Fallout 3 Banned in Australia
Australia’s Office of Film and Literature Classification has refused to issue an age rating for Bethesda Softworks’ much-anticipated upcoming release Fallout 3 (the third such refusal this year), effectively banning it’s sale and promotion in the country. The OFLC report points to the games’ overt drug use, not the violent content, as the sole reason for the decision. “The game contains the option to take a variety of “chems” using a device which is connected to the character’s arm,” the report states. “Corresponding with the list of various “chems” are small visual representation of the drugs, these include syringes, tablets, pill bottles, a crack-type pipe and blister packs. In the Board’s view these realistic visual representations of drugs and their delivery method bring the “science-fiction” drugs in line with “real-world” drugs.”
Critics of the decision place blame with Australia’s lack of an adult rating for games. Currently the highest possible age rating for games is MA 15+, which precludes any material the board may find unsuitable for anyone aged 15 or younger. There are also grumblings in the gaming community about inconsistencies in the board’s application of the rating guidelines set by the Attorney General, siting other games, along with the two previous versions of Fallout, that feature similar drug use elements yet enjoy a MA 15+ classification.
Fallout 3, which is currently awaiting classification in the US, is the third game this year to be refused a rating in Australia, following on the heels of ShellShock 2: Blood Trails and Dark Sector. A recently resubmitted edited version of Dark Sector has subsequently received an MA 15+ rating.