Hells' Reach Banned from Steam

Nollog

http://store.steampowered.com/app/43190
http://www.hells-reach.com

Just a quick update, unfortunately The Haunted Hells Reach has been banned In Australia and Ireland so therefore cannot be sold in in either of these countries. (There is always the option of getting a nice friend to gift you the game on steam or importing the retail version from the US.)

We recently mentioned about it being banned In Australia and Ireland on steam, which is still the case so to speak but for those of you who haven’t got any nice friends to gift you the game, there is now another option… gamersgate.

What is this?!
I'm outraged.

super_furry

Why on earth would a game be banned here?

Celly Smunt

Nanny state.

Simi

I just watched a gameplay video. It looks kinda stupid, but I don't see anything that could possibly lead to it being banned? Doesn't make any sense.

smk89

super_furry wrote: »

Why on earth would a game be banned here?

From the look of the trailer too many sideways rolls

AlmightyCushion

I've never heard of this game before but I'm actually considering buying it just to see why it was banned.

Gaunty

Just checked out a gameplay video of it. Can't see any reason why it has been banned...

funky penguin

Looks ****e tbh.

Varik

The Irish Film Classification Office barely ever bother to rate games at all and tend to leave it to PEGI, i didn't think that they ever review games until a problem was found (news saying game is terrible) so is it that this game is getting any attention from them.

Did anyone ever hear of this game before now.

Myrddin

AlmightyCushion wrote: »

I've never heard of this game before but I'm actually considering buying it just to see why it was banned.

The effect of banning.

Same here btw

MadYaker

Best marketing ploy ever? Everybody wants what they're not supposed to have.

K.O.Kiki

While their game looks utter pants, it's absolutely hilarious that they specifically ask gamers to break the law in order to purchase it.

humanji

Is it actually banned, or is this the only way they can get people to buy a sh*t game?

Myrddin

humanji wrote: »

Is it actually banned, or is this the only way they can get people to buy a sh*t game?

Would it not make more sense in that case to ban it everywhere, rather than just Ireland & Australia?

I looked at the gameplay, given the religious/hell connotations, its safe to say much worse has been done by the church in real life. I don't see what the problem is, rate it 18's & let it on. Banning it only draws attention to it

humanji

EnterNow wrote: »

Would it not make more sense in that case to ban it everywhere, rather than just Ireland & Australia?

I looked at the gameplay, given the religious/hell connotations, its safe to say much worse has been done by the church in real life. I don't see what the problem is, rate it 18's & let it on. Banning it only draws attention to it

Not really (because then they just couldn't sell it at all ), but Australia bans everything, so is to be expected and wouldn't make too much of a splash. Ireland on the other hand is well known enough for others to notice, but small enough for people not to be able to/not bother to check.

I might blast off an email to IFCO and see what they say.

Myrddin

humanji wrote: »

Not really (because then they just couldn't sell it at all ), but Australia bans everything, so is to be expected and wouldn't make too much of a splash. Ireland on the other hand is well known enough for others to notice, but small enough for people not to be able to/not bother to check.

I might blast off an email to IFCO and see what they say.

But its our censorship office that has banned it, not the game company themselves

Varik

EnterNow wrote: »

humanji wrote: »

Is it actually banned, or is this the only way they can get people to buy a sh*t game?

Would it not make more sense in that case to ban it everywhere, rather than just Ireland & Australia?

do you mean would it not make more sense to say it's banned everywhere, I'd think it would be down to believability.

this would be a ploy to increase sale everywhere rather then just where they day it's banned.


Sent off an email to check.

Only manhunt was banned and that did not last.

Myrddin

Varik wrote: »

do you mean would it not make more sense to say it's banned everywhere, I'd think out would be done to believability.

this would be a ploy to increase sale everywhere rather then just where they day it's banned.


Sent off an email to check.

Only manhunt was banned and that did not last.

Yeah I can't see something like that holding up, "they game they say is banned but actually isn't"

humanji

EnterNow wrote: »

But its our censorship office that has banned it, not the game company themselves

I'm saying that maybe they're just lying to make it controversial. It's not like it hasn't happened before, where companies have pretending their products are outrageous and shocking when they're incredibly tame. It just seems odd that something most of us have never heard of was banned for unspecified reasons.

