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Heavy Rain to feature cultural censorship photo

Heavy Rain will be a mature videogame. In other words, some of its content is not meant for babies and old ladies to see. Or the world’s various Ratings Boards even. Wisely preparing from the onset, developer Quantic Dreams is turning down the volume of the adult stuff in sensitive regions in order to not offend cultural sensibilities and, you know, avoid the getting the game booted from retail shelves.

Game executive producer Guillaume de Fondaumiere talked about this in a recent interview (via PS3 Center), mentioning specifically that these changes should be minor. He expects Heavy Rain to be essentially the same throughout the world.

"We wanted to have pretty much the same game everywhere, be it Europe, in the United States, or in Japan, of course, with slight adaptions -- for instance, the Japanese version" he said, "but I don't think the changes we made will make a big difference, so that those are real modular things.  

“We felt the need to adapt the content to the culture."

Fuzzy clouds, black bars, and promises of the game being “too hot for [insert region here]” have yet to be confirmed.


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31 comments | showing # 1 to 31

Oncomouse's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/21/2009 09:52
Oncomouse
I'm assuming they're talking about Australia and Germany. I hope this doesn't apply to North America. Indigo Prophecy, Quantic Dream's last game, was censored in North America. I picked up the international version for PC call Fahrenheit out of principal. But, as far as I know, Heavy Rain is a PS3 exclusive. Hopefully I don't have to import this game to play the real version.
Narishma's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/21/2009 10:02
Narishma
@Oncomouse: Well at least the PS3 allows you to do that. If it was an exclusive for the 360 you wouldn't have any way to play the uncensored version.
Chronic Logic's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/21/2009 10:11
Chronic Logic
Let me guess, there's a portion of the game where the protagonist talks to a naked four fingered nazi woman. The American version puts some clothes on her. The German version replaces her swastika symbols on her clothes with some Wolfenstein symbol knock-offs. The Japanese version adds an additional finger to her hand. And lastly, the Australian version removes the entire game.
xenon's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/21/2009 10:14
xenon
at least say that you were forced to. To feel the need to adapt the content is pathetic. And this would be art? Adapting products to markets? Puah.
GoldenGamerXero's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/21/2009 10:17
GoldenGamerXero
@Chronic Logic

Xzyliac's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/21/2009 10:20
Xzyliac
So in other words it sucks to be German, Australian, or Japanese and want Heavy Rain.

AMERICA! FUCK YEAH!
Oncomouse's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/21/2009 10:20
Oncomouse
@Narishma That's a very good point, actually. Region codes need to die.
stevenxonward's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/21/2009 10:23
stevenxonward
I wonder if we'll actually get to see the nipples this time. We're to assume that women in Indigo Prophecy didn't have nipples... at least here in the states.
Narishma's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/21/2009 10:26
Narishma
@Xzyliac: Or American, if their previous game is anything to go by.
SniperXan's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/21/2009 10:27
SniperXan
@xenon

Look at it this way, they are well aware that if they don't change the game it probably won't see a release in certain areas so do they make the changes during the development cycle of the game or after the game is done? Kind of a no brainer really. I'm surprised more studios don't do this.

If you can't beat'em, work around'em :P
Xzyliac's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/21/2009 10:44
Xzyliac
@Narishma
True. But I've played the PC AO version and I can't tell a difference other than the camera was pushed a little further down. I have a feeling if someone dissected the game and modded just the camera during the sex scene it would've been identical.

I don't think it'll be a big deal. By the time Heavy Rain comes out Bioware would've pushed so much sex into the ESRB panel that I think it'll be fine.

*ahem*

AMERICA! FUCK YEAH!
Im OK's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/21/2009 10:45
Im OK
While it definitely sucks, if Heavy Rain is anything like Fahrenheit was, they're pretty much going to have to do something like this whether they're actively forced to or not, if they want their game to be released in a given region (and not, say, be hit with the de facto ban that is the AO rating in the US, for instance). We can thank the draconian, pre-Cambrian mindsets of those in power in the various areas for that.

