EA Japan Exec Criticises Japanese Ratings Board For Allowing Stellar Blade Uncensored But Banning Dead Space
An Electronic Arts Japan executive has criticized Japan’s video game ratings board for allowing upcoming action game Stellar Blade to be released without censorship while EA’s Dead Space was banned in the country.
In articles on X/TwitterEA Japan general manager Shaun Noguchi has questioned the Computer Entertainment Rating Organization (CERO) for allegedly banning horror game Dead Space due to features he says also appear in Stellar Blade.
“What’s going on CERO?” Noguchi asked in the post, translated by Automaton. “The Stellar Blade demo was really fun and action-packed. However, CERO, you denied our Dead Space a rating because it included cross-cuts of severed body parts and internal organs, but here we have both cross sections and exposed interiors passed a CERO D rating, I find this difficult to accept.”
A CERO D rating allows anyone aged 17 and over to purchase the game and is the second strictest rating in Japan, behind the Z rating intended for those aged 18 and over. Dead Space has been reviewed and given no rating by CERO, meaning it is not available for sale in Japan, at least officially.
Noguchi’s comments follow a post from the official Stellar Blade X/Twitter account, which confirmed that every version of the game developed in South Korea, including the Japanese version, would not be censored. Noguchi made it clear that he was not criticizing Stellar Blade itself, but CERO, even recommending people to buy it.
Stellar Blade brings its sci-fi action and adventure exclusively to PlayStation 5 on April 26, with inspirations including Alita: Battle Angel, ’80s and ’90s sci-fi, and a taxi drivers’ strike according to the director Kim Hyung Tae.
“While the depth of its exploration remains to be seen, Stellar Blade’s action alone was more than enough to get us excited,” IGN said in our preview of the game.
Ryan Dinsdale is a freelance journalist for IGN. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.
News Source : www.ign.com
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