[Q] GTA IV/EFLC sensorship in different countries

[Dageron RUS]

Many civilized countries (the authorities of this countries are concerned about the morale and moral condition of the citizens) have a special committee of censorship - for example, Australia and Germany.

 

Russian Federation does not have a rating system of digital products (including games) and no censorship committees.

This is a rather unpleasant fact, because the vast number of players - children (the majority - at the age less than 20 years, including less than 10). Grand Theft Auto contains a large number of senseless material - cruel, brutal and perverted content. Episodes From Liberty City is the last straw. The developers have really went too far with their perversions, bloodthirsty and excessive cruelty (shown as realistic).

 

Hope that in the future in Russia (this is my home country) it will be added a serious ranking and censorship system. But today situation is still bad. Game was released in Russia with translation by "1C company" (it is rather crude translation). So my idea is creating my own game translation (localisation) with a "little tweak".

 

Citizens of those countries in which there is a system of censorship (Australia, Germany), please, can you describe what kind of content in your game is blocked, deleted or hidden? Probably it is blood and those nasty violent and perverted scenes, which game is full. No matter what version you have - PC or x360.

 

I would like to convert these game resources from which contain censorship material (scripts, cutscenes) and distribute them specifically with my localisation (player will be able to play the game with my translation only if this "censor patch" installed). Removing all obscene content for Russian players from game is fine.

[Garfield 2]

So what? I started playing Grand Theft Auto when I was 8, I'm 16 at tthe moment and I still see nothing wrong about this game because it's ONLY A GAME.

[Dageron RUS]

I am talking about a bit different thing. Perhaps you live in a decent and civilized country with enough moral, ethical and cultural level if you can say "its only a game". In Russia the situation is different. Very different.

 

So, people from countries with a censorship system, please, can you describe what kind of content in your game is blocked, deleted or hidden?

[Garfield 2]

I am talking about a bit different thing. Perhaps you live in a decent and civilized country with enough moral, ethical and cultural level if you can say "its only a game". In Russia the situation is different. Very different.

 

So, people from countries with a censorship system, please, can you describe what kind of content in your game is blocked, deleted or hidden?

From what I've noticed in the European version of the game - some texts mocking the Europeans are removed, but that's only web & tv content.

 

The australian version of GTA IV has no blood if I'm correct, but someone needs to confim this.

[Dageron RUS]

I heard about blood removeall and text sensoring. Ok, it is nice (and it will be not so hard to do myself), but what about mission scipts and sutscenes? Most of them has rather disgusting content.

[spaceeinstein]

I don't understand. Why do you want to choose this game specifically to block all materials that are offensive to you? Everything in the game was built around the idea that aims toward a mature audience. Blocking everything that's offensive would dull the game down to the point where there is no point in playing the game at all. Why don't you choose other games to play instead? Why choose this one?

[Toup]

I am talking about a bit different thing. Perhaps you live in a decent and civilized country with enough moral, ethical and cultural level if you can say "its only a game". In Russia the situation is different. Very different.

 

So, people from countries with a censorship system, please, can you describe what kind of content in your game is blocked, deleted or hidden?

From what I've noticed in the European version of the game - some texts mocking the Europeans are removed, but that's only web & tv content.

 

The australian version of GTA IV has no blood if I'm correct, but someone needs to confim this.

Thats not true, we have the net and tv talking about Europe, wich i don't care and even think it is funny .

 

 

[Dageron RUS]

Of course, the game is for adult audience. But, once again, game providing without content sensoring can be just only in decent and civilized countries with enough moral, ethical and cultural level. Russian Federation hasnt got rating system and committee of censorship, but has lots of young inadequate players (schoolkids, students). It is quite sad. So I do not want to argue about game censorship in the world - just only in Russia (my home country).

 

I am making EFLC Russian localisation and want to add in archive such files, which will block all obscene and cruel content. Probably somebody who has sensored game version can provide me such - I will be very grateful.

 

Also I can repeat my question for people from countries with a censorship system again - please, can you describe what kind of content in game is blocked, deleted or hidden? (except blood removing)

 

[Magic_Al]

In the United States there is no government censorship but instead there are voluntary content ratings by which games are labeled as being appropriate for certain age groups. Content may be changed if major retailers refuse to sell a game, but that is commercial pressure, not law.

 

I have read that the government censorship of GTA IV that was done in Australia included no blood pools forming around dead bodies, no visible bruises/wounds on the player or NPCs, and no camera movement during servicing by prostitutes in cars (instead the view was locked on the rear bumper of the rocking car similarly to the prostitute scenes in GTA: San Andreas). That was all. In addition there was some radio and TV content removed from the PS3 version of EFLC due to objections by the European division of Sony, but because that was not government censorship there was no content removed from the Xbox 360 or PC versions in Europe. Finally, Australia reversed its censorship decisions after the initial release of GTA IV for PS3 and 360, and so the PC version and EFLC were not censored.

