As most GamePolitics readers know, Bethesda's highly-anticipated RPG Fallout 3 became the latest victim of Australian censors when it was refused classification (i.e., a rating) this week.
news.com.au now has more info on the Fallout 3 situation. The site is reporting that in-game drug use led to the game's ban Down Under and quotes from a report by Australia's Office of Film & Literature Classification:
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... The player can also select and use 'Morphine' (a proscribed drug) which has the positive effect of enabling the character to ignore limb pain when the character's extremities are targeted by the enemy.
news.com.au notes that disappounted Aussies have reacted badly to the news about Fallout 3. In an online posting, one gamer asked, "What are the syringes in Bioshock filled with – magic fairy dust?"
Australia's lack of a rating that scales beyond the 15-year-old level is apparently at fault. As GamePolitics has previously reported, South Australian Attorney General Michael Atkinson has been a major force opposing the addition of an R18+ rating.
Comments
Re: Report: Australia's Fallout 3 Ban Prompted by In-game ...
koçluk Perth! Ostensibly the 'city of lights' - but *nobody's home*. Also the most conservative capital city in Australia by a lot, so i dont expect to see anyone getting up in arms about this. tabldot yemek
Re: Report: Australia's Fallout 3 Ban Prompted by In-game ...
Re: Report: Australia's Fallout 3 Ban Prompted by In-game ...
film izle
When will we get over this crap
Re: Report: Australia's Fallout 3 Ban Prompted by In-game ...
Thanks good job;
Btw, I think Atari and Midway will drop out too, but mostly travesti because these guys have done nothing travesti or little and need to start saving costs. and dizi izle
YES.
Now I don't have to get off my ass for the important shit anymore!
Whats next, ordering pizza from Xbox live?
Wait... I think that sounds like a good idea.
But I think voting should MAKE you get off your ass, and see outside or a second while you go vote. I mean, your picking the president of the United States of America for God's Sake... least you can do is drive down there and punch out a card.
Re: Report: Australia's Fallout 3 Ban Prompted by In-game Drug
Gallagher can araç kiralama say all he wants, but I strongly rent a car believe it's due to his crappy leadership and E3 being a joke. ESA's Board of Directors need to find a way to get out rent a car of this horrid contract with this Bush cronie before there's no one left on the Board.
Btw, I think Atari and Midway will drop out too, but mostly travesti because these guys have done nothing ttnet vitamin or little and need to start saving costs.
Re: Report: Australia's Fallout 3 Ban Prompted by In-game Drug
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Re: Report: Australia's Fallout 3 Ban Prompted by In-game Drug
Most of the people are addicted to game drugs inAustralia
==========
brook
http://www.casualdate.net.au
Re: Report: Australia's Fallout 3 Ban Prompted by In-game Drug
Re: Report: Australia's Fallout 3 Ban Prompted by In-game Drug
The Age Newspaper's gaming blog published an article of mine last week, here: http://blogs.theage.com.au/screenplay/archives//009921.html Ironically, it was written a week before Fallout 3's banning, and was a response to the lower-profile banning of Shellshock 2. Jason Hill ran it in a hurry when it was in danger of suddenly becoming irrelevant. How funny it is that the central idea of my article was that the Classification Board (formerly the OFLC) needed to be more consistent in its decisions, and its lack of consistency meant they were in danger of losing the trust of the Australian people. Whoops! *sigh* Hopefully this will be the big push that was needed to finally get us our restricted 18+ rating, Michael f--king Atkinson be damned.
Re: Report: Australia's Fallout 3 Ban Prompted by In-game Drug
bastards...sure they allow saints row witch had drug use-bongs ect, bioshock witch needles were rampant , gta with the fun game with hookers , maxpayne..in witch he consumes more drugs than a back alley crack addict anyway what video game store would sell a ma15 and over game to a minor ,it should be the parents choice not that old fat fucker beh probably cant play viloent games cus he gets nightmares if he happens to read this by luck 'heres hoping" u can go suck on what comes outta my ass u decriped old bastards hope yah die
Re: Report: Australia's Fallout 3 Ban Prompted by In-game Drug
Does the OFLC have an office anywhere? Especially one in Western Australia, by any chance...? I think I need to go down there and yell at someone.
