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Ninja Gaiden Censored For European Release
Thanks to GamesIndustry.Biz for its article confirming that Tecmo's Xbox title Ninja Gaiden has been censored for European release, seemingly "to remove certain violent aspects such as decapitations." According to the piece, these changes "have been removed apparently at the request of European censors, and the final PAL code for the game has been granted a 16 rating by pan-European ratings body PEGI, which rates games for a wide range of European countries (including the notoriously censorious German market)." However, it seems "the actual impact of the change to the game is minor... and does little to detract from the well-received game - which was the best selling single-platform title in the USA last month." Update: 04/22 14:42 GMT by S : Simon Vivien explains what commenters also mention: "Germany still uses USK, which is another rating board dedicated to their market.
The rest of Europe indeeds use PEGI. A 16+ PEGI rating doesn't especially mean a 16+ USK rating - as was witnessed in our latest shooter, Painkiller, who received a 16+ PEGI rating but was banned in Germany."
If I am reading the article correctly, it sounds like they were not forced to remove stuff, but that they would have just gotten a higher rating if they didn't remove it. If they had a choice to release the game with all the material in and just have gotten a higher rating, then it is not censorship. They decided to remove it to get a 16 rating. At least that is how ie reads to me.
Germany has its own rating board called the USK (Unterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle, entertainment software self-control), whose ratings are legally binding. That means you go to jail for selling a game without youth clearance (i.e. 18 and over) to a minor or any other game to a person younger than the minimum age the USK set.
Furthermore there is the BPjM (Bundesprüfstelle für jugendgefährdende Medien, federal testing centre for youth-endangering media), which can issue an indexing that makes it illegal to advertise the game to minors (means you are not allowed to put it on a shelf or write about it in a magazine if the shelf or magazine is accessible by minors). Most retailers don't stock or sell indexed games and since there'S no advertising that can be fatal for sales.
The PEGI is not an accepted rating system within Germany.
Manhunt was release in Europe, or at least in the UK. It doesn't have the PEGI voluntary ratings, it has a BBFC 18 certificate, which means that retailers would break the law if sell it to people under 18, the same as an 18 rated DVD (the Video Recordings Act 1984 and all that funk.) I don't know about other countries, as most games nowadays have UK specific packaging, so the UK BBFC rating is the only one on the box IIRC.
AFAIK it was developed by Rockstar North, the same people as Grand Theft Auto (originally DMA Design, who also created the first Lemmings), who are based in Scotland. GTA games are also BBFC 18 rated.
10 PRINT "LOOK AROUND YOU ";
20 GOTO 10
Yep, there's an 18+ PEGI rating (the voluntary game ratings system used in Europe, replacing the ELSPA ones in the UK.) However individual countries laws can go overrule this, such as the UK's Video Recordings Act (and associated laws), and Germany's laws, where they really don't like gore and so on. They might only want to prepare one PAL version of the game (rather than a rest-of-Europe and a German version), so bow to the German censorship requirements across Europe, or they just want a lower rating for sales reasons.
10 PRINT "LOOK AROUND YOU ";
20 GOTO 10
Both, StaSi+Gestapo had the right to let people "dissapear". But the StaSi is inexistent, too. The PA II gives organisations of the US-government the right to do the same, without any kind of control.
Sure you can. Hold down start + back + black + white.
No, she's just... she's kinda straightening that picture.