20°

Fallout 3, the OLFC, TV Opinion Panel - Not a happy day for Australians "Even the Queen has a Wii"

XboxOZ360 writes an extensive article about the ludicrous state of gaming censorship in Australia. Starting with the recent drama around Fallout 3 and a government funded TV show where one elected official compared games to "snuff films" and "rape" simulators, it then proceeds to look at the issue in depth and the contradictions that flourish when comparing Australia's system to that of the United States and Europe.

"When shown the game in its Australian sleeve and asked if they would buy it for their child, most said yeah, probably, it's only MA15+ after all, it's really for kids anyway. Might be a bit violent, but if it was bad, they would ban it.

Then when shown the same game sleeve from the UK, most denied it was the same until shown the disc with the same content on it, same packaging, same instruction booklet etc, except with a clear, big red 18+ marked on the cover, spine, and on the game disc..."

Read Full Story >>
xboxoz360.wordpress.com
Mc Fadge5739d ago

Does anybody know when our silly country is having the formal debate of the issue? Or was it a consensus? Whatever it was, date? Month? Year? :<

XboxOZ3605739d ago

Actually that's something I'd love to know as well.

We'll be tracking down as much information as possible. Earlier on in the year I did an interview with the new CEO of the Australian IEAA - The Interactive Entertainment Association of Australia and he's 100% behind a change that's for sure. the interview was great, and shown a lot of information on what is happening. But like all things political, they move very slowly when they don't have the push from the public to do so.

'Unfortunately, gamers are a lazy lot really. They always cry they want change, but when it comes time to actually 'doing' something, they put it off, or hope that someone else will do it for them.

If you DO want to help, then email our site, see what you can do to raise the awareness, work with other. Get others enrolled in the idea of changing it and most importantly, EDUCATING the mums and dads out here (AUST) that they buy their kids games RIGHT now that are adult rated in overseas countries, they simply don't knowit.

If they gave the OLFC the powerr to label all games in the correct manner. We wouldn't be flooded with porn or violent games, it means the games that currently come in would be "appropriately labeled" and those that did go higher in the ratings system, would have a classification they would fall into, just like movies do.

Movies like have a R18+ - and it' not full of sex, rape, violence (to what the right-wing would think) nor is it aimed at corrupting the minds of the young. It's an adult movie with deep themes around Satan, nothing more, yet it sports an R18+ rating. Which its should.

So should many games.

Superfragilistic5739d ago

We've got to wait for Victoria who are in charge of the study and thankfully pro gaming (lots of developers in Melbourne) to come back with their findings later this year.

gaminoz5739d ago

I just hope Aussie gamers stop focusing on "our rights as adults" which will get us nowhere with the ignorant law-makers....we've got to show how useless the current rating system is in doing what it's for.

We need a more coherent argument than: "I should be allowed to do what I want!!"

I loved how the article contrasted how games are rated in different countries to ours....exactly what the focus should be on.

XboxOZ3605739d ago

Actually, after speaking earlier on with Ron Curry, he has stated that all states can use the R18+ if they so choose, much like Qld currently do with some of their ratings, not allowing some in their state that are readily available in others.

He said that IF the industry wanted to, they could run their games in the R18+ classification in all states bar South Australia, but they would have to weigh up the financial risk against sales in that region. If it was marginal, then some would take the risk, based on more sales for a game that was well sought after being readily available in all other states.

He said that is one option that the OFLC has, and is already applying to Qld in some cases. So a precedent has already been set in that regard.

leeeeed5739d ago

If it's not fuel, health, transport or grocery related, then the Government really doesn't give a crap...

Immortal Kaim5739d ago

Interesting panel debate..... I was unaware that we didn't have any rating system for games /end sarcasm/

When some of the people representing us in politics don't even know the basics of our archaic
classification system I doesn't give me much hope.

Hunter865738d ago

Pretty poor showing for our government really. What the heck was Barnaby Joyce going on about with a game where you can rape people? Sounded like he was talking out of his ass.

Show all comments (9)
70°

Now is the Best Time to Get This Incredible RPG Bundle on Steam

If you are looking for an awesome RPG, look no further. Steam is offering a significant discount on its Fallout Franchise Bundle.

SimpleSlave52m ago

"You can get all Fallout games in a bundle at a significant 20% discount on Steam. Individually, all these games add up to $244.91. With the discount, you can get them all for $195.91. That is $49 less than the original price. Quite a significant discount for such a popular franchise."

😊 😂 🤣 😐 - But why?

Just wait for a sale and get most if not all of it for a fraction of that price.

20% off...lol

Tacoboto27m ago

The games were just on a real sale over the last week or two for the show promotion. Fallout 4 was $10, 3 was $5, NV was cheap as heck too.