And yeah, region locks can suck it. That's one of the things the PS3 does right.
CRAZYAPE69's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/21/2009 10:55
CRAZYAPE69
confirmed: tentacle schoolgirl rape for the japanese version
xenon's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/21/2009 10:56
xenon
@SniperXan: All true. My point is: if it's a business decision, at least don't say you, the developer, felt the need to "adapt" the game. And let's admit games are a commercial product and have nothing to do with art.

If you actually felt that need, I don't know what to say. Self censorship is the absolute evil.

@Im OK, you can still chose how to deal with those powers. But again, not when you're a business you can't.
reindall's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/21/2009 11:11
reindall
I'll quote Wikipedia: "Art is the process or product of deliberately arranging elements in a way that appeals to the senses or emotions."

So how the fuck adapting the game to different audiences means something stops being art?
RBinator's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/21/2009 11:13
RBinator
I take it this means the sex will be toned down in the American version. Oh how I love you America, with your extreme love-hate relationship for sex.
Cadtalfryn's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/21/2009 11:14
Cadtalfryn
Germany & Australia perhaps.
SniperXan's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/21/2009 11:57
SniperXan
I will never understand people. Video games need to make money in order for a development company to make more games. Especially in the modern age of HD gaming, games take ALOT of money to develop, they need to ensure that they can sell the game in as many places as possible. Does this make games any less art? No.

People who get all butt hurt when game companies have to make business decisions screaming "ART!!" are living in a world called lala land. It is a business and games take money to make and need to make money to make more games.
SWE's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/21/2009 12:05
SWE
The headline is misleading and not at all what the developer said. They made adjustments to different regions in order to relate better to those cultures...not to censor anything.
SniperXan's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/21/2009 12:10
SniperXan
@SWE

Misleading headlines? Online? NEVER!
EdgyDude's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/21/2009 12:57
EdgyDude
Japanese version with mosaic'd tits: CONFIRMED!
ArrestedDeveloper's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/21/2009 13:06
ArrestedDeveloper
Tits or GTFO.
Glenn Morris's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/21/2009 13:29
Glenn Morris
I second that

...and correct me if I'm wrong but isn't the PS3 Region Free?
Oncomouse's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/21/2009 14:00
Oncomouse
- The PS3 is region free, yes.

- I'm not upset that Quantic Dream is censoring their game. They're a business and need to do what they have to. I'm upset that they're in a situation where they have to censor themselves. Ratings boards exist for a reason.
ChronosWing's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/21/2009 14:39
ChronosWing
Well, looks like I'm gonna have to import this one just like I had to do for Fahrenheit, leave it up to the US to glorify blood and violence but get up in arms over the naked human body.
Sara Foster's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/21/2009 15:27
Sara Foster
Well, from watching the interview I think he meant more a long the lines of just adapting to a cultures perspective on things. I don't remember a damned thing about cultural "Censorship" being mention even once. Well, from the looks of the comments you successfully mislead most of the masses, Destructoid. But not me.
Im OK's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/21/2009 16:59
Im OK
@Sara Foster

Even adapting to a culture's perspective can be a mixed blessing at times. I'm thinking of the various RPGs of the 80s, 90s and such that got (now horribly dated) pop-culture reference filled "localizations". They were pretty crappy, in that sense. I'm looking at you, Working Designs.* And then there was, say, Barret's dialog in FF7, which sounded like it was passed through a Japanese-to-Mr. T translator.

If it's something minor like changing a reference to a famous local figure here and there, or changing some of the scenery or something, that's one thing, but the risk of going way overboard on that kind of thing is definitely there. Hopefully Quantic Dream can make it not suck.

* - Don't get me wrong, I love me some Working Designs games on the whole, but they were pretty horribly cheesy, way more so than they needed to be, thanks to those fugly localizations.
jamBOT's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/21/2009 17:24
jamBOT
That sighted Japan as a example, but what they really mean was Australia and Germany.

@Chronic Logic -- nice one.
Occams electric toothbrush's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/21/2009 17:38
Occams electric toothbrush
Fisting is often a deal breaker in many relationships.
Cahuatijo's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/21/2009 22:02
Cahuatijo
Gotta shave off that pubic hair, can't have that.
Diego Alberto Rubalcava Herrera's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/24/2009 15:26
Diego Alberto Rubalcava Herrera
This better be good :)
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