 

As an American who was raised in the ideology of the Cold War, I find the idea of a Russian wanting more censorship strange. We thought all people wanted freedom from state censorship.

[Weirdo.]

So what? I started playing Grand Theft Auto when I was 8, I'm 16 at tthe moment and I still see nothing wrong about this game because it's ONLY A GAME.

Life is just one big game, man.

[pantera765]

Ultimately, it's up to the parents and kids when it comes to this kind of thing. If there isn't any censorship for young players for whom the content is innapropriate, then parents need to step in and keep their kids from viewing it.

[cidamelo]

It's kind of hard to find Windows GTA in Brazil, the rating is 18 years............

[flamin_galah]

 

 

The australian version of GTA IV has no blood if I'm correct, but someone needs to confim this.

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, the Australian version doesnt show pools of blood or bloody tire marks or footprints. The gore factor is reduced because Australia doesnt have an R18+ rating on games. Some politicians are fighting for a R rating and others are trying to stop R rated material coming in.

[Dageron RUS]

Thanks a lot for explanation about censored content in different countries. That was very helful for me.

 

I think that Russia needs censorship system for all digital content (including games) because of its low culture level, lack of decency and morality. The lack of censorship in the Russian Federation is not "freedom" - it is a solid mess and chaos (I already explained why), which brings nothing good. So the question is sufficiently serious...

 

Can somebody from Australia/Germany (or any else country with government censorship) provide me some files from your IV/EFLC release? I mean files like script.img/anim.img, etc... Which include "content block" (no matter what version you have - x360 or PC). Send me a PM if you dont want to post it on public (that is probably illegal here).

 

I will be very grateful, thanks in advance.

[jamieleng]

Does anyone know what content was removed from the European PS3 version of EFLC? I can't find concrete evidence anywhere.

 

Also, I think removing small "questionable" parts of a game is utterly pointless. I mean not allowing player damage on the character model WTF? Even Tom & Jerry showed some physical consequence of violence.

[Dageron RUS]

Probably removing this scenes and script editing will be the proper decision

[Magic_Al]

Does anyone know what content was removed from the European PS3 version of EFLC? I can't find concrete evidence anywhere.

I have not seen any reports. Someone would have to access both versions and spend a great many hours attentively comparing at least the radio and TV content and perhaps the in-game Internet sites also. There is speculation that the objectionable material was in the Princess Robot Bubblegum segments, but it is hard to reconcile why only the European division of Sony would object to Japan-related indecent parody. Europeans are usually more sensitive to perceived racist and violent content than to sexual content, and then, I'm not sure what of that nature was in EFLC that was not in GTA IV when there was no known action by Sony.

[Maxim]

Okay, I'm sorry but this is just wrong. I used to live in one of the former soviet republics and I can tell you that pretty much 99% of all games there are pirated.

I'm not sure how you wish to distribute your censored copy (legit or non-legit ways) but censorship is anti freedom. Sure, as you put it , Russia isn't the same as the US or other countries, but censoring games isn't the way to change this. What could be done is a system to make sure that the person who plays the version is 18+. Otherwise, the market will speak and people will chose other versions of the game over yours. And honestly, do you believe that games do that much to hurt the population in Russia? I mean honestly, people get conscripted to the army there, which is worse than a video game.

[xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Im from NZ, living in Australia now. In NZ, we have an R rating for gaming content, yet we dont have a direct distribution line to the major release companies, so we get our games through Australian distributors, which means we get their stupid censored versions. This means that ALL gamers in NZ kick up the biggest up-roar against Australia's government antics. However for GTA there was a company who didnt want to sit back and let a censored version of GTA IV flood the country, so they went fought to get a direct line to the distributors for an uncensored version. Long story short, NZ has the uncensored version. So, that being said, now Im living in Australia I have played both versions, and I can tell you this. THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE GAMES CENSORED OR NOT. Sure you may be lacking some gore elements, but the game is graphic enough to be traumatic to people who are susceptable to gaming influenced violence. It doesnt matter the age, social class, or culture. Whether you're 5 or 50, if you have an easily influenced personality, you're gonna be affected by games like this. I was playing Mortal Kombat, Carmaggeddon, Doom, Wolfenstein, Splatterhouse, GTA1 and watching horror movies from a very young age. My parents bought me Mortal Kombat 1 for my 7th birthday, and that game has alot more gore than GTAIV. And you may say "Oh yea, but Mortal Kombats graphics were budget and it didnt look real", but for a 7 year old in 1992, that was a pretty realistic game, and those graphics were the top of the line back then. And if you still want to argue because its not 3D, I played GTA3 the day it came out. I was 15 years old, and I played it non-stop(apart from school and sleep), and when I walked down the street, I looked at cars, and thought "man that'd be awesome to do that kind of thing" but I didnt, because I have self control, and I am not one of these easily influenced people. I read in the news about a group of guys, 17 or so, that ran a muck in their town centre, they beat up people, robbed a shop and tried to steal a car, and when they were arrested and questioned, they said they were influenced by GTA. Those guys were just f*cken idiots. The only way you can solve your problem is to either make sure the people playing it arent f*cken idiots, or remove the game completely.

