Forums > MobyGames > Australia and New Zealand together?
beetle120 (2415) on 12/9/2007 2:46 PM · Permalink · Report
I am about to upload a lot of Australian covers but before I do I am wondering if the same game covers get used in New Zealand. I see a lot of Australia and New Zealand listed together in covers I am wondering if this is always the case. If so does this also include the covers with the Australian emblem in the game rating box in the corner.
PolloDiablo (16852) on 12/9/2007 9:00 PM · Permalink · Report
I've only lived in New Zealand for one year, so I don't know about 'always', but the games I bought during that time were indeed all aimed at both countries. The manuals would have two phone numbers listed for customer service, there would be references to a .co.nz website as well as a .com.au etcetera.
beetle120 (2415) on 12/10/2007 2:08 AM · Permalink · Report
Doing some research I found that the Australian and New Zealand rating system are completely different . So why is the box art always listed together.
Xoleras (66141) on 12/10/2007 3:15 PM · Permalink · Report
If you compare those two rating systems you will see that almost all games must be rated by the OFLC (AU) and only a fraction is exempt from rating. On the other side, almost all games are exempt from rating from the OFLC (NZ) and only a fraction must be rated (those games that are likely to be restricted).
So unless the publisher wants it (like EA did in the UK with some games featuring BBFC U or PG), you won't find any games rated by the OFLC (NZ) which have OFLC (AU) G, G8/PG or M15. In fact, in 2006/2007 the OFLC (NZ) only rated 54 games.
An OFLC (AU) symbol may have no meaning in New Zealand, but if the game does not need to be rated anyway, then this is just additional artwork. :) In the nineties many European games had ELSPA logos despite the fact that the other European countries had their own rating systems in place. The result was that stickers were added or even at top, hiding the evil ELSPA. My guess is that if a game is rated by the OFLC (NZ), it just get a sticker too - even just at the cellophane shrinkwrap.
Ben K (23952) on 12/23/2007 1:56 AM · edited · Permalink · Report
Because it depends. You can spot something as simple on the cover art that will say "FOR SALE AND USE IN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND ONLY". Nintendo-published games will have the Australian and the New Zealand distributors (NAL and Softprint, respectively, but Monacco for earlier NZ titles) listed on the covers, indicating a dual purpose cover for both countries. Some Sony titles do this too. Memory's hazy on Microsoft games. I live in Australia, not New Zealand, so I don't have a lot of info to go on.
You'll also want to be looking at the game rating system info for New Zealand, not the film ratings.
http://www.censorship.govt.nz/industry-games.html
http://www.censorship.govt.nz/pdfword/Video%20Game%20Labels.pdf
If it's G, PG or M, it can be sold in New Zealand without having to reprint and reclassify the cover. If It's MA15+, then the publisher needs to resubmit the game to the NZ office of Film and Literature. [quote]My guess is that if a game is rated by the OFLC (NZ), it just get a sticker too - even just at the cellophane shrinkwrap.[/quote] Yep. You got it. That's why a lot of my scanned covers are from Europe, or even USA. They just slap an OFLC rating on top. (Of course, some games I've just imported myself so that I can play them because they'll never get released locally!)