Three weeks back, Valveās Left 4 Dead 2 was refused classification by the Australian Classification Board. The reason?
The game ācontains violence that is high in impact and is therefore unsuitable for persons aged under 18 to play.ā
Valveās Gabe Newell admitted he was āa little surprisedā by the decision, and the company has appealed the boardās decision. In a press conference today in Sydney, Newell revealed that an edited version of Left 4 Dead 2 has also been submitted, reports Kotaku Australia.
According to Newell, this edited version, Australia-only version is āfully compliant with the guidelinesā for a 15-years-old and up rating.
āWe think Left 4 Dead 2 is a lot of fun,ā said Newell. āItās a game for adults. But weāre aware that different countries have different restrictions, and we want to make the choices that make the game the most fun for that country.ā
Valve decided to submit this edited version in hopes of releasing the game this November. As Kotaku Australia points out, the Board wonāt report back until October 22 on appeal for the original version. āOur goal is not to ship this second version,ā said Newell. The goal, of course, is to get get the original version through the Board via the appeal process. If that fails, then the edited version is the back-up plan.
Valve Appealing, Editing Left 4 Dead 2 for Aussie Classification [Kotaku Australia]