As it turns out, the only reason New Zealand also received the “watered-down” version of GTA IV was because it was simply easier for Take-Two to ship copies of one version of the game to all of Australia’s neighboring countries. Stan Calif, founder and director of First Games, was upset at that however. So upset that he went to the Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) and submitted the original version of the game (while paying NZD00, or USD80) to have it reviewed for an R18 rating. After weeks of waiting, his efforts paid off and the uncut version of GTA IV will now be sold at First Games! Calif told Geekpulp:

First Games are proud to be able to deliver GTA IV uncut to New Zealanders. We have been committed from the outset to provide Kiwi gamers with the freedom to purchase an unaltered version of GTA IV. After much hard work and expense we are now able to deliver GTA IV in the way that Rockstar originally intended.

It’s good to hear more people will now be able to enjoy and have the same experience as everyone else has with GTA IV! You can buy the game at their website, it should also be available at First Games stores.

In related news, we now know what exactly was taken out of the Australian version of GTA IV. PALGN.au reports:

... there is no way to select a ‘service’ from the prostitute. The sexual intercourse sex animation has also been completely removed, so players will only see the car bounce from a locked rear-view. In the uncut version, after selecting a service from the prostitute, players can rotate the camera to see the prostitute’s actions.

Also in the Australian version, no blood pools will appear beneath a dead person after shooting or stabbing them to death. There are blood splatters, but no blood pools. In the uncut version, blood will slowly ooze out from under a body, and it is possible to create bloody footprints by walking through the blood, or bloody tyre tracks from driving through it. Finally, when Niko or other NPCs are injured in the uncut version, light blood patches appear on their bodies which basically represent bruises/bullet wounds.

Be sure to voice your opinion and tell us what you think of the entire ordeal in our forums!