Aliens vs Predator Gets Unbanned in Australia

Another game that got banned Down Under was Rebellion's upcoming Aliens vs Predator, and, while other games that suffered the same fate decided that they should at least try to play nice, Rebellion made it very clear that it had no intention to alter the title's content. So, even if its publisher, Sega, did motion for an appeal, nobody saw a result to this. But earlier this morning, the Australian PlayStation Store teased us with a very exciting and, actually, even hilarious piece of information.

A trailer was released on the service, and it was marked as having an MA15+ rating. The funny part comes where the rating is detailed, as, apparently, there is a lot of violence in the game. Get ready, because the MA15+ rating has a heap of foot notes: Blood and Gore, Moderate Coarse Language, Moderate Nudity, Strong Battle Violence, Strong Graphics Violence, Strong Horror Themes, Strong Horror Violence, Strong Science Fiction Violence, Strong Violence. At the time the trailer was released, Sega refused any comment, but that changed in no time at all, as soon as an official ruling came on the rating.

Talking to Kotaku, Sega Australia's General Manager, Darren Macbeth, said that, "It is with great pleasure that we announce the success of our appeal. We are particularly proud that the game will be released in its original entirety, with no content altered or removed whatsoever. This is a big win for Australian gamers. We applaud the Classification Review Board on making a decision that clearly considers the context of the game, and is in line with the modern expectations of reasonable Australians."

While the news is great, since not only does it build a precedent, but it also means that we'll be able to frag Aussie Marines, one can't help but wonder what made them change their mind. Even Rebellion admitted that Aliens vs Predator shouldn't earn an MA15+ rating, since it was definitely an adults-only title, so what possibly could have convinced the Board's members to change their minds is a riddle.