Switch owners won't be receiving Disco Elysium: The Final Cut until this Summer, but there's already trouble ahead for Australian players. Launching on March 30th for PlayStation and Stadia owners, the Australian government has refused to classify it, which bans it from sale in the country.
They haven't specified exactly why Disco Elysium's been refused a rating, and ZA/UM has yet to publicly respond on this. However, considering the core gameplay mechanics prominently include drugs and alcohol, we can take our guesses, and the Australian Classification Board issued this statement:
The computer game is classified RC … as computer games that depict, express or otherwise deal with matters of sex, drug misuse or addiction, crime, cruelty, violence or revolting or abhorrent phenomena in such a way that they offend against the standards of morality, decency and propriety generally accepted by reasonable adults to the extent that they should not be classified.
It's worth noting that this could potentially be a mistake on the Classification Board's part. Back in November, Bloober Team's The Medium was also refused classification in Australia, though in that instance, it was overturned not long before release, and given an R18+ rating.
With the Switch release months away, there's plenty of time for this decision to be re-reviewed, but PlayStation owners won't be as lucky. We'll keep you informed as we receive further details.
[source press-start.com.au]
Comments 31
I'm not familiar with how the game handles the subject matter of drugs and alcohol, but I doubt that they depicted in a way that "offends against standards of morality, decency and property generally accepted by reasonable adults".
Which is, I doubt the game glorifies and promotes them as to make them attractive. It likely depicts the complexities of the subject matter as I've heard considerable acclaim about this game's story writing.
This makes me die of cringe. Thanks for treating your citizens well!
All censorship is evil and ineffective.
About 50% of games pitched at adults include most of those flags these days. There must be something more to this?
So glad the Switch is region-free as I'm not going to let someone else decide what is and isn't appropriate for me to play. As an adult, I can do that for myself.
@samuraicop i doubt THIS game deserves it but honestly some subject matters simply shouldn't be sold (rape, pedophilia) so I am glad the system exists, this just seems like a really weird game to have this happen to.
‘in such a way that they offend against the standards of morality, decency and propriety generally accepted by reasonable adults’
1950s conservative morality cringe needs to be binned pronto. Such vague language. Completely open to wide range of interpretation. It’s absurd.
Keep on winning Australia...
@RupeeClock Honestly, the game shows the dreadful effects of alcoholism more than anything. It’s an odd one.
Disgusting.this goes way to far,refusing to rate a game.and if it's about drugs that makes it even worse.adults should have the right to choose how they feel about drugs,in game and in real life
Imagine how many adults might start using drugs/alcohol if this game was released. Australia saves the day again.
Wasn't Disco Elysium up for multiple game of the year nominations, and really well written.
Just out of interest is Trainspotting banned in Australia, are they creating a double standard for film and video games? Or are they just censorship mad in general.
Just curiously googled... GTA Chinatown Wars query still yields links to Australian Amazon and other retailers to this day. And don't get me started on Bioshock in all technicality.😆
Because we all know the use of alcohol is very offensive..... Unless it's an advertisement during a football game, obviously.
What a hypocritical stance.
@Wargoose
No, they are very much hypocritical in the way they treat videogames compared to film and television.
I'm sure one day there will be a myriad of studies that show there's no connection between irl behaviour and videogames and they will see reason. Oh, wait...
This isn't unusual for Australia they have had several games and some that do get released get certain things altered or censored in order to get released at all. They probably have some of the strictest requirements even for their highest age ratings of any country in aware of.
Looks like we found the cause of alcoholism in Australia you guys. Turns out it was this video game.
They've only just entered the 90s in Australia
Aussies have to worry about the evangelical right AND sjws? Horrible.
As an Australian who already completed Disco Elysium last year and who will likely import a physical copy of the final cut from eBay or Amazon, I find the classification board’s futile attempts to restrict this game hilarious.
Foster’s. Australian for [CLASSIFICATION DENIED]
@meeto_1 in fairness to the Australian Classification Board, the language is vague precisely because standards change. This phrase is supposed to allow for the definition of what is accepted to shift with society. That said they also have a habit of being really dumb and inconsistent. As mentioned above GTA Chinatown Wars was fine because you never take the drugs yourself. Fallout 4 (I think) was refused classification until they changed the name of one if the medications (from memory it was close to morphine, which is real and therefore bad).
We also didn't have an R18 raring until about 10 or 15 years ago, so anything that was rated R overseas got an MA15 rating here.
So yeah. Dumb. If this doesn't get sorted I'll definitely import.
Just make the game for people who are 100+ years old, it won't change a thing since the average age for Call of Duty players is 8.
The aussies have become real puritans in this day and age.
"...in such a way that they offend against the standards of morality, decency and propriety generally accepted by reasonable adults to the extent that they should not be classified."
Sorry Australia but the only thing a reasonable adult should be accepting in this situation is the fact that video games are a work of fiction and exist in virtual reality detached from the real world. If you don't know how to deal with that and try to apply real world issues to things presented in video games you are no longer a reasonable adult and have a lot of growing up to do.
is this because the devs shouted out Karl Marx? lol, kudos to Australia.
btw, phenomenal game. l'm biased as I'm a commie too, but it's incredibly well designed and written.
I'll be honest I think the spirit of Australia's intentions is right.
The nature of this kind of content is to shock. Over time all you can do is shock harder and harder... Until eventually you start overstepping the line of decency.
We are already far far over that line in fiction today. We justify it by the very fact that it's fiction...
I'm not so sure it hasn't rubbed off on people's attitudes in a big way.
Folks can be pretty cruel and callous these days.
@JayJ my whole point right here. People use the excuse of fiction to justify having their thirst for the abhorrent being sated...
There's nothing positive about digesting horrendous acts in a fiction setting. Desensitizing yourself to it only widens your scope of accepting the intolerable.
@Real_Obsi The world isn't all sunshine and rainbows, there's a lot of bad stuff out there and throughout human history people have addressed issues through the arts and entertainment. Take one of the most famous plays ever written for example, Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. It's about grudges and vendettas leading to death and suicide, the grim results of forbidden love. Some of the most highly praised films, books, music, and art are depictions of dark subject matters and disturbing realities. This is simply people expressing the reality of the world they live in and it gives people an ability to learn from them and understand the complexities of human society, which advances intellect.
What you want is to essentially white wash history and culture because you want to push a naive puritan outlook on life. That sort of attitude is what led to the dark ages, the times when human history hits it's lowest points, pure intellectual regression brought on by authoritarianism and censorship.
this remind me of when Australia rating board banned Madworld for sales.
@Real_Obsi are you like 10? Adults can buy whatever game they please. At the end of the day it is FICTIONAL.
@Darlinfan I agree with the first paragraph but there are game companies that dont.
We litterally had games with those things blocked from being sold, that's the use of it.
Negative impact and offends morality can mix, not everything offensive has a direct negative impact, but things that do (or could) should be banned.
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