Public Statement Release by 9(2)(a)
Public statement release in In Regards to the Film and Literature Board of Review final Decision for
Publication the Last of Part 1.
24/11/22.
I 9(2)(a)
made the application to the Film and Literature Board of Review for the Last of Us Part
1. I felt many previous publications (Video games) with lessor ratings contained content that was
on Par or in some cases worse than The Last of Us Part 1.
Primary motiving factor was to highlight this issue and highlight the
discrepancies with the previous
publication’s ratings and consideration sheets.
(One game will be given a higher rating for a particular issue that is fine in a game with lower rating.
Suicide is a perfect example )
I expected or was at least hopeful the Film and Literature board to at least acknowledge that there was
issue in this regard when looking at the Evidence I had submitted. I knew they could not make
decisions on the previous publications.
My Belief that The Last of Us Part 1 should be rated R16 was evidence based when comparing the
publications to other Video games that are rated R16.
There is no doubt that my personal opinion is that the Last of us Part 1 should be Rated R18 but it
was the evidence of other publications that I felt supported an R16 rating.
I stand by my assessment that a 16 or 17 would be better off playing Last of Us Part 1 over Resident
Evil 2 Remake both games should be rated R18.
In light of the decision of the Film and Literature Board,
I request the Classification office conducts a full investigation and full review into Video games that
have been rated R16 and R13 since 2013.
under the Official Information Act 1982
After speaking to the Classification Office representative
I will be making formal applications to the Chief Censor for Leave to Re-Review the Following
Publications.
Released
Far Cry 6 2021 R16
(the Film and Literacy Board, where extremely concerned by the Suicide scene with in the Last of US
Part 1, the Suicide scene in Far Cry 6 is more graphic and extreme.)
Resident Evil 2 Remake 2018 R16
(contains extreme violence and body horror worse than the Last of Us Part 1) many adults have
struggled to play through due to how scary the game is.
Resident Evil 3 Remake R16
As above.
Resident Evil 4 Remake R16
(previous versions of the same game have been rated R18)
Resident Evil 4 contains scenes off the main playable character getting his Head cut off with a
chainsaw.
All three Resident Evils noted above are Rated R18 in Australia, 18 Under PEGI (Europe and
UK), Mature (17+ ESRB North America)
Days Gone R16 2019
Graphic Violence the ability to Kill Zombie Children.
Watchdogs Legion R16
Saint Row 2022 R16
Both Watchdogs Legion and Saints Row allow you to kill civilians. This was primary reason
that Watchdog 2 was rated R18 In NZ and the reason the Classification office gave for Call of
Duty no longer being R18 Noted in their submission to the
Film and Literacy Board for
Watchdogs 2
The Quarry 2022 R16
Classification Office consideration sheet for this game failed to mention some of the worse
scenes in this game.
“Lara being stabbed by Travis by a shared of Glass as one example”
Rated R18 in Australia, 18 Under PEGI 18 (Europe and UK), Mature ESRB (17+ North
under the Official Information Act 1982
America) K
God of War 2018 R13
God War Ragnarök 2022 R13
Released
In Europe and the UK PEGI it is 18, Mature ESRB (17+ North America) Germany is 18. Japan
is Cero Z – 18, South Korea 18, Brazil 18, UAE 18, Australia 15
God of War Ragnarök allows you to dismember and decapitate Human Enemies in bloody Gory
Fashion using an Axe during the game.
No doubt God of War 2018 should be rated R16 and God of War Ragnarök should be a Minimum of
R16 but could be an R18..
There are many people with in the NZ gaming Community Facebook group that agree with this
assessment I can provide further evidence as required
New Zealand currently has the lowest rating for both God of Wars .
The above 10 publications is not an exhaustive list but a good representation of games that I believe
have discrepancies and issues that need to be addressed. I ask the Classification Office to look
beyond these 10 games as I believe there are many publications that have been underrated.
Please do not hesitate to contact me. If your require any further information or thoughts regarding
this.
9(2)(a)
under the Official Information Act 1982
Released
