After being refused classification, then re-submitted to the Review Board, the Classification Board has reached a final verdict on the fate of Saints Row IV in Australia: No.
The original classification was put in place both because of an ‘alien anal probe’ – a weapon which the Board deemed too close to sexual assault — and drugs with positive effects, which are a major hit point for many ratings systems around the world.
As for the second submission, the Classification Board put it like this:
“In the Review Board’s opinion, Saints Row IV could not be accommodated within the R 18+ classification as drug use related to incentives and rewards is not permitted.“
So with the re-submission, it looks as though being rewarded for use of drugs has ultimately secured the fate of Saints Row IV in Australia.
However a “safe” version of Saints Row IV is also set to be submitted, after Deep Silver said they were “reworking some of the code to create a version of the game for this territory by removing the content which could cause offence”.
It now looks as though that’s the only way Aussie’s will be able to play the game, unless of course you import it.
