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Dead Space to be banned in Germany, Japan and China

Silver Mirror | September 06, 2008 | News | PC Playstation 3 
Dead Space may be releasing even earlier than expected this month but not everyone will be able to enjoy it. It has just been announced that Dead Space will not be coming to China, Germany and Japan on any platform. It has not even been refused classification just outright banned. While China and Germany have been known to ban titles before, Japan comes as a significant surprise. No reasons as to why yet.
In space, no one can hear you scream. And apparently in Germany, Japan, and China, things worth screaming over simply aren't allowed.

In a posting on the official Dead Space Web site, EA community manager Ben Swanson announced that the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC game "will be banned in Germany, China, and Japan." Swanson did not say what indications the team has received to suggest the imminent banning of the sci-fi survival horror game.

While China's government has a lengthy history of monitoring the media its citizens consume, the prospect of German and Japanese bans are somewhat more surprising. Capcom ran afoul of Germany's ratings board with Dead Rising, but even when denied a classification, the game wasn't outright banned. Instead, Capcom had to deal with severe limitations on the ways it could be sold and advertised.

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  • 0 thumbs!
    Gothic Girl | September 06, 2008
    Aww, damn it. If it's been banned in Japan, then a ban is Australia is pretty much guaranteed.
  • 4 thumbs!
    Tiger of Wu | September 06, 2008
    So the game is banned in a country where they allow people to make comics about little girls being raped by tentacle-aliens

    Game must be pretty *bleep*ing hardcore
    Just so it's said for future comment-ers, this is a joke,
    not to be taken seriously
    • 0 thumbs!
      ali3n | September 06, 2008
      Censorship levels in Japan are actually quite high.
    • 0 thumbs!
      RabidChinaGirl | September 06, 2008
      I can see where you're coming from. It may seem weird to us that a country which seems to condone aaaaall sorts of creepy pervy shit (pedophilia, incest, tentacles, rape, statutory rape) in their subcultures would censor anything at all.

      The country's censorship criteria are just different from ours.
  • 0 thumbs!
    BlackLabel | September 06, 2008
    Now if this game gets banned for being scary or something then we are onto a winner as Japan makes the scariest shit.
  • 1 thumbs!
    Shattered | September 06, 2008
    Yes, Japan shits out very scary stuff.
    • 0 thumbs!
      Slumpy monkey | September 06, 2008
      and then it bends down and eats it.

      But why? Japan seems an odd number.
  • 0 thumbs!
    RabidChinaGirl | September 06, 2008
    Germany? Not surprising. China? Mrn, 50/50. As for Japan, something else about the game could have made them decide to ban it -- like, not just the "scary shit" everyone keeps talking about. Ever think about that?

    On another note, I'm proud to say that Neoseeker posted this bit of news before the listed source (GameSpot AU), Joystiq, and Kotaku.
  • 0 thumbs!
    tallteen86 | September 06, 2008
    Japan isn't a huge fan of over the top violence. That is probably the reason (though I find it surprising, as the rest of you do).

    My experience with the Japanese horror genre, is that it is mostly psychological. Maybe some gun-toting and the like, but I'm guessing Dead Space will be very gory.....

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