GTA4 - Australian Edited Version

So GTA4 has been released and Australia and NZ received a slightly modified version to meet an M15+ rating. Rockstar claimed that only minor changes were made that would not affect game play, but they have still not told us what the difference are.

I have an Australian xbox 360, and when I found out that Australia was getting a censored version, I firmly believed that I would not settle for anything less than the full un-cut version, I wanted to play the game the way Rockstar intended, Even if it meant having to do something extreme like buy an American xbox 360 just to be able to play the American version. As it got closer to the release date, I changed my tune and pre-ordered the Australian version, hoping that Rockstar were serious when they said the changes were so insignificant that it didn't matter.

The Game arrived in the mail on the 28th (a day early according to the official global release date) and I loved every minute of it, but eventually the curiosity of the difference between the versions got the better of me and I decided to hit up the internet to learn what they were.

I spent quite alot of time searching the internet to find the differences and came up with nothing, So I sat down with a friend who has an American xbox 360 (and game) and we played the games side by side to try to find the differences.

We have not finished the game yet but so far, here are the differences we have found:

Prostitutes:
When you get a prostitute into your car and drive to a quiet place, the Australian version forces the camera angle to zoom in on the rear number plate of the car (you cannot move from that position until Niko finishes the deed). The American version does force the camera to the rear, you can rotate all around the car to view what is happening. Also, in the American version, you can purchase 3 different levels of services, each service costs a different price; hand-job $20, head-job $50 or full sex $70. You don't actually see any nudity in the American version, you just see the characters moving in the way you would expect for that particular sex act.

Strippers:
In the Australian version, when you go into a strip-club, the dancers have a black X over each nipple. This was initially thought to be a censored item in the Australian verison, but it turns out that the U.S. version is the same.

Blood:
It appears that there is more blood released on executions and close up gun-shots in the U.S. version. However, this could be partly due to the different TVs we are using. Definately appears to be be more blood on the U.S. version. We might swap the TVs over at a later stage to confirm it.

Swearing:
We noticed more swearing on the U.S. version, but this could have just been a coincidence. The Australian version even has the c-word completely uncensored (verbally and written).

Cut-Scenes:
There were many rumors that 1 or more of the cut-scenes would be removed or edited in the Australian version, but so far the cut scenes have been identical (we are about 60% through the missions).

So far it appears the differences are very minor (as Rockstar promised) and you can actually do a range of things in the Australian game that are far worse than prostitution and a bit of extra blood & swearing:

• Shooting people (including police!)
• Beating people up (including women!)
• Running people over with cars
• Pulling people out of their cars at gun-point to steal the vehicle
• Dealing Drugs in very large quantities
• Using Grenades and Rocket Launchers to cause massive explosions and death
• Using a sniper rifle to shoot unsuspecting victims in the head or other body parts
• Drive-by killings
• Executions
  
• Pushing people off the top of tall buildings
• Disposing of dead bodies
• Have friends who take excessive amounts of drugs
• and just generally profit from crime
  

It seems ironic that you can do all of this and more, but you are not allowed to watch two animated characters look like they are engaging in a sexual act in a car...

We will continue to search for differences, if you find any, or want to correct/comment on ours, feel free to respond below.

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