For years, Australians in the video game community have lamented the outdated, ignorant laws in this country that continue to ban and censor games as a result of the viewpoints of outdated, ignorant people.
But let's look at the positives for a change. At least we don't live in Venezuela. Last week, a law was passed in the South American country to effectively ban all violent video games. Not just ones that conflict with extremist religious beliefs, but all violent video games. This law will go into effect in three months and carries severe penalties of three to five years prison for each of the following offenses:
- Sale of a video game.
- Production of a video game.
- Importation of a video game.
Campaigns have apparently also been launched throughout the country to warn people of the dangers of video games.
Man, that sucks kinda hard. As much as Australia seems to always get the short end of the stick, at least we get most games on our shelves. I played the demo for Left 4 Dead 2 the other night, and was disgusted by the editing that was forced upon the developers by Australia's archaic laws. A zombie game with no blood, and on top of that, the zombies' bodies disappear pretty much immediately after shooting them. Seriously, it was like playing a Commodore 64 game or something.
Left 4 Dead 2 - International Version.
Left 4 Dead 2 - Australian version.
But we still get ninety percent of our violent games freely. Even if I wanted the unedited version of Left 4 Dead 2 and ordered it from overseas, I wouldn't be thrown it jail for it. So next time you are bitching and moaning (like I enjoy doing) about being treated like children by your government, spare a thought for the poor Venezuelan.
Also, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has access to these guys and they look like the wrong people to fuck with.
