Category Archives: Australia

The latest data on Australia’s game development community suggests the number of staff employed locally has dropped dramatically in recent years.

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Train Conductor developer The Voxel Agents is one of nine Australian developers awarded a piece of the $20 million Interactive Games Fund.

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The Classification Board is yet to reach a verdict on Undead Labs’ State of Decay, explaining its absence from the Australian Xbox Live Marketplace.

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Just a reminder that BioWare has elected to shutter the Australian-Pacific servers for Star Wars: The Old Republic, and you have a limited time to take advantage of free server transfers.

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Local distributors for Dead Island: Riptide have replaced a trailer with a suggestion of suicide in response to complaints that it is “too graphic”.

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Two members of the development team behind LA Noire have founded a new independent studio following lay-offs at Kennedy Miller Mitchell.

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20% of Australia games sales were made online during December 2012.

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Multiple reports suggests the development group formerly known as Team Bondi has been let go after the LA Noire studio was unable to find a publisher for new project Whore of the Orient.

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The Elder Scrolls: Arena has been age-rated by the Australian Classification Board, suggesting Bethesda’s first Elder Scrolls outing is heading towards some kind of re-release.

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Warner Bros. Australia has confirmed that Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes will release on Wii U on May 22. Obviously, this information only pertain to Australia, but it’s quite likely other territories will follow suit, especially given the recent listings by various retailers. The sandbox action affair arrived on other platforms in June last year.

Indie developer Nnooo of escapeVektor and Spirit Hunters Inc. fame has shed some light on the often-costly process of having games age-rated on digital platforms. Currently the process is expensive in Australia and for many studios, isn’t worth the money due to low returns. The Australian studio has called for a change in policy in a new interview.

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All Australian states and territories have signed off on seven recommendations for classification reform harvested from the 2012 National Classification Scheme Review.

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Mortal Kombat will finally get an Australian release next month, The R18+ Komplete Edition hits PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on May 1, for $40 – something of a bragain price, especially given it includes all DLC released in the interim. The original 2011 was refused classification, but thanks to the introduction of an R18+ ratings category (for “high impact violence, blood and gore”) on January 1, Australians can now legally get their hands on NetherRealm’s fighter.

Sega has announced the closure of Sega Studios Australia, the Brisbane studio behind Stormrise.

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Trion Worlds’ Defiance launches locally on April 11, and the tie-in SyFy series wll be quick to follow. Local Foxtel channel SF Australia has announced the first of 13 episodes will air on April 18, about 55 hours after its US debut. Tune in at 9:30PM EST, and keep a special eye out for Australian lead Grant Bowler as Nolan. The MMO will be available on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Sony Australia has highlighted PlayStation Plus content for the month of April; although we haven’t heard from the European or US teams yet, it’s likely there’ll be quite a lot of overlap. In any case, antipodean members will score Okami HD; Lord of the Rings: War in the North and The Cave from April 4. Zero Escape: Virtues Last Reward joins the collection on April 11, and Thomas Was Alone arrives on April 25. On top of that, new and returning members who purchase a 12 month subscription will score an additional 90 days for free; it stacks on your current membership balance, too.

Well, that’s it – if you didn’t get a pass for PAX Australia you’re plum out of luck, as they’re now all gone. The first antipodean PAX takes place from July 19 through 21 at the Melbourne Showgrounds; Ron Gilbert is set to keynote.

Local Rugby World Cup and Angry Birds distributor Tuff Kat has thrown in the towel. MCV Pacific reports the company has gone into voluntary administration in early March, and may be quietly sent to its rest at a second creditor’s meeting on April 9. No word on how many staff will be affected.

Ride to Hell: Retribution is rumoured to have been age-certified in Australia, under the codename ‘Cook’s Mad Recipe’. Both game share similar classification details, hence the rumour, and the game has been listed as having “High impact sexual references and drug references”. Damn.

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It looks as though Activision is to publish a title based on the Fast and Furious series, if a pre-order listing on EB Games Australia is any indication.

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