Fallout 3 Australian Ban Lifted Following Significant Changes to Drug Content
According to GameSpot, the title successfully attained a MA-15+ qualification from the board following the submission of a modified version of the title in which "the reward and incentive" for in-game drug use has been reduced significantly. The organization did not specify further what changes were made.
The OFLC announced last month that it had refused classification of the title, effectively banning the game from sale in Australia, due to the title's "visual representations of drugs and their delivery method [which] bring the 'science-fiction' drugs in line with 'real-world' drugs."
Bethesda's post-apocalyptic effort allows players to use drugs, referred to as "chems," in order to augment their character's abilities, such as health, stamina and intelligence. At the time of its refusal to classify Fallout 3, the OFLC stated that the game's "strong violence" fell well within the limits of an MA-15+ rating.
Fallout 3 is currently slated to hit North America, complete with drug-related content, this coming October.
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TaintedSyringe
replyStill a bit confused.
So will the unedited drug content still be completely intact in the U.S. release?-
Yep. The game was awarded an M rating in its unmodified state -- this only affects the Australian release.
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That's my understanding. It's no different than say, the German (or was it all of Europe?) version of Fallout 2 with the children clumsily edited out.
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