Japan: Fallout 3 atomic bomb scenes cut

Fallout 3 faces cuts in Japan, due to cultural sensitivities regarding the atomic bomb
Fallout 3 faces cuts in Japan, due to cultural sensitivities regarding the atomic bomb

Despite widespread critical acclaim and notable commercial success, Bethesda's magnum opus, Fallout 3, has hit a few problems in Japan – specifically relating to 'The Power of the Atom' side quest.

Japanese censors have demanded it be removed from the game before it hits Japanese shelves due to references to the atomic bomb.

Kotaku claims that cuts have been made to the side quest, which gave players the opportunity to detonate a nuclear bomb.

Over the other side of the pond, the ESRB has come under fire by Gametrailers, whose Editor-in-Chief Shane Satterfield told GamePolitics: "The week before that we had gotten an exclusive on a trailer, suddenly we get a call and the publisher [Bethesda] is telling us to take it down because of the ESRB.

Like the frickin' mafia

"The ESRB can only regulate media that the publishers send us. Anything that we create in-house, as GameTrailers, they can't touch," Satterfield added.

"So, we'll make our own violent-as-hell trailer that they can't do anything about. So we did. We put it up, it was huge. Then we get a call from publisher X who said 'the ESRB is putting pressure on us and we can't work with you guys unless you do what the ESRB says'. They are like the frickin' Mafia."

Fallout 3, despite its difficult gestation over in Japan (and Australia, due to 'drug references' since removed from the game), is by far one of the most accomplished videogames of the year. Hell, of ever. We urge you to buy it.

TechRadar has contacted Bethesda's UK press office for further comment on this story, so stay tuned for updates as and when we get them.

Adam Hartley
Latest in Consoles & PC
Nintendo Music teaser art
Nintendo Music expands its library with songs from Kirby and the Forgotten Land and Tetris
Image of Naoe in AC Shadows
Assassin's Creed Shadows is hands-down one of the most beautiful PC ports I've ever seen
Image of AC Shadows cover art & Steam Deck
It's not perfect, but Assassin's Creed Shadows' performance is impressive - it runs smoothly on the Steam Deck and Asus ROG Ally
Steam Deck OLED in limited edition white color
With a single update SteamOS could turbocharge handheld PCs – here's how
Samus Aran leaping through space
Metroid Prime 4 tipped to be at the heart of April's Nintendo Switch 2 deep-dive
Nintendo Switch 2
Nintendo Switch 2 expected to have AI upscaling and I can't wait to finally play Tears of the Kingdom with upgraded graphics
Latest in News
Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin Rennovations
Disney’s giving a classic Buzz Lightyear ride a tech overhaul – here's everything you need to know
Hisense U8 series TV on wall in living room
Hisense announces 2025 mini-LED TV lineup, with screen sizes up to 100 inches – and a surprising smart TV switch
Nintendo Music teaser art
Nintendo Music expands its library with songs from Kirby and the Forgotten Land and Tetris
Opera AI Tabs
Opera's new AI feature brings order to your browser tab chaos
An image of Pro-Ject's Flatten it closed and opened
Pro-Ject’s new vinyl flattener will fix any warped LPs you inadvertently buy on Record Store Day
The iPhone 16 Pro on a grey background
iPhone 17 Pro tipped to get 8K video recording – but I want these 3 video features instead