Perhaps it's just an off-guard comment, but in a BlizzCon interview with Wired, Blizzard's Jay Wilson has named Australia among the regions that will receive a toned-down version of the hugely anticipated Diablo 3.

Wired.com: You'll obviously have to edit content for regions like Germany and Australia, but what about China? Is that a more difficult case?

Wilson: Definitely for regions like Germany and Australia, we will have to change blood if we’re going to sell there. And that’s fine. Those are the standards for those regions, and we don’t really have a problem with catering to what they need and what they want. But China’s going to be hard for us. Because a lot of the restrictions there are really… we may not be able to do them. It may not be possible.

Anyone who's seen the gameplay trailers will know the gore they're talking about, but is it really much worse than Diablo 2 (Which was untouched for Aussie consumption)? Australia's censors aren't generally phased by a bit of animated gore, it's usually torture aspects or the inclusion of sex and drugs that pushes games over the MA15+ limit into Refused Classification status here - unlike in Germany where the mere sight of blood means nein.

We've contacted Blizzard Entertainment's Australian contingent for further clarification. Let's hope it was just an on-the-spot slip up that lumped us in the same boat as Germany on this one.

Update: Blizzard have let us know that it is indeed a slip up - "Jay was just lead by the question". Diablo 3 shouldn't need any special treatment for the Aussie Classification Board.

That better be a f***ing slip up or I'll have to do something drastic like ORDER FROM OVERSEAS!

I was probably going to buy it from overseas anyway, it's cheaper.
This just confirms it.

Doesn't matter if they change it themselves or AC makes them change it. If we only buy games from overseas maybe someone will finally get the point.

That sounds like a slip-up because the journalist mistakenly lumped Australia in with Germany and the interviewee just replied thinking the journalist knew what they were talking about. Everyone might think .au is bad for games, but it's a f***ing walk in the park when compared with Germany. In Germany, red blood stuff is actually illegal in basically any video game. Violent video games are under much more scrutiny than they are in Australia, to the point where it's completely absurdly mental and it makes Australia look like a libertarian paradise.

I have to assume this is just a simple case of mistaken identity. Hopefully. Crazier things have happened.

I reckon it has to be a mistake, a good recent example of a gory game that made it through just fine is Madworld on Wii.

http://www.ausgamers.com/gameres/4588/images/725/Mad_World-Nintendo_WiiScreenshots14397mad_0502_006.jpg

last edited by Dan at 10:17:55 26/Aug/09

L4D has a fair bit of gore. The thing they had to change (if I recall correctly) was that you couldn't keep smashing the body AFTER it was dead. If you shoot a dead zombie you will notice there is no blood. If you shoot a live one there's plenty of blood.

I also think that dismemberment seems to be an ongoing gore issue as well in RC cases.

Funny, it never seems an issue with MA horror flicks.

L4D has a fair bit of gore. The thing they had to change (if I recall correctly) was that you couldn't keep smashing the body AFTER it was dead. If you shoot a dead zombie you will notice there is no blood. If you shoot a live one there's plenty of blood.

afaik the only country that had the game changed was germany where the blood is green.

Funny, it never seems an issue with MA horror flicks.

Prolly cause in a movie it's a once of effect (so to speak).

In a video game that has that sort of content, it can be initiated each and everytime a casualty is incurred and I'm guessing it is that, which freaks out the ultra conservative censors who govern Australia.

We can say s***, f*** or worse, display someone getting beat the crap out of on the news (which is generally far more visceral), flash tits, arse and even go far as simulated sex scenes with obviously naked actors (just no frontal nudity) we just can't observe anything like that in a video game cause we may be able to "interact" with the scenario depicted.

I say increase penalties for people who allow content clearly classified as being suitable for mature audiences only, who distribute or make commercially available to persons who are not permitted to view said content.

Just going to throw it out there, a standard similar perhaps to how alcohol and cigarettes are regulated and enforced?
I'm still going to go with it's the parents responsibility to...

