Dead Space Gets Internationally Banned

[Deadly_Nightshade]

Report: Dead Space Banned in Germany, China, Japan

 

Citing comments made by a Dead Space community manager, Destructoid reports that EA's upcoming sci-fi horror game has been banned in China, Japan and Germany:

 

We've also been told by Dead Space community manager Andrew Green that the title has been completely banned from the following countries: Germany, Japan, and China. That's right, there's just too much survival and way too much horror in Dead Space for these countries to handle. No word on whether EA has any plans to alter the game for a future release in those territories.

Oddly enough, in the U.K., the BBFC has rated Dead Space an 18, while quick-to-censor Australia has awarded it an MA15+. We're still checking with the ESRB, but GameStop's website is displaying an "M" on Dead Space packaging.

GP: I'm having a little trouble digesting this one. It's not hard to believe Germany would ban Dead Space, as they have been fairly quick on the censorship trigger of late. However, given that Japan is the home of Resident Evil, a ban on a survival horror game would be surprising. Also, I'm not even certain that EA distributes console titles in China, due to the piracy issues there. We have a request in to EA to confirm...

http://www.gamepolitics.com/2008/09/05/rep...any-china-japan

 

Dead Space release date pushed up again, outright banned in three countries

 

Just a week ago, we brought you news that Electronic Arts' survival horror title Dead Space had its released pushed forward. Today we have more even better news: the release date has been pushed up again, this time from October 24 to October 14 on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The PC version will ship on October 20.

We've also been told by Dead Space community manager Andrew Green that the title has been completely banned from the following countries: Germany, Japan, and China. That's right, there's just too much survival and way too much horror in Dead Space for these countries to handle. No word on whether EA has any plans to alter the game for a future release in those territories.

I haven't had a chance to go hands-on with Dead Space (woe is me!), but everyone I've spoken with who has only had good things to say about it. Who else is looking forward to donning the trash can-like helmet and killing some monsters?

http://www.destructoid.com/dead-space-rele...es-102501.phtml

 

 

Germany, you probably knew this was coming, given Dead Space's focus on blowing humanoid heads into ****-all, but you won't be getting your hands on the EA LA developed sci-fi horror game. And you won't either, certain Asian territories. That's according to the title's community manager Ben Swanson, who writes on the game's official blog "we

Edited September 6, 2008 by Deadly_Nightshade

[jaguars4ever]

Stupid Dead Space. They should have had the zombies have epic graphic sex BEFORE blowing up heads and feasting on brains. Then the Germans would have welcomed it with open arms.

[WILL THE ALMIGHTY]

Awesome, canada still gets it.

 

What I'm really surprised about here, is that Australia hasn't banned it yet.

 

Edited September 6, 2008 by WILL THE ALMIGHTY

[Humodour]

Why would Australia ban it?

 

We aren't some totalitarian regime like China. The only time we ban something is when enough soccer mums complain, which is usually not about violence, but gangs, drug use, prostitution, murdering civilians or psychopathic murder sprees. Even then lots of things get through - the original Fallouts, Fallout: Tactics, Half-Life, various versions of GTA, etc.

 

As a survival horror game, this probably won't even get a mention in the media.

[Zoma]

We aren't some totalitarian regime like China.

 

Nope, Australia definitely isn't. But that's a silly way to explain why the game is banned in China based on totalitarism. Germany and Japan definitely are not a totalitarian nations.

[Humodour]

We aren't some totalitarian regime like China.

 

Nope, Australia definitely isn't. But that's a silly way to explain why the game is banned in China based on totalitarism. Germany and Japan definitely are not a totalitarian nations.

 

I wasn't explaining why the game was banned in China, I was explaining why it isn't banned in Australia.

 

You take any one thing banned in China and you could likely let it pass. The thing is that lots and lots of things are banned in China. WILL was implying Australia is quick to censor things, like China.

 

Admittedly a tenuous analogy on my part, but poignant nonetheless.

[Morgoth]

Normally, Germany only outright bans games where you can purposely maltreat humans (!) with no other options to avoid it (i.e. Condemned). So it's a bit unclear why they'd ban Dead Space as well, as these creatures are clearly zombies, not humans. Decapitating and rag-doll effects (i.e. mutilating a dead body) are other things that usually need to get cut out, but everything else (like blood, gore, swearing etc.) are usually getting through.

But either way, if Dead Space really gets banned, people will just order their copies from Austrian shops as usual.

[Humodour]

I gotta be honest, though: I'm surprised Japan banned it.

 

We're talking about the same country that creates stuff like Bondage Fairies.

[Gorgon]

I think the view is that a computer game is not an art form, and therefore they don't think the usual freedoms on artistic expression apply.

[Bokishi]

I think I'll get this game

[Humodour]

I think it was banned in Japan becausee it did not contain enough rape, pseudo-pedophilia, tentacle-molestation and fecal matter being eaten

 

 

 

And banning games is not something a democratic country should even think about doing, its none of the goverments bussiness what grownups chose to play. Naturally, we Swedes are yet again superior to you forigners by not banning anything whatsoever.

