Valve Responds to Left 4 Dead 2 Ban

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The news that Left 4 Dead 2 will be effectively banned in Australia came as a shock to the folks at developer Valve, VP of marketing Doug Lombardi has told Shacknews.

"We were surprised to hear of this news yesterday," the executive informed us. "Obviously, everyone at Valve is pretty bummed."

Australia's Office of Film and Literature Classification refused to classify Left 4 Dead 2 due to its "realistic, frenetic and unrelenting violence" and gore, effectively banning the zombie shooter sequel as unrated games cannot be sold down under by law.

"It would be a shame if folks in Australia, or anywhere else, are unable to purchase Left 4 Dead 2 because of a ratings issue," Lombardi lamented.

Left 4 Dead 2 hits PC and Xbox 360 elsewhere in the world on November 17, packing a new cast, five campaigns, new enemies, and ratings board-enraging melee weapons.

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From The Chatty
  • reply
    September 18, 2009 7:47 AM

    So let me get this straight, they banned Left 4 Dead 2 but Gears of War 2 isn't banned?

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      September 18, 2009 7:50 AM

      Microsoft can afford to buy off officials.

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        September 18, 2009 7:51 AM

        Gears of War 2's content is pretty tame.

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          September 18, 2009 7:57 AM

          yea heads and exploding and curb stomping is kids stuff

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            September 18, 2009 8:03 AM

            Yeah, but compared to guts and other internal organs spilling out and what they've described in L4D2, the content is pretty tame.

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              September 18, 2009 8:05 AM

              [deleted]

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              September 18, 2009 8:32 AM

              Internal organs? You chainsaw through muiltiple hearts from inside a monster's body in Gears of War 2, with thousands of gallons of blood!

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                September 18, 2009 8:34 AM

                But its not a human.

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                  September 18, 2009 8:35 AM

                  well then that makes it all ok!

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                    September 18, 2009 5:19 PM

                    Obviously no it doesn't, but that is the flawed reasoning in use here

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                  September 18, 2009 9:08 AM

                  replace zombies with kittens - no humans, problem solved!

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                    September 18, 2009 4:15 PM

                    No, replace it with a giant pickle. NON ORGANIC!

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                    September 18, 2009 4:23 PM

                    How about when you cut someone in half a rainbow shoots out and candy splatters everywhere?

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      September 18, 2009 8:00 AM

      Zombies are real, but aliens are not.

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      September 18, 2009 8:40 AM

      Also how did the original L4D get a rating and not this?

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        September 18, 2009 8:58 AM

        melee weapons, apparently

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        September 18, 2009 9:23 AM

        Do they still sell Manhunt 1/2 in Australia?

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          September 19, 2009 4:45 AM

          Sure do. You can walk into most stores like EB Games, GAME or JB-HIFI etc and pick it up off of the shelf with no hassles.

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      September 19, 2009 5:07 AM

      You expect consistency in their rating procedure?

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      September 19, 2009 6:53 PM

      Its got nothing to do with gore, guts, organs or blood... its the rabies, the rabies!

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