Thanks Australia - UK And US To Get Censored Fallout 3

[pigeon_of_doom]

... Why bump this? It's not like it's going to die off if you don't >_>

Anyways... minor censorship in the changing of some of the names of the drugs in the game really doesn't mean anything. So long as they don't take the drugs out, which they won't, then I don't see a problem. Hell, it's such a minor detail it isn't even affecting the release date so why the hell are people getting pissy about it? So "Speed" will be "Hyper" rather than "Speed" essentially. "Hero Wine" will be "Crazy Juice", or what have you. If it's such a big deal that you have to get up in arms about it you really need to pull back your perspective a bit >_>

It's a waste of time and money. Why is it so important what the drug is named? If the people of sufficient age to play the game somehow believe the drugs in the game work exactly like that in real life, and somehow manage to get their hands on the controlled substance, it somehow is the game company at fault. Never mind the 'get their hands on the controlled substance' part - playing the game isn't going to make that hurdle somehow magically disappear.

Sure it's a small issue, but it's still censorship for the sake of censorship. The reasoning is poor, the effectiveness of such activities is laughable, and the enforcement ends up costing us money. The time and effort game developers put into this varies, but as long as it's not zero, we end up paying for it in the end - whether through the rising cost of games, or the folding of good ideas because development costs include legal and censorship teams. It's another nail in the coffin of the good mid-sized games, those non-casual, non mass-marketed or lowest-common-denominator titles we all wonder why aren't made anymore.

 

[Blue Sonnet]

Poss. slightly off topic, but out of interest could someone please let me know why isn't there an 18 rating in Australia? Have there been any petitions/protests etc. over this to try to change this, or isn't public opinion that strong either way?

 

[SimuLord]

So they're doing something that fits with Fallout canon, they're potentially keeping Jack Thompson and Hillary Clinton off their ass, and they're not neutering the effects of the in-game drugs in any way?

Where's the problem?

 

[Wewt]

I love Slovenia.
Sucks to be you guys, but i bet someone is going to make a hack to uncensor it anyway.

 

[OverlordSteve]

This reminds me of this survey they once made us do about the internet in school. It was filled with questions like "have you ever recieved disturbing emails?" and the like. Barely five positive questions in the whole survey, so they were probably planning to use it in an "INTERNNETS R BAD." campaign.

I listed myself as a 92-year-old woman for kicks.

 

[sorry user name taken.]

If cocaine made you replenish health in game, they'll be someone, somewhere who will take an overdose because of it.

It's funny because it's true haha.

He's so right HAHAHHAH!! people are stupid!

HAHAHAHAHA!...o.o sorry just wanted to join in

 

[sorry user name taken.]

i might be missing the point here...but who really cares lol...

 

[L4Y Duke]

anyone else think this is a good news?

I was about to get pissed off, but as soon as I started reading the article, I was thinking "WTF, why was Bethesda using real drug names in the first place?"

anyway, I totally agree with their decision. Fallout has a certain whimsy about it, but as long as the names sound ridiculous and clinical (No Teddy Bear Gummy Aspirins please), then I say bravo Bethesda

EDIT:

Although, it does kind of concern me that we're getting the same game as Australia, not because of the Drug thing, but

This game is tame enough to get past Australian Standards?

WTF did they do to Fallout?

From what I can gather, the Australian OFLC works sort of like a 'flavour of the month' thing. A game's release or ban depends on what society is thinking at the time.

For instance, Mark Echo's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure, or whatever it was called, was banned in Australia as there was a large no-graffiti thing going on at the time. If they had released it earlier, it might have gotten to shelves.

Then again, I'm a NZ'er, so I don't know what's going on in the heads of Australia.

 

[implodingMan]

As long as they only change the names then I'm fine with it. It's even in keeping with traditional satire forms.

Kind of off topic, but is Fable 2 going to be released in Australia? I heard that you get an achievement for having an orgy in it.

 

[sorry user name taken.]

As long as they only change the names then I'm fine with it. It's even in keeping with traditional satire forms.

Kind of off topic, but is Fable 2 going to be released in Australia? I heard that you get an achievement for having an orgy in it.

yes and don't know (about fable)

 

[BBQ Platypus]

Well, it is in keeping with the game's traditional tendency to have fake names for drugs. Still, it sets a precedent that makes me nervous. It gives the Jack Thompsons of the world reason to celebrate. Today, it's removing real-world drug references. What's next? Removing swearing? Maybe games will start to get banned stateside.

Sure, this particular instance is no big deal, but I am against censorship on principle. It's a game aimed at adults - why should it have to be changed at all?

 

[GoldCrow]

Well, now we have a new GTA-ish scapegoat. 'Why did you detonate that nuclear bomb?' 'I wanted to see if it's really like Fallout'. Also, along with the drugs, if you see the Eiffel Tower, you're not going to say 'Oooh! England!'...unless, like someone mentioned, you overdose on cocaine to see if it's really like in the game.

 

[D0WNT0WN]

Blame The Aussie Goverment, They Try Ridiculously Hard To Jump On The Bandwagon Of Censoring Video Games