Fallout 3 granted Australia release
Revised title receives MA 15+ rating after a number of drug elements are replaced
Australia's Office of Film and Literature Classification has passed the revised version of Fallout 3, giving the RPG a rating of MA 15+ and revealing the reasons behind its decision.
According to the censor board's report, acquired by IGN, the positive representation of drugs as power-ups in Fallout 3 was the main cause of concern. However, following the game's ban last month, Bethesda Softworks has toned down the depiction of drugs, earning the title an MA 15+ rating.
The report says the drugs themselves have all been given new names, while images of drug-taking have been removed and replaced by icons: "The drugs depicted are fictional; drugs are depicted as stylised icons on a menu with the drug use itself not depicted," read the report.
"[The board] found that [the] relationship between drug use and incentives and rewards is not such that it promotes or encourages the use of prescribed drugs. Therefore the game does not warrant to be Refused Classification."