Aussie censor bans Dead or Alive

The Australian classification board has bowed to pressure over the rating of Nintendo 3DS title Dead or Alive: Dimensions, revoking its initial PG certificate and banning it from sale in Australia.

The incident has again tested Australia's limited classification board system which currently holds MA 15+ as its highest classification for video games. The government is considering the introduction of an R18+ rating.

In this case the board said it wrongly awarded Dead or Alive: Dimensions the tame PG rating because it had not been given full information at the time of classification.

“Information provided to the board last week suggested that the game contained content not drawn to the board’s attention in the original classification application,” a spokesperson for the board told the press.

Economic with the truth

The game's distributor, THQ, had submitted the game without publishing the ages of the characters, who are portrayed as younger than 18.

The core issue with the game is its ‘Figure’ mode, which allows players to take 3D views and photographs of the characters from any angle, including up their very short skirts.

Dead Or Alive: Dimensions is now deemed unclassified and cannot be sold in Australia unless resubmitted for classification.

The game has already been pulled from sale in Sweden due to fears that it may violate child pornography laws. It has also been restricted from sale in Denmark and Norway.

Gaming retailers were told to remove the game from Australian shelves on Friday and Nintendo is understood to have already resubmitted the game for classification, hoping to receive an MA15+ rating. Sources suggest this is highly unlikely. ®