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MP Wants Ban on Project Gotham Racing 2 - Xbox

16th November 2003, 3:57pm
State Labor MP Paul Gibson, chairman of the Staysafe Committee has announced today that he intends to go to the Office of Film and Literature Classification to seek a ban on Project Gotham Racing 2. The OFLC has currently issued a G rating to Project Gotham Racing 2.

"Burn up a storm past famous landmarks such as the Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge," is one of the many slogans Microsoft have for their latest hit due out in a couple of weeks. Mr. Gibson believes these sorts of games are encouraging drivers to speed, and commit serious crimes on the streets.

"This game sends the wrong message to young people. It is actually glorifying speed and power," Mr Gibson claimed. "It is clearly an inappropriate depiction of speed behaviour. If I had my way I would ban it."

The Marketing Manager for Xbox Australia, Nick Segger said "There are plenty of games like this, I don't think it would be fair to single us out." Project Gotham Racing has sold over 50,000 copies on Australian Shores, and Mr Segger assured the press that there hadn't been one complaint from the original.

"It is not about driving on the streets, it is purely a racing game. The streets are blocked from other traffic and there are no pedestrians. All we are doing is taking the geography of Sydney and turning it into a race track." Marketing Manager Nick Segger also said that there are disclaimers every time you start up the game, warning that it is not real life and should not be tried in real life. These warnings were also in the predecessor, Project Gotham Racing.

It's doubtful that Mr. Gibson will achieve his goals with the corporate giant Microsoft backing the game, but only time will tell. Keep checking back for updates to this story, and whilst you're here, check out our preview for Project Gotham Racing 2.
by David Latham
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