Rockstar has issued a statement in regards to the cuts made to the Australian release of its forthcoming sandbox title, Grand Theft Auto IV.

Last week it was announced that the game would receive a number of cuts to the final version in order to grant the title a release in Australian territories. In addition, the game will also come with a warning detailing the explicit content contained within.

In response to this, Rockstar has issued the following statement:

“The Australian version of Grand Theft Auto IV was rated by the OFLC in December 2007 as MA15+. Unlike the US and Europe, Australia still lacks an R18+ rating for video games and as a result many games are edited for release in Australia, including most previous Grand Theft Auto releases.

While there are some minor differences between the Australian and US/EU versions, they are not significant and we do not believe they take away from the level of scope and detail that make GTA IV such an incredible experience. We would not release the game in Australia if we believed these differences compromised the quality of the game in any way.

We strongly support the OLFC and will continue to work within their guidelines; however we believe the government needs to bring games in line with other media by introducing an R18+ rating, or edits to games will continue to be necessary. We encourage consumers to let their politicians know that they support an R18+ rating for games.”

Recently it was also announced that the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) had issued the game an 18 rating in the UK with no cuts made.

Grand Theft Auto IV is due out on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on April 29.

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