‘Saints Row IV’ Delayed In Australia

Saints Row IV distributor All Interactive Entertainment has confirmed that the game will be delayed in Australia.

The game will now be released on September 12 for PC and Xbox 360 and September 19 for PS3.

“Australian fans of Saints Row IV will obviously be disappointed with this delay,” All Interactive Entertainment director Robert Kingston said in a statement. “We have used every means at our disposal to minimize the delay, but unfortunately it just was not possible to keep the same street date as the rest of the world.”

Last month, Saints Row IV was refused classification in Australia for a second time after the game failed to make enough changes to allow it to be sold. The game was initially banned in the country in June because some of the content was deemed inappropriate.

“In the Board’s opinion, Saints Row IV includes interactive, visual depictions of implied sexual violence which are not justified by context,” the ratings board said. “In addition, the game includes elements of illicit or proscribed drug use related to incentives or rewards. Such depictions are prohibited by the computer games guidelines.”

In response to the ban, publisher Deep Silver announced that they would modify the game specifically for Australia.

“Volition, the developer, are reworking some of the code to create a version of the game for this territory by removing the content which could cause offence without reducing the outlandish gameplay that Saints Row fans know and love,” Deep Silver said. “Saints Row IV has been awarded PEGI 18 and ESRB M ratings where fans can enjoy their time in Steelport as originally intended.”

The game was re-submitted to the Australian Classification Board, but the changes weren’t enough. One of the reasons the game was rejected again was because of the drug use.

“A three-member panel of the Classification Review Board has unanimously determined that the computer game Saints Row IV is classified Refused Classification,” the board said on its website. “In the Review Board’s opinion, Saints Row IV could not be accommodated within the R 18+ classification as drug use related to incentives and rewards is not permitted.”

Despite the controversy, Saints Row IV has received largely positive reviews. The game was released on August 20 in North America, and will hit European retailers Friday.