Earlier this week, Devolver Digital announced it was bringing the "super-violent" multiplayer brawler Mother Russia Bleeds to the Switch eShop on 15th November. If you watched the gameplay trailer, you will have no doubt noticed the graphic nature of the title including references to drug use.
In an unexpected update, Devolver Digital has issued a tweet revealing the game won't be released in Australia or New Zeland on Nintendo Switch. It's all to do with the local Classification Board and its disapproval of certain themes in video games. It's worth noting, it's not actually clear if the game has been banned, or if the publisher is avoiding the inevitable.
As Kotaku explains, existing console versions of this game have received an M rating from America's ESRB. This roughly aligns with the M or MA15+ rating in Australia and New Zealand. PEGI has Mother Russia Bleeds down as an 18+ rating.
In 2013, Australia passed an R18+ rating for video games, with the aim to reduce the number of bans. Despite this rating being introduced, the bans have continued - with drug references and implied sexual violence the most common reason games are refused. While the Switch release of Mother Russia Bleeds is seemingly off-limits locally, the Steam version is apparently still available to access as it has not gone through the local classification process.
Australia's long-time history banning games has seen titles like South Park: The Stick of Truth refused for depicting sexual violence and Saints Row IV banned for containing drug use incentives. Outlast 2 was also originally refused for implied sexual violence and even Sega's House of the Dead: Overkill Extended Cut from back in the day was banned due to excessive violence. All of these games were resubmitted (with edits even made to some) and eventually received classification.
In saying this, this is only a handful of cases over the years. Many other games have been banned and publishers have often decided not to resubmit. This includes Devolver Digital's very own 2015 release Hotline Miami 2, which was banned for depicting sexual violence and was never released in Australia.
[source kotaku.com.au]
Comments 26
Is anyone surprised by this?
Sony is beginning to do the same. Although they are very hypocritical, they refuse fanservicey type of games but odious amounts of blood, gore and violence in games line RDR2 or God of War and GTA however are just peachy in their twisted view. Now Nintendo is doing a complete turnaround from years past where you'd be hard pressed for M rated content on its platforms.
Oh boo hoo, crybabies
This makes me ashamed to be an Aussie. Just makes people import and avoid paying local businesses I guess.
@Other-Brother
Yea I was just thinking to myself, surely the only people this really hurts are local businesses. Do the classification board really think that by banning a game that players won’t get their hands on it?
Have they not heard of imports?
Yeah, it has nothing to do with the New Zealand Censorship board, which is happy to stick an R18 label on most things that need it. Unfortunately, New Zealand is such a small market that Australian branches of Nintendo, Sony, and the like usually oversee publishing in New Zealand as well. It really sucks to miss out on stuff here because Australia says no.
Wonder how Doom fared in those parts
@GameOtaku I feel like that was more an audience perception problem from third party devs, than a Nintendo censorship problem.
@WaffleKnight Doom and Wolfenstein II are both available in stores here, both just have an R18+ rating
Edit: "here" being in Australia if that wasn't obvious
@bkbooth Exactly. Maybe Devolver just thinks it’s too much trouble for a relatively small market so they won’t bother.
Not too fussed about this game in particular but it's really stupid that we're still seeing these completely unnecessary bans. This is the type of thing that the 18+ rating should be there for. Good thing the Switch is region free.
Any references to drugs, especially the use of them, usually doesn't get past the ratings board in Australia historically.
I'm not upset about not being able to get this game in particular, but what the heck is the point of the R18 classification then, if not for this type of situation? The Government sucks.
Thank goodness for region-free.
I just don't get the logic behind this. I can't think of a single logical reason as to why these games consistently get banned, and even if you could argue that it's justified worse games have made it through.
Have they no consistency?
I yust Dont get it, boo boo
@Sabroni
It's because it's Russia...the violence just gave them an excuse.
And some people ask me why I have several region accounts and even plan to get a family subscription for them all. XD Nights of Azure 2 wasn't even "disapproved" on Russian eShop - it has simply vanished off the release radar despite Nintendo Russia once openly touting its advent on Twitter. Knowing our neighbours' pedagogically challenged legislation, there are some guesses as to why.
Perhaps this game IS similarly banned rather than just denied a rating? After all, it seems like a digital-only release, so it couldn't suffer from retailers refusing to stock unrated content. At least, unlike the above example, we have official news on the subject.
PS. In case of someone's tangential curiosity, Mother Russia Bleeds is currently visible and slated for release on Russian eShop, yes.
I’m skeptic it was ever submitted for classification in Australia as it’s not showing up on the aus classification board nor the usually up to date “refused classification” website:
https://www.refused-classification.com/censorship/games/a-to-z-listing.html
Probably just trying to create hype at the expense of Aussie consumers imho
Lol.
Doesn't really matter though since the Switch has no region-lock.
Ya better just enjoy playing Candy Crush ya flamin' galahs!
@Mrtoad It definitely was Nintendo practicing censorship. Two infamous cases are Mortal Kombat with green blood, and Nintendo of America's big boss at the time proclaiming games like Night Trap (and Mortal Kombat, etc) to be sick and twisted with no chance of ever appearing on a Nintendo console. In fact, I believe he even literally said that Nintendo wilfully censored certain games and refused to allow others to appear on their systems for their violent themes. All PR nonsense, of course, but they themselves were actually responsible for censorship.
This is most likely due to the use of a drug/steroid like substance in the beat em up. I know that other games have been banned for similar things in that region
It sounds like they haven’t even submitted it for classification, as it’d likely get an R18+ rating. So maybe the publicity of the misleading ‘getting banned’ is financially worth it.
@c2017nlifemedia I'm talking more about the Wii and DS era, there was nothing that stopped M rated games from appearing on those platforms (there were less than 10 on the DS alone), though I imagine that Nintendo's censorship from the NES and SNES days did do at least some damage, though.
Don't bother with the OLCF in Australia - its really a joke. In the US, classification is ... FREE. Its Europe its cheap. In Germany its cheap.
In Australia - it can cost $1000+ per PLATFORM depending on the game. The requirements are horrendous and it can take months (or you pay extra to "fast-track" it).
Ironically, Flowerworks for the WiiU was released everywhere in the world (even Russia) - but not Australia. It was too expensive, and there was no way we were going to sell 500+ copies in Australia to cover the costs.
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