[Dageron RUS]

Magic_Al

And what about EUR version of x360 EFLC? Has it got censored TV?

 

Maxim

Yes, unfortunally in Russia 99% of games are pirated. It is very sadly...

Of course I want to redistribute my localisation only in legal way - through the Internet as a "translation modification". Users will not know that besides text translation it will be some "censor patch" .

The situation is really serious, because computer games has large influence to the cutlure and moral level of Russian people. Everywhere you can see the insane inadequate players (pupils, students).

They are using Russian obscene language from childhood times, thay are often cruel and have to "bad habits" (smoking, drinking, even drugs). I am very sorry for them, you can not imagine the pain of my home country - Russian Federation...

 

CKR187

Thank you for explanation - maybe you are right about your home country (that there is no need in game censoring), but about Russia seriously needs serious censorship for all digital content (films, games, etc...). You have a really good government that cares about people, so do not scold it with such words.

 

If somebody has censored version (no matter PC or x360) - can you provide me, please, script.img, anim.img. cuts.img?

[AlfieWilRus]

AWESOME!! I can send my little brother to buy me my games there then sweet. Besides the only people that take this seriously are over protective parents and religious nuts. How can a bunch of pixels create something terrible and that only adult should see those pixels. I mean its just a game.

[Dageron RUS]

What are you talking about?

"protective parents and religious nuts"? Are you crazy? How dare you speak about religious, are you just one more obnoxious atheist? Please do not say anything with regard to religion - you can offend many people here (including me). Probably you live elsewhere, but not in Russia and can not understand situation...

[spaceeinstein]

If you really want censorship, you would have to ask those who are expert in hacking the main executable files. Based on previous GTAs, all versions have a censorship toggle in them. Distributing them directly is prohibited in the forums so you have to ask someone to make a patch instead. I doubt anyone here would be bothered enough to help you out. Your goal of censoring every obscene materials is unrealistic. I can guarantee no one would waste their time making GTA a child-friendly game.

[Dageron RUS]

I wrote a small GTA IV scripting tool that allows script editing in simple way. So it is possible to re-assemble .*sco files and add some censorship stuff. Here it is a screen:

http://www.dageron.com/wp-content/uploads/...IV_screen_1.png

 

And maybe this tooll will be helpful for GTA IV modders? (like SannyBuilder of III/VC/SA ones)

[Maxim]

I do understand the situation of your country. I used to live in a country quite similar. My problem is that you think that censoring

games can somehow help. What will a lack of blood change? Will the players be affected in some different way? No! If people kill others

in-game , they will experience the same thing no matter if there is blood or not. And honestly, do you think that teens from the west are

any better? You have obviously never been here. Kids or teens don't do things because of video-games. It's actually much to the contrary,

video-games calm them and are excellent at relieving stress. Personally, I agree with a rating system. But censorship is going too far.

 

Oh, and AlfieWilRus was absolutely right.

 

[GritEngine]

You're wrong. But don't worry, I will tell you how to make it all right again, and support what I say by saying why you're wrong, and help you to understand and perhaps even appreciate the brilliant work in this game, and perhaps others you would otherwise turn the same nose to. It is my sincere hope that you will leave reading this post seeing the game as an excellent deterrent more so than a provocateur of violence. This game deters more than it incites, in other words.

 

Your country, and all other countries, deserve to be free from censorship because through freedom we learn responsibility. How do you explain GTA? It is quite simple: Don't do that in real life. Not just the actions of the games, but also the dialogue, the scummy way of life that people all over the world see on television and emulate. The problem is not the game, the game is Enlightening, regardless of closed perception the opened perception sees it for what it is.

 

Your call for censorship would really do more damage than good, causing all of those children to instead of become hoodlums like "they see in GTA" which you appear to be blaming it on, to be gullible, dopey, and stupid instead, played by the rest of the world. In both local and alien situations.