Before anyone mentions, yes, I know it's not the fault of the OFLC, and that they're merely following the laws that they didn't come up with, but it sure as hell would make me feel better.
Re: Report: Australia's Fallout 3 Ban Prompted by In-game Drug
I suppose they better reclassify Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion too, seeing as all those "potions" were clearly inciting mystical drug abuse.
*sigh*
Re: Report: Australia's Fallout 3 Ban Prompted by In-game Drug
I Agree with Gate into blue 100%- I don't understand it, fallout 2 had no overtly named drug use but the concept of reward for drug consumption was rampant. How else could one powergame one's character? Further, one could pimp ones spouse for money and last time I checked organised prostitution carried a heftier penaly than misdemeanor drug possession in this god awful catholic country. Fallout 2 did not have the same profile as Fallout 3 and as such was a smaller target for the south australian catholic hate missiles. It is unfortunate Fallout 3 has in effect become a target due to its predecessor's success. (Take it as a tibrute to its greatness). Oh well, now im going to have to download it through steam and physically donate $90 to Bethesda to support their good works. PS this will probably happen again with Bioshock 2.
Re: Report: Australia's Fallout 3 Ban Prompted by In-game Drug
just download the game with bittorent
Re: Report: Australia's Fallout 3 Ban Prompted by In-game Drug
I've pinged the OFLC about this, and I'm rounding up other contacts who might be worth yelling at.
I've asked them to explain how Fallout 3 was refused classification when there are three strong precedents that use drugs in exactly the same manner (Fallout, Fallout 2 and Fallout: Tactics) and were classified as MA15+.
Re: Report: Australia's Fallout 3 Ban Prompted by In-game Drug
Well I am going to import it from the UK just like I did with GTAIV despite if there is a censored version or not. The OFLC over-reacted on this, but to be fair they are only 20% to blame. Atkinson that conservtive SA Attourny General is to blame, protestes should not be staged in Canberra but rather in the "City of Churches"
Michael Atkinson = enemy to freedom, from the same breed as Howard and Rudd. But thats what happens when you elect christians, they will have a bias and force their religious views on others, look at the world youth day laws.
Re: Report: Australia's Fallout 3 Ban Prompted by In-game Drug
Poor Australia. I'd like to wish all the Australian gamers luck in overthrowing this turkey faced asshole Atkinson. Long live freedom, bitches.
-If shit and bricks were candy and tits, we'd all be livin' large. For information on games and psychology, look up: Jonathan Freedman(2002)Block & Crain(2007)Grand Theft Childhood, by Harvard Medical School researchers Larry Kutner and Cheryl Olson
Re: Report: Australia's Fallout 3 Ban Prompted by In-game Drug
Wait. Wait, wait, wait, wait, WAIT.
WERE the needles in Bioshock filled with magical fairy dust? O_O
It explains EVERYTHING!
Re: Report: Australia's Fallout 3 Ban Prompted by In-game Drug
Pay close attention and this may be what happens if politicians get their way in America. Australia has hit the slippery slope. It started refusing games only with extreme violance such as GTA 4 and Manhunt 2, but now it's refusing games just for drug content. It's only a matter of time before they refuse any game over a T rating, y'know, for the children.
I think we should take this as a sign of what might happen if we retreat and let even one game get banned over here.
Re: Report: Australia's Fallout 3 Ban Prompted by In-game Drug
So, basically they're offended by realism in their fiction?
-Gray17
Re: Report: Australia's Fallout 3 Ban Prompted by In-game Drug
Well, because fiction exists in our reality, and there's some realism in fiction, then this realism is already in fact a part of our reality, and we can't have that. No matter how much we isolate fiction into more fictional works unto themselves, that isolation is still happening in our reality ;)
Did I blow anyone's mind yet?