Retr0gamer

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

While their game looks utter pants, it's absolutely hilarious that they specifically ask gamers to break the law in order to purchase it.

It's not really breaking the law. More breaking steams TOC's. It's not banned either, it's just been refused a rating meaning it can't be sold in ireland nothing wrong with owning a copy.

Varik

Retr0gamer wrote: »

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

While their game looks utter pants, it's absolutely hilarious that they specifically ask gamers to break the law in order to purchase it.

It's not really breaking the law. More breaking steams TOC's. It's not banned either, it's just been refused a rating meaning it can't be sold in ireland nothing wrong with owning a copy.

ireland goes by pegi, with the exception of 3 games they re-rated.

So unless our rating bodies did ban it (not deny it a rating) it still can be sold(because they're lying).

gizmo

Varik wrote: »

The Irish Film Classification Office barely ever bother to rate games at all and tend to leave it to PEGI, i didn't think that they ever review games until a problem was found (news saying game is terrible) so is it that this game is getting any attention from them.

Did anyone ever hear of this game before now.

It won the Make Something Unreal contest last year and got picked up by Valusoft (THQs budget label) to be released at retail. To put it in context, if you ignore The Ball which was another entry in the competition last year, then the last entrant to get a commerical release was Damnation.

Cuddlesworth

I wonder is this a result of our Blasphemy law.

Grumpypants

Not surprised with Oz banning games they ban loads of games, but the only other game banned from Ireland that i can remember is manhunt 2 and remember hearing an interview with the guy who banned it and he just said it was because the violence had no context.

johnny_ultimate

Sort of looks like Shadow of the Damned with blander art design and a less self-aware sense of humour.

Retr0gamer

If the game really is banned in Ireland I hope this isn't the start of turning Ireland into the new Australia when it comes to ridiculous censorship.

Cuddlesworth

Retr0gamer wrote: »

If the game really is banned in Ireland I hope this isn't the start of turning Ireland into the new Australia when it comes to ridiculous censorship.

If a game is in violation of the Blasphemy law or any law then they don't really have any option but to ban it.

Retr0gamer

****ing Balsphemy law. I really don't see how a religious rule that was invented by the church can make it into Irish law in a supposedly free society. Not being able to criticise religion is what got countless children raped in this country.

What's next? Ban all JRPGs since they all seem to end in you killing God?

Anyway that's another discussion. Thought the IFCO would have more sense and ignore such a backward law.

johnny_ultimate

God is ****.

There. I said it. Bring it on, Government.

Retr0gamer

I'm going to join in.

The Catholic Church is full of pedophiles... oh wait, I can't be done for blasphemy because it's a fact.

I'd love to know why it got banned. Anyone know if IFCO are good at getting back with queries?

BlitzKrieg

nothing on the IFCO website...considering they need to provide documentation this sounds like a load of bollocks.

Might as well pop an email to see if they respond.

Varik

Grumpypants wrote: »

Not surprised with Oz banning games they ban loads of games, but the only other game banned from Ireland that i can remember is manhunt 2 and remember hearing an interview with the guy who banned it and he just said it was because the violence had no context.

It was unbanned afterwards.

And 2 games had their rating increased over the pegi rating they had.

Grumpypants

Varik wrote: »

It was unbanned afterwards.

And 2 games had their rating increased over the pegi rating they had.

They had to do that photo negative effect during the killing scenes though, i had to get an imported version for the full death scene. Still pants though.

humanji

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

If a game is in violation of the Blasphemy law or any law then they don't really have any option but to ban it.

I can't imagine it being the blasphemy law. I don't think there's been any use of that so far, has there? And if not, it'd be insane to start now.

BlitzKrieg wrote: »

nothing on the IFCO website...considering they need to provide documentation this sounds like a load of bollocks.

Might as well pop an email to see if they respond.

I sent a mail off earlier. Not really expecting an answer until next week, and that's if they answer at all.

Andy!!

