Australia Bans Fallout 3

The Australian government hits Fallout 3 with the dreaded RC-rating "Refused Classification", meaning the game will not be allowed to be sold anywhere within Australia.

The Australia Classification Board is an independent statutory body which makes classification decisions about films, computer games and publications. They are the Australia counterpart of the ESRB and MPAA.

Fallout 3 has been refused classification. Unlike films or DVDs, the highest rating allowable for a game in Australia is MA 15+, computer games that have been Refused Classification (RC) cannot be sold, hired or demonstrated in Australia.

While the Classification Review Board website has no details on why Fallout 3 was banned, it has been suggested by users in GameSpot's PC forum that it could be due to the use of the drug morphine within the game.

Australia's game classification rules state that titles that an RC rating may apply to films and games that:

- Depict, express or otherwise deal with matters of sex, drug misuse or addiction, crime, cruelty, violence or revolting or abhorrent phenomena in such a way that they offend against the standards of morality, decency and propriety generally accepted by reasonable adults to the extent that they should not be classified.

- Depict in a way that is likely to cause offence to a reasonable adult, a person who is, or who looks like, a child under 16 (whether the person is engaged in sexual activity or not).

- Promote, incite or instruct in matters of crime or violence.

Fallout 3 is the third game in 2008 to be banned in Australia. Dark Sector was originally refused classification, although an edited version has recently been resubmitted and passed with an MA 15+ rating. Last week, Shellshock 2 was banned due to graphic violent content.