Re: Report: Australia's Fallout 3 Ban Prompted by In-game Drug
They should have called it "Morphane", then they could claim it's a "futuristic drug that was like totally legalized in 2250"
-- If your wiimote goes snicker-snack, check your wrist-strap...
Re: Report: Australia's Fallout 3 Ban Prompted by In-game Drug
He does not want 18 rated games because he thinks kids will be able to get them. -_-
Re: Report: Australia's Fallout 3 Ban Prompted by In-game Drug
Has Australia banned any books? I mean Sherlock Holmes was huge coke head but i bet you can find Conan Doyle's works in any of thier libraries.
Re: Report: Australia's Fallout 3 Ban Prompted by In-game Drug
Opium sir, he was an opium addict. Biiiiiig diffrence.
Re: Report: Australia's Fallout 3 Ban Prompted by In-game Drug
Yeah it is kind of a double standard if they allowed bioshock (which has more needles than hellraiser :P) and then be offended by Fallout 3.
I'd love to find out what Mr. Atkinson's argument could be against having an 18+ rating. Doesn't he know that a large number of gamers (I'd say at least half) are adults?
Re: Report: Australia's Fallout 3 Ban Prompted by In-game Drug
This is rediculous, Australia always gets the bad end of the stick.
Why can't Australia get to grip with the fact that we need a higher rating! I agree with Aliasalpha that they have doube standards which only hurt Australian consumers and retailers. This is a fact!
When will we get over this crap. :(
http://www.amaturegamers.com
Re: Report: Australia's Fallout 3 Ban Prompted by In-game Drug
My wife and I were in the local (Perth) EB today and they had posters up offering collectors edition Fallout 3 preorders.. man were they suprised, and irritated, by this news.
Re: Report: Australia's Fallout 3 Ban Prompted by In-game Drug
Re: Report: Australia's Fallout 3 Ban Prompted by In-game Drug
Naah, the NZ OFLC has an R rating for games, so Kiwis should be fine.
The GTA IV screw up was due to Rockstar being half assed about shipping, and you eventually got the R version anyway.
Re: Report: Australia's Fallout 3 Ban Prompted by In-game Drug
A question to the Australians: Was this ratings board around when StarCraft introduced the Stim Packs for the Terran Marines? Their use in-game sounds pretty close to the Morphine use in Fallout 3.
Re: Report: Australia's Fallout 3 Ban Prompted by In-game Drug
didn't a little game called half life 2 have morphiene use and was classified in australia?
Re: Report: Australia's Fallout 3 Ban Prompted by In-game Drug
Yup, rated M for medium level animated violence. Gotta love consistent standards, or you would if they showed any...
Re: Report: Australia's Fallout 3 Ban Prompted by In-game Drug
sigh, here we go again:
-OFLC has pointless double standards that only hurt australian consumers & retailers
-average gamers are adults with the ability to procreate and drink themselves stupid, a game's not going to fuck them up any more than a baby retarded by alcohol abuse
-we have perfectly good laws stopping children getting inappropriate stuff
-atkinson is a knob.
@Gate into Blue: Geez where do you live mate? Might I suggest ebay, the store dungeon_crawl is my particular favourite, most of the games I get from there are $30-40 less than the shelf price in wagga's EB
Re: Report: Australia's Fallout 3 Ban Prompted by In-game Drug
Perth! Ostensibly the 'city of lights' - but *nobody's home*. Also the most conservative capital city in Australia by a lot, so i dont expect to see anyone getting up in arms about this.
Re: Report: Australia's Fallout 3 Ban Prompted by In-game Drug
I graduate in *two years*, then I am *out* of this backwater hole. The GTA IV censoring was the first time a game had been targeted that I actually cared about - unless you count rule of rose i guess. This is the deal breaker though. Thank goodness for import sites - not that i actaully buy any of my games local these days, what with the 120 dollar price being standard. For those from overseas, out dollar is currently running fairly close to the US, and the cheaper postage options are WAY less than the gap between local and international prices.