressed that the Classification Board in Australia "does everything" to "get games in under the radar, and film, generally." Later, he stated that he has "no trust" in the board to apply guidelines, thus drawing up guidelines for games to have an R18+ classification "would be to draw them up in sure and certain knowledge that they would be stretched and then broken." So, games aren't being rated properly, but he won't support an R18+ rating. Feel free to drop your "facepalm" reactions below in the comments.
Source -- Atkinson confirms MW2 appeal [AU GameSpot]
Source -- No confidence [The Age]
Video: Censored Left 4 Dead 2 right 4 classification
by Alexander Sliwinski { Nov 3rd 2009 at 1:20PM }
The censored version lacks exploding heads, dismemberment (courtesy of the new melee weapons) and burning corpses. Sadly, for those of us who have built up a considerable hatred for the undead scourge threatening our civilization, the fallen undead just fade into the ether. Check out the full video after the break and pray for Australia's survival when the zombie apocalypse comes.
[Via Destructoid]
Australian lobby group calls for re-rating of Modern Warfare 2
by David Hinkle { Oct 29th 2009 at 9:30PM }
Lobby group Australian Council on Children and the Media is calling for the second look at the game, The Sydney Morning Herald reports. MW2 currently has a rating of MA 15+ -- the highest available -- though ACCM president Jane Roberts argues that the current rating would still make it accessible to kids under the age of 15. Update: If the game was to be reconsidered and denied a rating (anything considered higher than MA 15+), it would be effectively banned.
"We understand that it's a game but ... we're not far off when you look at the images that you could actually put it on a Channel Nine news report and you'd think maybe that is real," she said. As for the re-rating, odds aren't looking good for Roberts. An Australian Classification Board spokesperson said that the Board could not review its own decisions.
[Via Kotaku]
Dress up at Australian New Super Mario Bros. Wii midnight launch for fabulous prizes
by JC Fletcher { Oct 28th 2009 at 2:15PM } 
If you live near Melbourne, Australia, you'll have the opportunity to pick up New Super Mario Bros. Wii a bit early, and either vie for a lovely prize or laugh at people in silly costumes! Nintendo is holding a midnight launch event for the game on Wednesday night, November 11, at its "Nintendo Experience" EBGames store.Attendees will have a chance to win the glass laser-etched Mario statue seen above, provided they're willing to dress up as their favorite Mario character. Does the Kuribo's Shoe count as a character?
If you don't already have a costume, you'll have the beginning of a (terrible) Mario outfit once you pick up your pre-order: EB in Australia is giving away Mario baseball caps with reserved copies.
[Via GoNintendo]
Aussie Borderlands fixed, requires another Steam download
by Alexander Sliwinski { Oct 28th 2009 at 1:30PM }
GamesonNet reports that the uncensored version of Borderlands is now available for Australian Steam users. 2K Games is asking all users who preloaded the game to delete the previous content and re-download the eight gigglebyte title. That should fix the issue of Aussie Steam users receiving the "low violence" version of the game, a laughable mistake after the OFLC granted the "high violence" edition entry into the country.
Forum users are commenting that there are alternative fixes available out there, but let's all just agree that re-downloading the game is probably the safest and most "official" way of handling the issue. Of course, redownloading 8GB is not going to make Aussies who have a download limit from their ISP happy.
[Via Big Download]
Aussie Steam users get low-violence Borderlands by accident, fix incoming
by Alexander Sliwinski { Oct 27th 2009 at 4:00PM }
Oops! Australia has become so synonymous with censorship that even distributors are starting to get confused. Despite the unedited version of Borderlands passing the OFLC's ratings board successfully, it turns out that a "low-violence" version was accidentally uploaded for Aussies on Steam.
2K Games Australia is apparently working on getting the correct version onto Steam before the game launches in a few days. This does not affect the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of the game, which will be presented in what can only be described as "full violence" mode. Now, with luck, Australia will have the exact opposite problem with Left 4 Dead 2's launch.
[Via Big Download]
Australia's OFLC wants to classify iPhone, mobile games
by Alexander Sliwinski { Oct 22nd 2009 at 7:25PM }
Let's just try to ignore that the task of classifying all the games released on the App Store would be overwhelming -- but, bless the OFLC for trying. The US's ESRB is also currently trying to get mobile games under its purview, however, the difference is that the ESRB accepts that games can be for adults.
[Via Edge]
Unedited Left 4 Dead 2 refused Aussie classification for second time
by Alexander Sliwinski { Oct 22nd 2009 at 10:31AM } 
The board believes that there is "insufficient delineation between the depiction of general zombie figures and the human figures." The inability to clearly distinguish the humans from the "clearly fictional 'infected'" was a "major consideration" of the board.
The unedited version of Left 4 Dead 2 is classified RC (refused classification) and "cannot be sold, hired, advertised or demonstrated in Australia." Sorry, mates. An edited version of the game has been approved by the OFLC for consumption in Australia -- censoring "decapitation, dismemberment, wound detail or piles of dead bodies lying about the environment."
[Thanks, Adam]
Sony: PS3 Slim is top dingo in Australian console war
by Griffin McElroy { Oct 21st 2009 at 1:45PM }
Sony Australia flings a PS3 into a Bravia, technophiles cringe
by Griffin McElroy { Oct 21st 2009 at 11:30AM }
Congratulations! With your recent purchase of our 46-inch Bravia KDL46X 3100 LCD TV, you're eligible to receive a free PlayStation 3 -- provided you haven't changed your address, and still live in Australia. Funny story: You're actually the last person that's eligible to receive the free console with the TV's purchase. "Lucky Number 25,000," we've been calling you around the office. I'm running to the stockroom right now, so I can ship your console and television to you personally, along with a very heartfelt letter of gratitude.
Oh, crap. Listen, Mr. Larson -- I might have forgotten something ... important. See, to promote this offer, we may have flung the last PlayStation 3 into your Bravia television at 50 mph. By "may have flung," of course, I mean "totally did fling." If it makes you feel any better, it was a really good ad (check it out after the jump)! Very thought-provoking, and even a little cheeky. Just know that your television and video game console died for a worthwhile cause. (What? No! Of course there are no refunds. Don't be silly.)
Love,
Sony Australia.
OFLC rating outs 'Ghost Recon: Predator'
by David Hinkle { Oct 20th 2009 at 9:30PM }
Hopefully, Ubisoft will confirm sooner rather than later. We definitely encourage the company to do so, especially if it still hopes to get the game on shelves by March 2010.
[Via VG247]
Left 4 Dead 2 trying 2 approaches 4 sales in Australia
by Alexander Sliwinski { Oct 7th 2009 at 2:00PM }
Gamespot spoke with Valve's Gabe Newell, who explained that the next step for the unedited version won't occur until October 22, which means the timing gets tight in terms of manufacturing and other hurdles before a November 17 launch. Valve project manager Erik Johnson finds the OFLC's issues with the sequel to be "inconsistent" because of Left 4 Dead's unedited release in the region. We wish Valve (and the gamers of Australia) all the best in working out those Michael Atkinson issues.
Source -- Valve to resubmit two versions L4D2 (Gamespot)
Source -- Newell discusses ban on video (Gamespot)
Gallery: Left 4 Dead 2
Report: Transmission Games ceases communications with more than 20 staff
by Randy Nelson { Oct 2nd 2009 at 12:00AM }
The developer has not publicly addressed the layoffs or its reasoning behind them, but its latest title has met with mediocre reviews averaging a full 10 points lower than its previous game in aggregate scores. We'll keep our eyes on the studio in case of any executive bail outs.
