One of the year's most highly anticipated
games has been refused classification in Australia.
Fallout 3, a post-apocalyptic role playing
game from the makers of The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, was refused classification
by the Office of Film and Literature Classification last week. The game is set
200 years after a nuclear war that devastates the world, and features graphic
violence and drug use.
The decision follows the banning of wargame
Shellshock 2: Blood Trails just a week earlier. The OFLC has not yet revealed
the reasons behind either decision.
Australia's classification code currently
does not have an R18+ rating for games. Titles exceeding the limits of the
MA15+ classification in areas like violence, sex and drug use are therefore
refused classification and unavailable for sale in this country.
It is not yet known whether Fallout 3's
Australian distributor, Red Ant, will appeal the decision, or whether developer
Bethesda might produce a censored version of the game to comply with
Australia's strict classification code, like the recent edited version of Grand
Theft Auto IV.
Censorship ministers in March agreed to
canvas public opinion on the proposed introduction of a long overdue R18+
classification for games, but are still working on the mechanisms to let
Australians have their say.
Many Australian game players, who are
becoming increasingly frustrated at game bans and the higher price of software
in Australia compared to Asia and the US, are likely to flout the law and
import Fallout 3 when it is released overseas towards the end of the year.