It’s Official: Fallout 3 Refused Classification In Australia
Yes, the rumour was true. The Office of Film and Literature Classification has handed an RC to Bethesda’s Fallout 3, making it illegal to sell the game in Australia. It’s not known at this stage if the ban was for drug use, as the original rumour states, or gore as I was predicting.
I was ready to dismiss the rumour when I first heard it, but my suspicions were raised when Red Ant failed to confirm or deny it. It’s not unusual for a publisher to do this, but it seemed particularly odd as Red Ant had no problem in the past commenting about Fallout 3 and the OFLC.
We’ll be on Red Ant and Bethesda’s backs to see what they plan to do. Most likely the game will be edited to remove the offending content and resubmitted, as AFA Interactive did with Dark Sector.
Even if it is edited, I don’t think it’ll stop some from importing the title, as was the case with Grand Theft Auto IV after it was censored for Australia.
Update #1: According to Bethesda’s Pete Hines, the developer has no comment regarding the ban. [Thanks briosafreak]
Update #2: A leaked OFLC report reveals exactly why the game was banned.
Fallout 3 Game (Multi Platform) [OFLC]
Rumour: Fallout 3 Refused Classification Because Of Drug Use? [Kotaku AU]
- Next Post: First Look At PAIN Amusement Park Add-on »
- « Previous Post: Here, Have Some Mega Man 9 Screens
Comments
play asia time
No point complaining to the OFLC themselves, they have no say about whether there is an R18+ rating or not.
You won’t be able to demand a re-appeal yourself on behalf of the distributor, that would just be plain stupid.
It all lies now in the hands of those that have created a game. I can foresee two options.
a) They edit the game
b) They appeal it on the merit of the original two Fallout games having similar content, and were not rated RC.
Fuck our country and that conservative ultra religious fuckwit in South Australia.
Fucking piece of shit CUNT.
God fuck what the hell are we all 12 year olds? Grow up and get over yourself and your shitty attitude towards your religion and agenda pushing.
Import here I come. Fuck I hate my country.
Dang, would be super pissed if I was an Austrailian. I feel your pain.
are you able to import games from the UK to work on australian xbox360’s?
Heh, all the other bans sucks. Maybe now Australians will try hard to make them unban it.
Pack your bags lads, its time for an exodus.
Yes, but Dexter was on at the 9:30pm time slot which is considered the “mature audiences” time.
Remember – Video games are for kids, so anything that challenges that idea has to be bad for us. Big Brother has spoken!
I will import like everyone else.
It’s probably too much to hope that Michael Atkinson would end up quitting over the defamation suit about to be brought against him:
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23991637-5013871,00.html
He’s one stubborn SOB.
What I really want to know is why changes to the classification laws require the unanimous support of all Attorneys-General.
Well if they’re just banning it for the use of morphine, that shouldn’t be too hard to fix.
Just replace “morphine” with “health injection” or even “nectar” and away you go – hello MA rating.
@ INFINITUM – the problem is this is one part of the law that the States of Australia have retained control over rather than the Federal Government having a say. Problem with just giving this power to the Federal Gov at the moment is there is already a lot of controversy going on about the State Governments losing too much of their own power to the Federals.
I wont get into my own personal opinions here about which is better, but I think everyone can agree the flaw with any issue being held by multiple State Governments is that they ALL need to agree if its a national issue (as in Video Game ratings)
Everyone write to Michael Atkinson over your disgust but be polite and articulate as you can otherwise we as gamers will not be taken seriously!
I have already written a letter and got a 3 page reply cutting me down reason by reason, he’s massively stuck in his way’s and needs to be BOOTED from power!!
Email him at this address, if we dont take action together our voice will not be heard!
attorney-general@agd.sa.gov.au
Heh, this news come in with a funny tune… cause i just saw the recent JB HiFi catalogue and they’re advertising Fallout 3 as an upcoming release
@ SAMSON
Yep. You can import UK 360 games and they work here. Same goes for NZ games.
I’ve used game.co.uk and gpstore.co.nz in the past and they’re both fantastic. I’d like to buy my games here, but until they do something about that fundamentalist douchebag in S.A., it looks like I’ll be buying another game in England this year.
I cant understand this rating system and the people in charge of it, why is there no R18 rating in Australia yet.
As a 23 year old gamer i feel that i should have the Right to play R18 games.
Does the public get to vote on instating an R18 rating?
Anyone know? Thanks.
I want a job at Play-Asia…
Anyone who imports Fallout 3 deserves to be punished for bad taste.
Shouldn’t we encourage Tom Crago to get off his fat arse and actually do something for the game industry, apart from continually beg the government for money?
It’s time he used the fees paid to him to letterbox the residents of Croydon in South Australia – or even put up a candidate – to run against Atkinson, because if Atkinson is not in the seat he can’t be an AG and can’t enforce his stupid beliefs onto the majority of Australians any more.
Why does our government continue to punish mature gamers? This whole situation is getting ridiculous.
Better go and cancel my pre-order.
Oh how I love this democracy we live in…. 0_o
As someone else stated, all attorney generals need to support the issue. Believe me, a lot of people have been trying to get support for R18+ games in Australia but during the general meetings, there’s always one idiot who votes against it and thus, no R18+ for us.
Yeah, unfortunately this isn’t an issue about Australia being ultra-conservative, but a legal issue whereby the Attorney-Generals for each state have to agree on an R18 rating. A legal loophole from decades prior which is only rearing its ugly head now, and which is all but impossible to alter. Yay for politics.
This will NEVER happen while Michael Atkinson is around, and don’t think that any amount of petitions or letters will alter his view. He’s as pig-headed and arrogant as they come, and knows FAR better what’s good for us and Australia than we do. He’s heard all the arguments for an R18 rating, and it doesn’t matter how rational or evident of better serving the public they are – he’s a political warrior on a mission from God (help us all).
Simply put, we just have to suffer until he’s out of there.
Til then? Import. All the way.
Ah well. Just means I will import it, will probably get it for a cheaper price too due to high game costs in Oz.
@Shoitaan:
I hear that Canada is a nice place to live.
@DONAR
Cheers mate, will look into importing from now on