Ah f*** it.. insert looping CD

Until a new Authority is in place who understands this media we are just going to be batting our heads against the firewall.

ya gotta wonder how farcry2 got thru with it's very real seeming violence, injecting syringes to heal, finishing off the wounded with yer machette, setting fire to grasslands to burn campers out, stealing cars n boats, hookin up with disreputable types in bar to perform assassinations, etc... actually now that i think about it ... it wasn't too bad a game :D

brb i'm going to elbow drop on an old granny from 200m up cause i did it too many times in Prototype

Hey Scooter...you talked about buying games from overseas...How exactly do you do that...?

I am not a veteran overseas buyer, so I usually try to get a game from amazon.com, but it doesn't allow me to have it shipped into australia...

I do know that there is a possibility to have it sent to some address in USA (which I do have), and then have them send it to Australia. But surely there must be a more efficient way or a place to buy games where they do ship to Australia...

Can you tell me how you do this? Send me an email or reply here...I am curious to know how other Aussies import their games...

I welcome other suggestions of course by other posters.

Thanks!

My Email is alphaprima@hotmail.com by the way

Are you fo rizzle, Emperor? There's this thing called the internet. It allows you to buy stuff online from anywhere.

For example, Thailand: http://www.zest.co.th/www/main/index.php

Some companies have enforced policies with retailers that disallow selling like this (EA at least). But for most parts, there are no practical limits on where you purchase a game.

Take Thailand for example. Australia signed a free trade agreement with Thailand back in 2003. As far as I can tell there are no restrictions on purchasing games from Thailand, it's perfectly legal. I don't know how this applies to media which is classified by the OFLC, but if it's classified differently in Thailand, what would stop you from purchasing it there?

With games at least it's like a half-developed classification and restriction system.

Hey pinky, thanks for the reply...I suppose I could do some more research and try ebay etc...But I was looking for a one-website-fix-all kinda situation, where I can just log in to one website and have it shipped here, no hassles.

Do you know what I mean? I don't want to sit on the net researching places if I can obtain the information much easier from somebody on a forum who might have already researched it himself. Otherwise, of course, I could research the matter myself (which I have been doing right now)...But please, if there is a games seller on the net that ships to Australia, please show me the site, and I will be very appreciative...

Thank you.

For example the site you showed me, doesn't have Soldier of Fortune: Payback. It's not like I really need this game, as it didn't receive good reviews, but that's an example of a game that was censored in Australia, which I might have liked to purchase. I cannot import it from Amazon, so I'd like for you to find me a site that sends Soldier of Fortune: Payback to Australia. (uncensored US version of course)!

Until then, your sarcastic remarks are unwarranted and unappreciated.

By the way, that website doesn't even have Fallout 3. Find something better please, or don't waste my time.

I just found cduniverse.com

They ship sholdier of fortune US version to Australia. I think my search has concluded.

Until then, your sarcastic remarks are unwarranted and unappreciated.

Calm down big fella, that's the way business is done round here. Your new so we'll let your green behind the ears reaction slide.

The fact that you were suggested a website link at all says he was trying to help when normally round here your told find it yourself.

Zest is probably your best bet for obtaining games online. For the record, it is illegal for an Australian to even own a copy of a game that has been refused classification so keep that in mind when you ask for games like that.

By the way, that website doesn't even have Fallout 3. Find something better please, or don't waste my time.

Right so let me get this straight. You are a random person who has recently signed up. Getting on a thread complaining that your google skills are not good enough to find a site to purchase games overseas, THEN you inform Pinky than he should find you something better because it's wasting your time. Get a f***ing CLUE!

2 second google

Has multiple places that you can get it from.

Helpful part of my post, in the top 10 of the google result above there is play asia which is meant to be good.

Don't waste my time fireblood

STOP WASTING MY TIME INTERNETS!@#!@@~!

God I love QGL - So knew this was coming

Love that link Fireblood ++

2 second google

That was a bitch slap if I ever saw one!

Love your work Fireblood, I swear I heard Darth Vader Say "The net is strong in this one"