Australia’s first R18+ game will be published by Nintendo on the family-friendly Wii U. A similar version of the game was released on other platforms last year under the MA15+ classification.

Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge has been granted an R18+ classification, after the new adults-only rating came into effect at the beginning of 2013.

The highest rating available for video games in Australia last year was MA15+. If a game wasn’t deemed acceptable for a 15 year old, it was banned from sale.

That’s why the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 version of Ninja Gaiden 3 was given the highest possible MA15+ rating when it was released in March, 2012.

However, it’s not quite the same game. The Wii U version is labelled as an “enhanced port” which means changes have been made.

It’s considerably more violent than the original release, prompting the classification board to restrict its sale to adults.

Director of the Classification Board Lesley O’Brien revealed that an R18+ rating had been selected because of “high-impact bloody violence”.

“Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge contains violence that is high in impact because of its frequency, high definition graphics, and emphasis on blood effects,” said O’Brien.

Had it been released last year with the added violence, before the introduction of an R18+ rating for video games, it should have been banned from sale.

It is illegal for retailers to sell R18+ games to people under 18.