15. People often ask if there any references to Fallout 3 in New Vegas and yes, they do exist. The nuclear waste disposal site Greener Pastures is casually mentioned on a terminal in Dead Money, there are copies of the Wasteland Survival Guide scattered throughout the Mojave, and Museum of Tech and Super Duper Mart posters can be seen (though this may be due to legacy code, the reuse of old assets from a previous game).
The bumper sticker on ED-E references Roosevelt Academy in the Capital Wastelands while a case of Aqua Pura from the Broken Steel DLC sits bewilderingly in the location of Matthews Animal Husbandry Farm. There’s also a picture of Tenpenny Towers in one of the casinos but that too may be legacy code.
There are also some more roundabout references, such as the unique Gatling Laser named Vengeance in Fallout 3, which has a counterpart named Mercy in New Vegas.
Since Fallout: New Vegas takes place near the location of the first two Fallout games, there are also a lot of references to those as well, but they are almost too numerous to list in full. Most if not all of the factions, from the Vipers to the Gun Runners, are from the original games or were cut from them. In the H&H Tools factory, a computer terminal entry with an email makes mention of Tragic the Garnering, from Fallout 2. In the unmarked quest You Gotta Break A Few Eggs, Jas Wilkins will mention the death of her great aunt’s pet Deathclaw in Modoc, which The Chosen One actually killed.
The location The Wrecked Highwayman is also a reference to Fallout 2. It is meant to be the broken-down version of the Highwayman belonging to The Chosen One (the Highwayman is also referenced in Fallout 3, in the form of a unique tire iron called The Highwayman’s Friend). You can also purchase That Gun, a reference to the .223 pistol in Fallout 1 and 2 (as well as Deckard’s gun in Blade Runner), in the gift shop at Novac. The NCR currency bears the name of the Boneyard. The companion Dog, a first generation Nightkin in the Dead Money DLC, makes mention of wanting to be back at “the Church”, a reference to The Cathedral, home of the Super Mutants under control of the Master.
There are also a number of gangs that were either cut out of the original games or only made sparse, obscure appearances in prior Fallout stories that had a bigger role in New Vegas, including the Great Khans, the Vipers, and the Jackals.
At one point, all the Fallout games were slyly referenced in a computer terminal at the Sunset Sarsaparilla Headquarters in an annual sales report reading:
“Northeast continues to be a tough nut to crack. Things are shaping up in the North and Midwest. As usual, performance in the Southwest is strong.”
The list goes on and on.
