Sony Pushing For Heavy Rain Censorship?

Sony and Cage fighting over Heavy Rain's rating?
Published 26/08/2009 at 14:54 by newsbot
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According to UpsBlogIt, David Cage’s Heavy Rain is looking like an ‘18′ rated PEGI title, mainly due to the ‘quick time event’ motion captured “love making scenes”.  Apparently, Sony isn’t happy with the scenes and the rating and is pushing David Cage to take out some of the ‘adult’ content. Cage, according to the site, is adamant that the original version of the game should stay. We’ll try and more details from this as soon as we can, although we can obviously understand both sides of this particular story.

Thanks, Anton668, translation via NeoGAF.

Comments

Please note that all comments are the opinion of the individual author and not TheSixthAxis.

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  1. Understand both sides, but in this one, I hope they won’t cut anything.


    • defo cuttin anythin is sad, even emoes lool = P


  2. yep, cutting game is bad, but smaller sales of sony’s exclusives is bad too.
    even don’t know which side I am on.


  3. As this is a game aimed at the more adult end of the market, I can’t see any problem with it being rated 18.

    Bit of an odd move from Sony, a lot of their focus historically has been on games that push the envelope.

    It also highlights the usual bizarre discrepancy in attitudes to graphic violence vs graphic sex. GOW III has disembowling and dismemberment, which is fine. Heavy Rain has some presumably very softcore sex and suddenly it needs to be toned down?


    • i’m guessing its the american market who might disapprove. they have odd rules. like on heroes a mans head can be ripped off and and cuts spilt on the floor but the characters aren’t allowed to swear.
      or in family guy they make jokes about 9/11 and aids and everyone has an evil laugh yet their not allowed to say sh*t. the worlds a strange place where allowed violence of an absurd level in 15’s but as soon as some nudity is shown the rating shoots up especially if its a man.


    • Not really
      Games which are rated 15 will sell more than those rated 18


    • One problem is that 18+ games are not released in Australia (where I live) at all, and it’s the same with other contries. So that would put a huge dent in their sales.

      But sometimes here in Australia it will be sensored, or just given a 15+ rating anyway.


  4. Would it be flippant for me to say that I wouldn’t have thought that Heavy Rain would really appeal to the under 18s?


  5. If they stay in, I can easily see the “love making scenes” getting slated in reviews for being unnecessary and awkward…the games industry still isn’t as mature as we (and David Cage) like to think it is.


    • Well the Watchmen film did quite well despite the awkward sex scene (what was Snyder thinking?). What’s Sony’s problem?
      It’s a fairly mature game, dealing with plenty of mature ideas, the outrage from the religious right in the US will just help get the game more sales.


      • Watchmen is made like, 20 times more awkward when you’re 14 years old and your mother happens to be in the room and decides to stand in front of the tv for the duration of the scene :(


      • Firewarrior…. c**k in hand, eh? Embarassing stuff. :D


    • lol if kids who play cod4 play it, theyll be addicted.


  6. Killzone 2 was an 18 – why can’t Heavy Rain be an 18 too?


  7. I for one would hate it, if scenes are deleted… Heavy Rain is a game for the more mature gamer, anyway…


  8. Nothing should be cut , I see games as a form of art and a medium of expression and if the designers aren’t free to express themselves through the medium of gaming then the game shouldn’t be at all. Just because some of the scenes are sexual doesn’t mean they may not be necessary. I think that David Cage is right to be adamnt at keeping the original design intact rather than cut it out and sewing a different bit in


  9. Let’s play a game of “I spy”. I’ll go first… I spy with my little eye something beginning with “Censorship row makes for great sales fig….”


  10. we need diversity in games…


  11. Sony should reach out to the mature gamer demographic, not deny them. Sheesh, these days, mature gamers are the only ones who can regularly afford games, so why insult our intelligence and maturaty, and big daddy us about like this? Its art in film, why not art in game then? We wont feel awkward when it comes on, a lot of us are older than 15!


  12. GOD NOT THIS AGAIN!!!!

    put a big fucking 18 label on the front of it and treat it like a film !!!

    the whole thing about rating games and taking stuff out is a joke. you can go into a shop and buy a film like hostel or some porn, or some violence film like ich the killer etc. no problem. but have something at the same level of torcher, filth or violence in a computer game and the world goes up-in-arms!?!?!

    if the game get in to the hands of a minor, then its the parents fault. you wouldn’t give a 12 year old a porno or a slasher film, so why a game?!?!?!

    if you want games to be about collecting coins, jumping on switches or solving who ate the last piece of cake mistorys then go and buy a DS or Wii. there are millions and millions of gamers who are old enough to deal with something a bit more real!!!! so let us get on with it!


  13. I hope they don’t censor it. Sony use HR as a way of showing off how they’re “pushing boundaries” and how they allow developers to be creative and make unique games. It’s obviously aimed at a mature audience (and I mean “mature”, not “over 18″) anyway. They’re calling it an interactive move so they should treat it and the director as such.


  14. Just do the same as they did with Fahrenheit: Let Europe have the full fat version and release an edited version in the US.


  15. the getaway was one of the best games ever, and it was 18. I wish theyd make another getaway.


    • isn’t their the getaway 3 or was that put on hold i can’t remember?


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