In the traditional move for our wonderful government, the upcoming Grand Theft Auto IV has been edited for an Australian release in order to secure an MA15+ rating.

Joy.

This follows suit from the other GTA games released here: III, Vice City and San Andreas.

There's been no official word from Rockstar on this just yet.

I thought their Australian branch affirmed it, but didn't state what had been cut.

Damn, need to know what has been cut :s

Damn, need to know what has been cut :s

The game will be region free on PS3,  and cheaper too if you import the uncut version. Not sure about the 360 version. Some of their games are region free, some aren't. I think this will be one that isn't region free, however. Also, about the bonus content on the 360 version. Does anybody actually want all that stuff, and the people that do, are they willing to pay $$$ in micro-transactions for extra crap?

In any case, I'm waiting for the PC version.

Bully isn't region free so GTA IV most likely will follow suit.

this was pretty much confirmed when a rockstar rep was interviewed by SMH, they told us that we were getting an original copy 8 months ago, and then they went ahead and submitted a pre cut version to get it past the OFLC.

also if i recall from the article the rep said "quite a chunk" or something along those lines but it hinted at a significant amount had to be cut.

edit: http://blogs.smh.com.au/screenplay/archives//017808.html

even though its a blog, screenplay is usually on the ball with this type of stuff.

edit edit: http://rockstaruncut.com/?p=559

here is where the "quite a bit of content had to go" thing came from

What I want to know is if this will mean we can't play with Americans, etc. online.. and also, if we get an import version, can we get twice as many achievements if we also get the Aus version?

There is no online play? Online leaderboards or something I think is the extent of it..

Import version would be tempting, but problem is, trying to import will probably have it stopped by customs.. Especially with so much attention on the game at the moment.

Import version would be tempting, but problem is, trying to import will probably have it stopped by customs.. Especially with so much attention on the game at the moment.

I would be surprised if they checked. Does refusing classification make it illegal to import as well as sell?

They never banned the O/S version though, remember? There has never been any banning of GTA IV.. just an apparent pre-edit of the GTA IV that will be sold on the shelves in Aus. That should mean there are no issues importing.. but given its name/popularity, there probably will be  

yeah, some oldies will have a whinge "why are people playing the unedited game?!", it'll be picked up in the paper, and then watch out..

But why would you buy local if you can get the imported version at cheaper cost? This censorship business just is a waste of time, and hurts the local retailers more than anybody else.