The name changes go back to Fallout 3 (at least, I can’t recall if FO1 & FO2 had the same drama).
By the time of Fallout 4, names like Med-X (morphine), Rad-Away (iodine), Brawno (amphetamine? I can’t remember) were well and truly bedded in, and suited the aesthetic. Why change it at that point? They’ve created names that suit the aesthetic better than the actual drug names.
I was in my mid/late 20s when this was all going down. I grey imported the MK reboot so I could play, had a copy of Manhunt, and others. The Fallout drug names were a result of the lack of 18+ rating and trying to comply with MA15.
The first Australian +18 video game was released in January 2013, GTA 5 came out in December 2013 and fallout 4 was released in November… 2015
From what I can tell from the timeline of events it absolutely was a move by Bethesda to market the game to kids.
The name changes go back to Fallout 3 (at least, I can’t recall if FO1 & FO2 had the same drama).
By the time of Fallout 4, names like Med-X (morphine), Rad-Away (iodine), Brawno (amphetamine? I can’t remember) were well and truly bedded in, and suited the aesthetic. Why change it at that point? They’ve created names that suit the aesthetic better than the actual drug names.
I was in my mid/late 20s when this was all going down. I grey imported the MK reboot so I could play, had a copy of Manhunt, and others. The Fallout drug names were a result of the lack of 18+ rating and trying to comply with MA15.
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2008/07/fallout-3-cant-get-a-rating-in-australia/
https://www.smh.com.au/technology/fallout-continues-from-ban-on-game-20080715-gdsma8.html
https://www.gameshub.com/news/features/australian-classification-law-video-games-2646457/
Ah yeah true dat