Fallout 3 - Banned in Australia

[woges]

The rumour has been around for a while but it seems to be true according to this report (http://uk.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/fallout3/news.html?sid=6193496) from Gamespot.
Rumours were swirling late last week (http://au.gamespot.com/news/show_blog_entry.php?topic_id=26468684) that Australia's strict games classification regime had struck its highest-profile victim for 2008, with Fallout 3 apparently being refused a rating. It seems the rumours were true, with confirmation coming tonight that Bethesda's upcoming post-apocalyptic action-RPG has indeed been banned for sale in Australia.
The most recent update for the Web site (http://www.classification.gov.au/) of Australia's Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) shows that Fallout 3 has been refused classification. Unlike films or DVDs, the highest rating allowable for a game in Australia is MA 15+, which means any title that has content deemed unsuitable for a 15-year-old is illegal to sell or promote in this country.
More information. (http://www.rpgwatch.com/show/newsbit?newsbit=9539)

[GhanBuriGhan]

I had no idea the laws were that strict in Australia. Do a lot of games get this ban?

[woges]

A few it seems the bottom of the article:

"Fallout 3 is the third game in 2008 to be banned in Australia. Dark Sector was originally refused classification, although an edited version has recently been resubmitted and passed with an MA 15+ rating. Last week, Shellshock 2 was banned due to graphic violent content."

[Dhruin]

No. There are a couple of things that set the OFLC off - sexualised violence, for example. The Australian distributor Red Ant will make a minor change or two and re-submit the game.

[Stanza]

I wonder if the un-banned versions would be worth anything. Might be worth slipping a few in my suitcase when they ship me off to Adelaide.

[Holly Avenger]

Looks like yet another ridiculous assumption that games are only for kids.... and by an entire government no less.

[woges]

The rest of the article:

"While the OFLC website has no details on why Fallout 3 was banned, a user in GameSpot's PC forum last week suggested it could be due to the use of the drug morphine within the game. Australia's game classification rules state that titles that "depict, express or otherwise deal with matters of sex, drug misuse or addiction, crime, cruelty, violence or revolting or abhorrent phenomena in such a way that they offend against the standards of morality, decency and propriety generally accepted by reasonable adults" will be refused classification.

Fallout 3 is the third game in 2008 to be banned in Australia. Dark Sector was originally refused classification, although an edited version has recently been resubmitted and passed with an MA 15+ rating. Last week, Shellshock 2 was banned due to graphic violent content.

GameSpot will continue to update this story as it develops, including further details on exactly why the game was banned. Check back soon for more information."

I did see this post on Gamespot but I thought I'd wait till something official popped up. Could just be as simple as changing the drugs name but it could be another reason as they haven't said yet.

[elikal]

Wow I always thought we Germans suffer from the most strict gaming control.

[Alrik Fassbauer]

Looks like yet another ridiculous assumption that games are only for kids.... and by an entire government no less.

Depends on who buys it ... Who can prevent that kids are actually buying it ?

Wow I always thought we Germans suffer from the most strict gaming control.

I thought the same. I'm baffled.

[Prime Junta]

Depends on who buys it ... Who can prevent that kids are actually buying it ?

Um... parents? Or is this a trick question?

[Alrik Fassbauer]

IF the parents are willing to look after their children ... Exactly this is the problem ...

[Prime Junta]

If they aren't, violent video games are the least of their problems.

I don't believe in restricting the rights of adults to choose their own entertainment in the name of "protecting the children." I also believe that, by default, parents should be trusted to bring up their kids, and that we should have mechanisms to handle the tragic exceptions where they can't.

But bellyaching about the possibility of adult entertainment materials falling into the hands of innocent children is both stupid and counter-productive. It's a non-solution that only serves to distract attention from the real problems.

[Roi Danton]

Wow I always thought we Germans suffer from the most strict gaming control.

Why? There are nice little things called Import Shops (Okaysoft, Gameware.at, PC Fun, etc) and of course online distribution. And in recent years you can even have German voice acting and translation in most EU releases if you wish (thanks to the DVD).
And of course under the 2004 law we can have uncut versions of our games once they have been rated "ab 18" just like movies (eg. C&C3, World in Conflict).

[Eisberg]

And people complain about ESRB rating system in the US. At least we don't have the government controlling the game ratings and what games can be sold in the US. The ESRB is an industry made organization to govern itself based on social acceptabilities.

[Prime Junta]

Then again, industry self-regulation practices, especially in the USA, have a history of being even more draconian than most governmental regulation practices. The Motion Picture Code, for example.

[Corwin]

Guess it's another game I'll be importing from the UK, or the US.

[aries100]

Is there any news of why the OLFC has refused to rate this game?

I mean, last week, it sounded like it was because of the use of morphine to releive pain in the game; the game's stimpack? -ehm- health restoration -ehm- packs...

Or is it because of the very violent death animations where people's heads blow off if you get a critical hit?? Or is it because some girl in a certain town offers you -ehm- relief - and just likein GTA IV you get a small health boost...

Inquiring minds (meaning me :D ) want to know...

[kalniel]

Most places in the UK ship all over the world - GAME is our biggest retailer and certainly does:
http://www.game.co.uk/help/shipping.aspx

I wonder if any of the people moaning that F3 would be made more kiddy friendly will shut up now :p

[Lucky Day]

good for them. perhaps if more countries had the guts to this more often then companies would stop going for the cheap thrill and simply focus on better games.

[Dhruin]

That assumes the issue is caused by a "cheap thrill".

Australia needs an "R" rating for games but I doubt Red Ant would be happy with that classification anyway, so either way, it would have been softened and re-submitted to get MA15+.

[Korplem]

Lucky Day, are you saying that mature games are simply cheap thrills? They are mature for a reason. Super Mario Super Nova Extra Fun Party may very well be fun but I'll take a dark gritty story any day of the week.

[CutLunch]

I've never been too bothered by the censorship laws before (I'm from Oz). Wait until the facts are known before passing judgement.
People in Oz should be importing from overseas anyway - to save about 60% on the price of their games.

[woges]

Banned for positive effects of drug use. (http://uk.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/fallout3/news.html?sid=6193496)

[txa1265]

good for them. perhaps if more countries had the guts to this more often then companies would stop going for the cheap thrill and simply focus on better games.

I think that is a fallacious argument - it presumes that all M games are lesser products than T games, which is quite false. While I agree with the "companies would stop going for the cheap thrill and simply focus on better games" sentiment, this is true in any medium - there is a market for M games / R movies, etc.

[Alrik Fassbauer]

Super Mario Super Nova Extra Fun Party may very well be fun but I'll take a dark gritty story any day of the week.

The sad thing is that games like Mario Party (or how it's called) most definitively have died out on the PC platform.

There's nothing containing *this kind* of simple fun anymore on the PC platform.

The PC platform is clearly evolving into an "action platform", in my eyes.

[woges]

Did they allow Bioshock? I mean doesn't that have you injecting straight into your arm visually every minute?

[DArtagnan]

Did they allow Bioshock? I mean doesn't that have you injecting straight into your arm visually every minute?

According to the article, they distinguish between "science fiction drugs" and normal drugs - and in the case of Fallout 3, the drugs resemble real-world drugs enough to warrant the decision.

I think the whole thing is ridiculous, but I can see the distinction. Bioshock also made it blatantly clear that plasmid use was ultimately a VERY bad thing, as it's pretty much the source of everything gone wrong in Rapture.

[woges]

It was EVE injections wasn't it. They should just call it Morpheus then I guess.