Stellar Blade’s “uncensored” Japan release sparks controversy as EA exec complains his 2023 game was banned over similar gore
Apr. 22, 2024Dead Space was refused a CERO rating unless it altered its gore
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An EA developer has criticized the Japanese ratings board over its consistency and vague policies, after it allowed Stellar Blade to release as “uncensored” in Japan.
Stellar Blade’s official Twitter account just posted the tweet below, revealing to users that the “same uncensored version” of the action-RPG would be released in all counties, including in Japan. This means Stellar Blade has received the approval of CERO, the Japanese ratings board, to release in the country without any alterations whatsoever, earning a CERO D rating, which equates to a 17+ rating.
If you’ve played Stellar Blade’s recentPS5demo, you’ll know it features dismemberment and some gory moments in the opening hour. Specifically, a character’s arm is sliced off at one point, and the gory end of said arm can be seen as the character then speaks to Stellar Blade’s protagonist Eve.
It’s mainly because of moments like these that CERO is facing questions surrounding its consistency in ratings. AsAutomaton Mediafirst reported, EA Japan general manager Shaun Noguchi asked “what’s going on” at CERO in arecent tweet, pointing out that the ratings board refused EA’s Dead Space remake a rating based on the fact that it shows severed body parts and internal organs.
Noguchi finds this “hard to accept,” and calls into question why Stellar Blade has received a rating with cross-section and internal organs on display, when Dead Space didn’t. In fact, Dead Space wasn’t even eligible for a CERO Z rating in Japan, the equivalent of an 18+ rating, while Stellar Blade has received a lower CERO D (17+) age rating in Japan.
In the follow-up tweet below, Noguchi adds that he has no ill will towards Stellar Blade whatsoever, but is instead calling into question the consistency of CERO’s rating policy for releases in Japan. The EA Japan general manager even adds that he found the Stellar Blade demo so fun that he recommends others buy the full game at launch.
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Stellar Blade launches later this week on April 26, exclusively for PS5. Read up on ourStellar Blade previewfor what we made of the new action game when we played it for ourselves ahead of launch.
You can also check out ourupcoming PS5 gamesguide for a look ahead at all the otherSonyconsole exclusives for this year and beyond.
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