Australasia

The Australian classification board has ruled not to grant Sega's The House Of The Dead: Overkill Extended Cut a rating, making it illegal to sell the PS3 game in the country. As spotted by VG247, the classification listing notes that the version submitted for review was “modified”, suggesting Sega may already have made content cuts in a bid to gain approval. Ahead of its release in 2007, the original Wii version of the game, The House Of The Dead: Overkill, was granted an MA15+ rating for “strong horror violence”. Extended Cut features 3D and Move support, as well as exclusive levels. The Australian classification board is notoriously strict when it comes to games. While an overhaul of the nation’s classification system is expected to pave the way for the introduction of an R18+ rating for games, none higher than 15+ currently exists for the medium, despite the fact that movies and magazines can receive adult classification.

New South Wales Attorney General Greg Smith has decided to support an R18+ rating for Australia having abstained from the official vote last month. Smith previously said that his abstention was due to a desire to gather more information, and that he intended to wait for the results of the Australian Law Reform Commisson's classification review, which isn't due until 2012. NSW has now confirmed that it will join the other eight Australian territories in backing the rating. "Few people would dispute the value of a classification system that helps keep adult material beyond the reach of children," said Smith. "With strong classification guidelines in place, an R18+ rating should result in violent games currently rated MA15+ in Australia being reclassified as adults-only, as they already are in many other countries." This means that games previously banned due to "violent impact", such as Mortal Kombat and the uncensored Left 4 Dead 2, will soon be able to take advantage of the new certificate.

Following THQ's announcement last night that it is to close two Australian studios, and a US team in Phoenix with the loss of 200 jobs, Sega Studios Australia director Marcus Fielding said he hoped to be able to help staff at THQ Studio Australia, which like Sega is based in Brisbane, find new employment. "We are deeply saddened by the loss of another great Australian developer, and are sorry to see THQ's studios close their doors after so many years of game development," he told MCV. "We will be speaking to Sega executives to explore our short-term hiring strategy to reflect the sudden influx of talent in Australia. We hope to be able to announce the potential for taking on more staff soon." Sega Studio Australia is currently advertising for an art director and senior engine programmer.

Sources have told Kotaku that Brendan McNamara, the controversial head of the LA Noire studio, is in acquisition talks with Australian film company Kennedy-Miller Mitchell (KMM), owned by Mad Max director George Miller. McNamara and several members of his staff were given a tour of Miller's Dr D animation studio, which is currently at work on Happy Feet 2. "The word is going round that Team Bondi is being folded into KMM studios," a source said. "Team Bondi is pretty much doomed after the [crunch] scandal and can't find any new supporters, so by doing this they can hide their name." A second source claimed that Miller was "incredibly impressed...by McNamara's refusal to compromise his artistic vision in the face of deadlines."

The much-debated potential Australian R18+ classification rating has faced further delays following NSW Attorney-General Greg Smith confirmation that he will abstain from voting on the subject. Speaking to the Australian Gamespot, a spokesperson for Smith said that "more work needs to be done on this issue" and that Smith intends to wait for the results of the Australian Law Reform Commission's classification review - due in 2012.

In an open letter to the IGDA, lead gameplay programmer Dave Heironymus paints a markedly different picture of life at Sydney-based LA Noire developer Team Bondi, following weeks of revelations from disgruntled former staff. While admitting that working hours increased as the project progressed, he insists that reports of 100-hour working weeks are wide of the mark, and shifts blame for the alleged excessive crunch away from studio head Brendan McNamara. "As time went on we failed to make as much progress as we'd have liked and there was growing pressure to work longer hours," he writes. "It was not any one person's fault that we weren't making progress; responsibility for that has to rest with the entire team." While an opposing viewpoint is welcome for balance, Heironymus neglects to address the issue that set the ball rolling: the omission from the game's credits of over 100 staff who left Team Bondi before the project was completed.

From tomorrow, Wii owners in Europe, Australia and New Zealand will be able to download the Kirby TV Channel, which will host over 50 episodes telling of Kirby's exploits in Dream Land. Two episodes will be released per week, with each one available for a fortnight before being removed.

In a post on the PlayStation Blog, Sony has announced that PlayStation 3 owners in the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand can sign up for a free 180-day trial of the streaming music service's basic package. This gives access to a catalogue of seven million songs through PS3, PC and a recently released Android client, as well as the option of uploading your own collection to the cloud. However, the offer is not available to those who have previously taken advantage of the free 30-day trial of the premium service.

Tecmo Koei's 3DS fighting game was removed from sale two weeks ago after a media outcry over its PG rating. Nintendo has since resubmitted Dimensions for appropriate classification and it has been awarded an M rating, and should be back on sale in the near future.

State officials approve measure for digital creative industry in a bid to stem the flow of job losses: a February study claimed Australia's game industry had lost 1,000 jobs - more than half the nation's development workforce - since 2008. Rob Curry, CEO of the Interactive Games and Entertainment Association, says the news "has already attracted the interest of many global game publishers." The bill is set to be enacted in July.

3 Blokes Games, Brisbane-based developer of Facebook title Galactic Trader, to remain independent, charged with development of strategy and combat titles for Facebook.

Brendan McNamara says health professionals, security firms and even law enforcement are interested in licensing LA Noire's facial animation tech.