 

So how's the Big Brother internet surveillance system and banning all drugs going for you Swedes?

 

Anyway, there are games which deserve to be banned just like there are films that deserve to be banned. I wouldn't want a film glorifying murdering police to be released anymore than I would a game about the same.

 

Democracy doesn't mean "anything goes" - that's anarchy. The censorship bodies were created by our democratically elected governments. And while this isn't perfect, it typically does lead to refinement over time to keep up with cultural and societal trends. For example, half the stuff on TV today would've been so taboo 50 or 60 years ago, and banned accordingly.

[Kaftan Barlast]

So how's the Big Brother internet surveillance system and banning all drugs going for you Swedes?

 

Anyway, there are games which deserve to be banned just like there are films that deserve to be banned. I wouldn't want a film glorifying murdering police to be released anymore than I would a game about the same.

 

How about respecting the fact that a human beings have the rights to chose for themselves? No goverment has the right to dictate to a grown man what he can read, watch or play as long as he doesnt hurt anyone while doing it. Its just as bad that Australia bans games for being "immoral" as it is for Iran to ban comicbooks that show women being equal to men.

 

 

 

Democracy doesn't mean "anything goes" - that's anarchy. The censorship bodies were created by our democratically elected governments. And while this isn't perfect, it typically does lead to refinement over time to keep up with cultural and societal trends. For example, half the stuff on TV today would've been so taboo 50 or 60 years ago, and banned accordingly.

 

 

Thats still nowhere near a reason why censorship should be considered legitimate.

[Hell Kitty]

Australia doesn't ban games for being "immoral".

[Pidesco]

Australia doesn't ban games for being "immoral".

 

"Won't somebody think of the children!?" - Australian censorship

[aries101]

Sweden, Denmark and Norway all use the PEGI rating classification - along with the rest of Europe, excluding Germany and the UK. The Big Brother (government) has nothing to do with the rating of the games in Europe.

 

I, too, am a little surprised that Dead Space its refused classification in Germany and some Asian countries. Germany, I thought, normally just rated

the game 18+ and then allowed it to be sold in retail stores.

[Hell Kitty]

Australia doesn't ban games for being "immoral".

 

"Won't somebody think of the children!?" - Australian censorship

 

As opposed to the censorship in any other country?

 

If a film includes a level of coarse language that earns it an M rating, or a violence level that earns an R rating, does that mean it's been classified due to its level of immorality?

[Pidesco]

Ratings aren't quite the same thing as banning a cultural item.

 

Also, I certainly agree with you that Australia doesn't ban games based on immorality.

[Hurlshort]

Hey guys, turns out this was a marketing hoax. Neat-o.

[WILL THE ALMIGHTY]

On another note, the game looks very nice.

[SteveThaiBinh]

Hey guys, turns out this was a marketing hoax. Neat-o.

Do tell.

[Pop]

Neither EA nor the countries in question have issued any statements regarding the state of the game. And since the game has not yet been published its banning would be blatantly illegal in Germany.

[Deadly_Nightshade]

Hey guys, turns out this was a marketing hoax. Neat-o.

 

Really?!

[Deadly_Nightshade]

This seems to be what started everything:

Hey Everyone,

 

I've got some good news and some bad news.

 

Good News: Today we announced that the ship date for Dead Space has been moved up to October 14th (20th on PC) in North America and October 24th in Europe! We

[Hell Kitty]

Ratings aren't quite the same thing as banning a cultural item.

 

Why not? Refused Classification (banned) is just another rating, it's the rating a product gets when the content is at such a high level it falls outside of all other ratings. The reason some games get the RC rating in Australia isn't because we have a ratings systems that is harsher than other western countries, as we don't, it's because unlike film and literature there is no adults only (R18+) rating, so games that would meet the R18+ standard have to be refused classification until the content is modified.

 

Games may or may not be art, but they are mass produced products, and like any product if something about it is believed to be harmful then restrictions will apply.

[Deadly_Nightshade]

Pachter: Rumored Dead Space Ban "No Big Deal"

September 9, 2008

 

When a publicly traded U.S. company experiences what the Securities and Exchange Commission terms an "unscheduled material event" it is required to file a form 8-K in order to alert stockholders and the market at large.

 

For example, Electronic Arts filed an 8-K just yesterday to inform the market that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was slipping into 2009, with a resultant loss of significant expected 2008 income.

 

So, if the rumor that EA's upcoming Dead Space has been banned in three markets - China, Japan and Germany - is true, might that not trigger an 8-K disclosure as well? None has been forthcoming so far.

 

For the answer, GamePolitics turned to financial analyst extraordinaire Michale Pachter (left) of Wedbush-Morgan:

 

GP: If Dead Space was really banned in three major markets (Japan, China, Germany) as the rumor currently goes, wouldn