Mortal Kombat Australian appeal lost, RC status upheld [Update]

The Australian Classification Board met last week to decide the fate of Mortal Kombat's Australian release, and has today confirmed the title's Refused Classification status, despite an appeal by Warner Bros.

Gamespot reports the Board held a session last Friday, March 11 to discuss the controversial title ahead of a final decision, and today announced it will uphold the Refused Classification decision.

GamePron reports Warner Bros. issued the following statement:

"We’re obviously extremely disappointed that the refused classification decision has been upheld by the Classification Review Board. We want to thank the thousands of Mortal Kombat fans in Australia and around the world who have voiced their support during the appeal process."

Mortal Kombat was awarded a Refused Classification rating, making it illegal to retail within Australia. The game's content, in particular its fatalities, were judged too extreme for Australia's highest ratings category, MA15+.

New Zealand authorities gave the game an R18+ rating.

Warner Bros. Interactive announced it would aggressively appeal the decision, claiming the game's content is no more concerning than that of currently available titles.