 

I am speaking to you with the utmost respect possible for a person who basically comes into a forum about a game somewhat entirely against the sh*t that is coming out of your fingertips in the first post here - and by not disrespecting you I hope that you can respect free speech, and the warning I send out to you today: Expose people to everything you can. Enlighten them. Because the only way for them not to "be influenced" or the extreme "be gullible know-nothings", is to take RESPONSIBILITY if you are going to have the games in your homes to tell people how to interpret the things they are seeing.

 

When you see homie-G busta-free claiming he loves GTA, smack him with the fact that it is dissing him, and trying to show how stupid he is - from the way media feeds it to people, to the way they emulate it.

 

In other words, the problem is with your society if your people can't learn from entertainment. There is great morality involved in grand theft auto, and a lot of sincere things to be experienced virtually. Where it is safe. Where you won't want to do that in real life. Let your people learn and teach them and learn with them. The Censorship Boards are THERE for the sole purpose of sheltering people and making them continue to remain stupid and make the same mistakes over and over again.

 

I repeat: Censorship exists today as a form of keeping people stupid, naive, and unable to learn from each others mistakes, or from media deemed too mature for them. The disney channel is worse than any Rockstar title, so stop pointing the finger. It's only fair. Especially on the forum dedicated to the game in question. Instead, you need to use the tool before you, and stop expecting to control people. Use the tools I have just made you aware of, and let GTA be positive. It Is positive, the guy apologizes every time he hits a person with the car.

 

edit: /endSage.

Edited July 31, 2010 by GritEngine

[Chinatown Wars]

i lol'd because this is being taken waaaaayyyy to seriously.

i mean, what will a little pixelated red do to anybody? Or any serious bad words. Hell, my grandparents yell f*ck all the time, and they get over it...

And about the perverted scenes, come on dude, prove to me that you have never had a stiffy and wanked off before... or if your old enough had sex. but with little kids (under 10) wtf are they going do, go have sex the next day because watching you in the car have sex with a prostitute. Theyre not even going to know half the time whats going on anyway.

Like many people said ITS JUST A GAME

[spaceeinstein]

He does seem to have knowledge on reverse engineering. Maybe we should just get along with him instead of arguing against him. The knowledge we can gain is vastly better than trying to change the ideology of one person.

Edited July 31, 2010 by spaceeinstein

[SLAYERMAGGOT]

GTA IV/EFLC is NOT censored in any way in Germany, it's complete uncut.

That's another thing about the censorship about past GTA's.

Here is a site, which compares cut/uncut games & movies, you could translate it with Google Translate if you are interested in the differences in past GTA's released in Germany.

[Dageron RUS]

Maxim, I am talking not just about blood effects removing, but about total game editing (removing some cutscenes, re-scripting missions, etc...). It is the reason why I am developing GTA IV script editor tool (it works like III/VC/SA SannyBuilder - in easy way, without high-level code interpritation).

 

GritEngine, thanks a lot for your words. Looks like you really understood situation in my home country. You proposed rather clever idea, good problem solution.I understood your opinion but still can insist on my views... I agree that the GTA has some involved morals like "don't do that in real life", but this can be effectively only for your educated and cultured countries. Of course I try to enlighten people, try to show them "the reverse side" of violent computer games! But that seems to be ineffective for Russia. In Russian Federation situation is totally different and gamers can not be understanded as "just only a games". Grand Theft Auto brought nothing positive to Russia - just only one more source of boorishness, lack of decorum and total incomprehension of the first (and the main) rule of life - "Love your neighbor as yourself". Sad...

Anyway, thanks a lot for your problem solution explanation. I will think over these words.

 

SLAYERMAGGOT, thanks a lot for veru useful link. That helped me a lot - I understood what content is often blocked in Germany. And also I understood that it is practically nothing near my level of censorship. During my Vice City Stories Russian localisation I edited lots of missions scripts (by the way, are anybody interested in LCS/VCS scripting tutorial?) - practically all excessively rude or excessively pervert content is blocked (+full blood removing). Have you got censored Vice City Stories and Liberty City Stories version (PSP or PS2)? I am also interested in LCS/VCS too because still develop some tools which allows users editing Stories content (and I am making LCS/VCS Russian localisation using my knowledge).

 

spaceeinstein, are you interested in GTA IV script/mission editing tool? I didnt published it yet just because it is not finished (but anyway it works, and works fine) and because didnt saw anybody who interested in GTA IV *.sco scripting (everybody make script mods using *.dll script hooks, but I like usual GTA scripting more).