Re: What's the point?
@Thorne
With the disclaimer that I am very anti censorship, I do believe that banning a game does indeed accomplish something because it will often result in a game being altered for release in Australia and most people will buy that copy.
Not for everyone and I know some people who bought Saints Row IV and activated and played it through VPNs to make sure they got the version complete with anal probe weapon but I would argue that most people in Australia who bought the game bought the Australian version.
Likewise with Left 4 Dead 2 - I know someone who got an uncensored copy from OS before it was re-released, uncensored after the introduction of the R18+ rating. But I would almost guarantee that most people, again, did buy the Australian version.
Not that I have hard numbers of course, but people are fundamentally lazy and crave convenience and so will go for the easier option.
Refusing classification to a mainstream game (rather than throw-away mobile games like the ones listed in the link) will often simply be the first step - the game is submitted for classification and then refused so the studio make their case and will likely end up changing the game and re-submitting it.
If the studio is not willing to do that then it is quite likely that people will buy it from overseas or pirate it, depending on the availability and technical protections that may need to be circumvented to do buy an overseas copy. On Steam, for example, there are pretty wide-reaching region locks, including preventing you from gifting a game from some regions to other regions. Much of that is to maintain regional pricing but also to enforce bans.
And, given Steam requires online re-activation to play games, it's easy for them to make sure specific games aren't purchased or activated or played in whichever regions where they are banned. Sure, you can use a VPN but that can get you in trouble with Steam, who will block your account and thus prevent you accessing ALL you games so it's a bit of a risk.
If you've got a console then it's generally easier as you can just order a copy of the game from another country that is uncensored and is compatible but the simple truth is that most people won't unless they really want to play a game that has been refused classification or are adamant that they play an uncensored copy.
So I get your point, which seems to be that you can't completely prevent people from playing a game but I would argue that that doesn't make refusing classification pointless because it often results in an amended game and, even when it doesn't, not all that many people will go to the effort required to obtain a copy from elsewhere - especially if it's distributed on something like Steam.
Again - I'm against censorship using too heavy a hand and think the censorship in Australia is definitely over-done, but that is different from claiming that it doesn't achieve anything.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
