Quote Originally Posted by Crash-Headroom View Post
This actually amazes me but yes, he is utterly correct any game that has been censored in ausitralia has eventually come out uncensored (probably when it wasn't a feminist reviewing the game) or the scene has been changed. However, a couple still seem to be banned outright...one of them being "Phantasmagoria", even the new GoG re-release is still technically banned "Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure" is another,..."Voyeur" is STILL banned XD, Hot Line Miami 2 got banned, at which the devs had this to say:

"The developers and publisher responded by saying the board had misrepresented the scene, which was optional, and told players just to "pirate it after release". "No need to send us any money, just enjoy the game," HM2 co-creator Jonatan Söderströmm told a gamer in an email that was shared online." Hotline Miami 2 was submitted for classification twice in 2015; the board refused to classify it both times." The monster does rear it's head still every now and again ...holy shit! The new Syndicate is banned in ausiland due to its "depiction of destruction of public/private property" XD

"EA never resubmitted Syndicate for release again. The Board's stance would have resulted in too many scenes and too many pieces of the game to be amended. Syndicate is available digitally, although you'll need a VPN to purchase it through Origin." < that one is just fucking insane :/
Phantasmagoria - I have that one physical. I didn't import it myself I actually got it from work just after I started there.

Yes censorship was a little more extreme before the R18+ rating existed. If a game wasn't modded down to MA or M level then it just couldn't be released locally.
But importing games wasn't illegal back then and modified consoles were ok too.

Technically there aren't any "banned" games, they are just refused classification locally. Banned implies that purchasing and/or owning then is illegal, which it isn't.
If a game is refused classification the dev/publisher can resubmit after addressing concerns but sometimes they don't bother. The South Park example I gave was one where the game was modified before it was submitted...it was modified in a similar fashion for EU anyway.

Syndicate 2012 - that was released in New Zealand with an adult rating. PS3 alt region versions can be imported anyway, I haven't checked the 360 versions to see what is compatible (sometimes NA retail releases aren't PAL compatible).

Hotline Miami 2 - who cares?