Fallout 3 Approved in Australia: No Drugs Anymore
- Scribbled on August 3rd, 2008 by Jonah Falcon
- Filed in ESRB/Ratings, Legal Brief, Microsoft Xbox 360, PC, RPG, Sony PlayStation 3, WTF
Well, Australia has lifted its ban on Fallout 3, because Bethesda removed all drug references in the game. That is – morphine. It wasn’t the violence in the game that got it banned – and with the Bloody Mess perk, the game gets quite gruesome. No, it was the use of morphine in the game – forget that morphine is used in its medical sense (to deal with pain).
Now, Bioshock has a ton of drug use – save the massive alcohol consumption (apparently, booze is not a drug in Australia) – but it was not banned in Australia. Why? Because Adam doesn’t occur in real life, despite the fact you see your character plunging a huge syringe into his arm every time he uses a power.
Part of the issue with Aussie ratings are that currently the authorities do not offer an adult/mature rating for video games, meaning that anything seen as unsuitable for 15 year olds is liable to be banned.
Never fear – Australians can get around this by simply ordering the title outside the country.
August 3rd, 2008 at 12:04 pm
Added note: No, really. Are video games gateway drugs?! Granted, Civilization may be addictive, but the only “drug” you’ll take is a lot of supercaffeinated soda to stay awake playing it.
August 3rd, 2008 at 10:05 pm
[...] it seems like a lock that Fallout 3 will be hitting Aussie shores in [...]
August 13th, 2008 at 5:13 pm
[...] has confirmed that Fallout 3 is officially unbanned in Australia, with compromises, which we’d reported on August 3rd. GameSpot AU has contacted the Classification Board, with a spokeswoman saying [...]