With the March elections upcoming and the Government of New South Wales busy with preparations, the chances of a decision coming over the R18+ rating for video games being made at the SCAG meeting are slim. The introduction of the R18+ classification requires a unanimous consent from the censorship ministers from the various states and territories. The change to the classification system in Australia is being predicted by many pundits to come soon. However, these changes won’t come soon enough for the Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment release, Mortal Kombat. The upcoming title is the latest to have fallen victim to the outdated rules still being followed in Australia. The Australian publishers of the video game franchise have confirmed that the game has been denied a classification in the country and its release there looks doubtful.
The statement form the company confirmed the widespread rumors of the revamped Mortal Kombat being banned in the country and have called for mature ratings being introduced in the classifications used in the country. The official report from the Classification Board on the content that was deemed unsuitable in the game refers to “explicit” scenes of violence. It talks about the numerous instances of the “blood spray” along with the limb dismemberment of various characters during the Fatality moves. These were the reasons why the Board didn’t consider the game appropriate in the MA15+ rating which is the highest that it accommodates.
The report makes particular reference to the Fatality move of the character named Kung Lao which includes him spinning in a saw like movement and cutting his opponent into two halves vertically which leads to excessive spraying of blood and then holding the pieces of the opponent in his hands with blood pouring out of them. There are more than 60 such moves in the game which were seen as overly explicit by the board.
