PlayStation 3, Australasia

The Australian classification board's report states that the game contains content “unsuitable for a minor to see or play” and “violence that is high in impact”. The ability to harm civilians is also cited. More >

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.

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.