This is strange. Very strange. When Fable was originally released on the first Xbox the game's Australian rating was 'M'. Today the Australian Classification Board revealed that Fable: Anniversary, the HD remastered version of Fable for the Xbox 360, would be rated R18+. Adults only.
The reason? "Sexual activity related to incentives and rewards". Very strange.
It is true that we are now working with slightly different set of guidelines and, of course, classifications are subject to human error, but for a game to go from M to R18+ in one fell swoop? It doesn't seem right.
Hilariously the sexual activity for "incentives and rewards" thing is actually related to the fact that players can receive a child for having sex in Fable. Which is sort of brilliant and accurate. I guess, in real life, having a baby is a genuine reward for having sex!
But really, is that a bad thing worthy of blotting from the eyes of people under 18? Really? It seems incredibly heavy handed.
—-
This post originally on Kotaku Australia, where Mark Serrels is the Editor. You can follow him on Twitter if you're into that sort of thing.