So what the heck is this

Inverno12m ago

The original games have been given out for free by Amazon for GOG and Epic, 76 is free now on Amazon if you have prime, Epic has also given out new Vegas for free and 4 has gone down to pretty cheap prices. 194 bucks is a total ripoff when you can get these games individually for less. Don't forget cd keys might sell em for a dollar less at times too. Come on man, us cheapskates won't touch anything near or above 100 lolz

150°

Fallout 3's Reveal Led To Death Threats And Bethesda's First Security Guard

The artist behind Fallout 4’s Deathclaw reveals just how bad things got back when Bethesda took over the series

anast1d 4h ago

People are stupid I get it. No one should feel unsafe,

But I think they need to talk about why they cut so many corners during the development process and why none of their games ever look current. And why they think all of this is okay while they charge full price.

LucasRuinedChildhood1d 3h ago

As much as Bethesda deserve criticism, that's not really relevant to the reveal of Fallout 3 in 2007.

VenomUK1d ago

The default angle Kotaku always go for is to highlight the worst in gaming.

I would’ve focused on the creative.

anast6h ago

The game went downhill at Fallout 3's release. This is when they started to cut corners.

gold_drake23h ago

there is no "but". the hell lol
you dont send death threats, period.

anast6h ago

Usually, you have good comments but this isn't one of them. It just rides the mob. We can do both condemn the actions and not let them use it for other things.

I can say I received a death threat and everyone needs to shut up. People are not honest and will use horrible things to their advantage.

Armaggedon18h ago

Not all games “look” current.

anast6h ago

Their games always look like the gen before it.

gold_drake9m ago

mh ok thanks, i still think ur wrong in this mate.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 9m ago
210°

What Made Fallout 3 One Hell of a Game?

Bethesda's post-apocalyptic RPG remains an unabashed classic, more than a decade and a half on from its launch.

Read Full Story >>
gamingbolt.com
ZeekQuattro4d ago

For me its the fact that I could put hundreds of hours into it and still find areas I missed in my earlier runs. It was also my first FO and despite what I had to put up with at times such as overall crashs and killing my orginal PS3 with the YLOD it's still my favorite entry to this day.

-Foxtrot3d ago

Tons of reasons

But my silly little one…hunting for unique weapons and armour

Something Fallout 4 just didn’t really have as much because they replaced most of it with randomly generated customised weapons. Even Elder Scrolla doesn't do it as well.

Yui_Suzumiya2d ago (Edited 2d ago )

I remember during my first playthrough of Fallout 4 back in 2015 I somehow got an automatic combat rifle that shot explosive rounds by defeating a legendary creature. Unfortunately that was the only playthrough I ever got that weapon. It's a shame because it was absolutely epic!

Vits3d ago

Sense of exploration. That was why older Bethesda games were so good. They might have had glitches, broken mechanics, meh visuals, etc., but they were some of the best around when it came down to the sense of exploration. You could go wherever you wanted and you would find something cool; it might have been a faction, a weapon, an enemy and much more. And that is what they are lacking now. Skyrim still had a lot of that, but Fallout 4 dropped it by focusing on an interconnected world and more randomly generated rewards. Fallout 76 just kept that trend and added multiplayer, and Starfield went even further in killing it by creating a whole universe with parts completely isolated from each other.

EazyC3d ago

I think the retrospective of Fallout: New Vegas' existence has somewhat diminished the view of Fallout 3 in the eyes of many, but it getting out of the vault in Fallout 3 was, for me, the most remarkable experience I've had in a videogame.

I was 12 when it came out, and I remember I just saw the score it got in Gamemaster magazine (remember those!? 😅), and I just went to the shop and bought it with my pocket money.

Not knowing anything about the game, I thought the whole thing was going to be about growing up in a vault, especially given that I'd spent about 2 hours in it....I literally could.not.believe it when you got out and it was just this wasteland on every direction. Amazing.

Tody_ZA3d ago (Edited 3d ago )

Probably because these Bethesda games were hand crafted so that exploration meant something. Unlike Starfield where this sense of exploration is replaced with the illusion of scope and procedurally generated worlds. A player can always appreciate when they wonder into an unforgettable new encounter by accident or stumble across a new questline that becomes their favourite. Just like a player can always tell when they're ploughing through filler on auto pilot, that they'll forget the moment some resource numbers go up and nothing worth remembering occurred.

I mean, in Fallout 3 you could nuke an entire town as a SIDE QUEST. In The Elder Scrolls Oblivion and Skyrim, the Dark Brotherhood questlines were my favourite in any RPGs and you could completely avoid them if you didn't care for them. In The Witcher 3 side quests take you on ridiculously dark and mysterious storylines that are some of the best I've played in RPG history. There's a reason why people still talk about KOTOR to this day. Difference between a developer creating something or just padding a game world with stuff.

Fist4achin2d ago

There were some side quests that could yld have been developed into an entirely separate game. Some great writing there.

Show all comments (13)

Ad