I don't think it looks THAT bad a game... big move list, decent graphics, context sensitive hits (helmets vs squishy flesh)... looks decent enough. Wouldn't buy it mind you.

Mr E

/\/ollog wrote: »

.... Hells Reach has been banned In Australia and Ireland

Probably thought it was Halo Reach. :pac:

Wetai

Mr E wrote: »

Probably thought it was Halo Reach. :pac:

Reading the thread title I initially thought it DID say Halo Reach

Coriolanus

Did ya send that email Humanji?

humanji

Yeah, but it'll be sometime during the week that I get an answer, if I get an answer.

humanji

I got a reply this morning:

To those who have written in concerning the notice on the hells-reach.com
website, the following is the correct situation.

As is the case with 18 PEGI classified video games, this was submitted to
IFCO for examination.

We subsequently notified the publisher on 24th November that it was in
order to supply this game in Ireland with its PEGI rating and descriptors.
I do not know if the game is to be unavailable in this country, but it has
not been banned by this office.

Ger Connolly
Acting Director of Film Classification
IFCO

So, it's not banned at all.

super_furry

Sounds really odd. Ireland's one of the smalled EU countries but if they say it's banned here, there's still a good chance that the mainstream gaming media will pick up on it.

Irish Halo

Or a scam to sell more through Gamersgate?
http://www.hells-reach.com/australia-and-ireland-update-2/

farna_boy

Did anyone bother reading any of IFCO's policies or did they just decide to starting posting BS without checking the facts?

From IFCOs FAQ:

Are many films banned today?
No, things have changed a lot since 1923, when the Irish Film Censor's Office was first established and the Official Censor was seen as the moral guardian of an emerging and deeply conservative state.

Of more than 50,000 film censorship decisions to date, about 2,500 theatrical films have been banned, while about 11,000 have been cut, but this was largely pre-1965.

However today, there is a general recognition that, so long as it is within the law, adults should be entitled to decide for themselves what they would like to see when they go to the cinema.

As regards video/DVD, the same principle applies, but clearly there's a difference between an adult viewing an 'Over 18' film in the controlled environment of a cinema and an 'Over 18' video being rented or sold to someone over eighteen who may, either inadvertently or deliberately, enable it to be seen by a minor.

This is a difficult one for us at IFCO: we don't want to be frustrate individual citizens exercising their freedom of choice or expression, but we cannot be oblivious to the potential effect that a particular video or DVD might have on a vulnerable child. We would welcome this issue being considered at any future review of the relevant legislation.

Retr0gamer

humanji wrote: »

......

That is a strange one. Was wondering why it would have gotten banned since it seemed so tame and John Kelleher and cohorts are usually quite sensible. Perhaps something happened whereby there was a delay in classification.

marco_polo

Retr0gamer wrote: »

That is a strange one. Was wondering why it would have gotten banned since it seemed so tame and John Kelleher and cohorts are usually quite sensible. Perhaps something happened whereby there was a delay in classification.

Just crossed wires by the looks of it. The original tweet in the OP by the developers is dated the 3rd of November, and according to that IFCO email above they only issued the go ahead to the publisher on the 24th November

Nollog

http://twitter.com/#!/HauntedOfficial/status/143823117456900097
It's now available.
I twitched them the ifco's response to humanji

CORaven

Website is bit by bit removing the claims that it was banned in Ireland. Putting the spin that it is no longer banned and has been given the green light.

Zeouterlimits

CORaven wrote: »

Website is bit by bit removing the claims that it was banned in Ireland. Putting the spin that it is no longer banned and has been given the green light.

Dirty, was afraid they'd spin it like that.

BlitzKrieg

Anyone pass this on to kotaku yet?

VinLieger

BlitzKrieg wrote: »

Anyone pass this on to kotaku yet?

DONT DO THAT it will simply garner more press for them which i dont think they deserve using this kind of ****ty marketing ploy, its kinda insulting TBH to be lumped in with Australia by saying were as backwards as they are when it comes to game ratings

BlitzKrieg

Of the philosophy that any press is good press? Even one pointing out they are lying scumbags?