And shocks us all again…not.
According to Joystiq, Sega has confirmed it will not release Aliens vs Predator in Germany.
Sega has confirmed that it will not release Aliens vs. Predator in Germany. Following a report that suggested the publisher would avoid the German market altogether, we contacted Sega, which explained that the game wouldn’t make it to retail in Germany “without significant cuts that would harm the gameplay experience.” The publisher maintained that AvP was “developed to be consistent with the existing content in the Aliens and Predator universes,” and added that the “gameplay and graphical and narrative style befit the mature themes” of the franchises.
AvP is expected to receive an “18 rating” (or the equivalent) in territories outside of Germany and an M rating in the US. When asked about the status of the title in Australia, Sega told us that there was no word yet from the region. It would certainly be interesting if the German market was ruled out due to the game’s violence (and the threat of not receiving a rating by USK, the German ratings board), but Australia and its similarly stringent board prove more accepting of the content. We’ll continue to follow up with the publisher. Sega has now confirmed as much to Joystiq, saying that it couldn’t go on sale in Germany “without significant cuts that would harm the gameplay experience.”
All I keep hearing in my head is…”it’s only a game, it’s only a game”.
I still cant beleive that when I was in Germany, even at the 5 star hotel that I stayed at, in the foyer was just brochure after brochure openly advertising sex shop/strip show and other freeky things. It was everywhere you look, but a little violence in a game, and it is taboo.