Is it really all that surprising to hear that Saint’s Row IV has been denied release in Australia? At this point, it really shouldn’t be. Nevertheless, Kotaku is reporting that the uncensored version of the game has been denied a rating in Australia, citing concerns over drug use being positively portrayed, along with alien anal probe weapon attack being deemed too close to sexual assault. Both of which I can understand slapping a particularly high rating on, but denial of any rating whatsoever? Seems a bit much. Tough luck, Aussies – but you’re used to it by now, aren’t you?
Of course Deep Silver saw this one coming, and have already prepared an edited version for Australian release. On the other hand, playing censored versions of games – enjoying censored versions of just about anything, in fact – tends to rile some people, who will no doubt turn to alternative measures of procurement to make sure they’re getting the full and unedited game.
Victor Grunn has been a gamer since the days of single-button joysticks and the Atari 800XL. When not lamenting the loss of the Ultima series or setting people on fire in Team Fortress 2, he's an aspiring indie game developer and freelance writer.
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