EA Japan Questions Japanese Ratings Board, CERO, For ‘Stellar Blade’s Uncensored Release
by Michael Betar IV
'Stellar Blade' (Image: Shift Up)
Released globally on April 26, Shift Up’s adventure game Stellar Blade debuted with controversy due to its over-sexualization of the game’s outfits for the female characters. The title follows “Eve,” a survivor of the invasions by the monstrous Naytibas, fighting against the invaders using various blades for melee and martial arts combat.
During its worldwide release, the title was listed to be published without censorship in Japan, which led the general manager of EA Japan, Shaun Noguchi, to question the Japanese ratings board, the Computer Entertainment Ratings Organization (CERO), on X, regarding their alleged hypocritical treatment of their title, Dead Space, which was effectively banned from the country.
In a translation from his tweet, Noguchi asked, “What’s going on CERO?” before calling the organization out for banning their title due to how it “included cross-sections of severed body parts and internal organs,” meanwhile Stellar Bladereleasing at a rating of CERO D, the Japanese Equivalent of the “Mature -M” rating in the United States, without any issue despite showing similar content to their game.
On January 27, 2023, EA published Motive Studio’s remake of 2008’s massively successful survival horror game, Dead Space, with critical praise for updating the original game’s graphics and improving the game’s suspense elements. When it was brought to CERO in Japan in 2022, the board left the game without a rating, preventing its release in Japan.
Despite this, Noguchi still recommended that players play Stellar Blade to support the Korean studio in its recent game release. Although the game has faced backlash for its sexual content, many players have praised its engaging story and smooth-feeling sword combat. The Sony-exclusive game is available for the PlayStation 5 in digital and physical releases worldwide.
Motive Studio’s Dead Space is available in most countries worldwide on PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S consoles, and it will also be released on Windows for PC.
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