Getting Up banned from sale in Australia

Graffiti game banned for promoting illegal activity.

The OFLC today reversed its November 2005 decision to allow the game Marc Ecko's Getting Up through as an MA15+ classification.

The banning was passed for the following reasons:

"In the Review Board’s majority opinion, Marc Ecko’s Getting Up:
classification as it promotes crime. Some factors contributing to

• the realistic scenarios whereby the central character Trane acquires
and styles – including meeting with five real graffiti artists who

• the reward for and positive reinforcement of graffiti writing

• interactive biographies of 56 real graffiti artists, with details
game detail states that all these artists began their careers performing
infrastructure and that some continue with this practice today."

Publisher Atari commented: “Atari Australia who is the official distributor of Marc Ecko’s Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure strongly disagrees with the Office of Film & Literature Classification Review Board’s decision and defends the original classification by the OFLC as a title that attracts a rating of MA15+.

Atari Australia is briefing the industry body, the Interactive Entertainment Association of Australia (IEAA) as this is considered a decision that will impact the industry and not specific or isolated to one company.”