Aussie games censored

Changes will have to be made to Grand Theft Auto Vice City and BMX XXX if either game is ever to appear in Australia. That's the verdict of the Australian Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC), which, unlike industry bodies in the UK and US, is run by the country's government.

GTA3 having already run into difficulties with the OFLC, Take-Two is prepared for this, and plans to release a slightly censored version of Vice City, devoid of strip clubs and with a sex scene removed from a cut sequence. Take-Two has refused to comment on the changes or the length of the delay, but forethought on the subject may save Aussie gamers from a hellish wait.

Meanwhile, BMX XXX has been outright refused classification by the OFLC, and can not go on sale until the offensive material is removed, which in BMX XXX's case could take a good while. With some retailers in the US already refusing to stock the game and widespread objection to stripping scenes and general lewd behaviour which runs throughout the game, Acclaim CEO Greg Fischbach has gone on record in protest, likening the game to accepted mainstream entertainment like the movie American Pie, and TV shows The Sopranos and Sex and the City.

"We believe that there is a general, unfair characterisation of the interactive entertainment industry and as a result, our product is being held to an entirely different standard than other entertainment media with comparable content, including movies, television and radio," he said in a statement.

Of course, Aussie PS2s will play European PAL games and vice versa, but we couldn't possibly advocate nor recommend any importing to get around this lunacy. Absolutely not.