Gamertell

The sequel to zombie slaying hit Left 4 Dead has toned down its violence so it can be sold in Australia. That nation’s Classification Board refused to give the game a rating last month because of decapitation, dismemberment and dead bodies remaining on the ground. Australia has no “Adult Only”… Continue Reading »

FROM GADGETELL - Researchers have discovered a frightening new worm that targets routers and DSL/Cable modems rather than PCs themselves.  Called psyb0t or Bluepill, it is believed to have come from Australia and is armed with over 6,000 common usernames and 13,0000 passwords for 55 popular routers and modems, including the two most… MORE »

Censoring video games has been an issue since Mortal Kombat and Resident Evil. If parents don’t want their children to play violent games, that should be up to them and no one else. However this isn’t the case in Australia where censoring laws are so strict, not even a forty-year-old… Continue Reading »

Nexon has opened up Mabinogi to more regions. As of June 20, 2008, people from Australia and New Zealand can now register and play the casual, life-sim MMORPG. Previously, Mabinogi was released in North America on March 27, 2008, after being available in Korea since June 2004 and both Japan… Continue Reading »

Last month the Australian Home Affairs Ministry declared that the country’s attorneys-general would mull over whether games with an R rating should be allowed in the country or not. The attorneys-general met recently in Barossa Valley in South Australia and reached a consensus that the final decision can only be… Continue Reading »

The Australian Federal government is contemplating the introduction of the R-18 certification for video games that contain highly explicit content not deemed fit for minors. The absence of such a certification means that titles which exceed the MA certification (only for sale to persons 15 and above) are altogether denied… Continue Reading »

The Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC), Australia’s classification board, has refused to give a rating to Digital Extreme’s latest game, Dark Sector, essentially making it illegal to sell the game in that country. The OFLC considers the game to be too violent. Dark Sector is a third-person shooter… Continue Reading »

Electronic Arts has not only admitted its baffling blunder but also agreed to fully refund Australian gamers who innocently purchased the game Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 for the Wii only to realize that it didn’t have an online mode as promised in the game’s advertisements. The game was released… Continue Reading »

A recent online article by Aussie sex columnist Samantha Brett concerning deal breakers - as in, “There’s no way you’re gonna get in these pants, buddy” - includes anyone who plays videogames. In her article she also points out activities including porn, golf, being a nasty drunk, soliciting hookers and,… Continue Reading »

The Game Developers Association of Australia has reported that the Australian government once again neglected to provide tax incentives for the fast-growing video games industry. According to an official response to the 2007 federal budget on the GDAA website: For every $10,000 the government spends on the Film industry they… Continue Reading »