EA responds to Aus ban of Syndicate

Mike Bantick
Wednesday, 21 December 2011 12:04

Your IT - Entertainment

Another big title falls to the whims of Australia's incomplete censorship laws around interactive entertainment.  This time it is Electronic Art's reimaging of a seminal favourite Syndicate.  As EA says, this game was made for a mature audience and any changes would significantly affect the games quality and appeal, so Australians will miss out.

 

The new first person action game Syndicate will be released unchanged around the world in February 2012.  New Zealanders will be enjoying the game from Feb 24th next year with a confirmed rating of R18.

 

Not so here in Australia where EA has decided not to fight the decision to ban the game under a censorship system lacking an R18+ classification.

 

The official statement from EA reads:  "It's regrettable that government policy in Australia is denying adults the right to play Syndicate.  The game will be not be available in Australia despite its enthusiastic response from fans. We were encouraged by the government's recent agreement to adopt an 18+ age rating for games. However, delays continue to force an arcane censorship on games - cuts that would never be imposed on books or movies. We urge policy makers to take swift action to implement an updated policy that reflects today's market and gives its millions of adult consumers the right to make their own content choices."