- Xbox 360 ››
- Action ››
- Dead Rising
Dead Rising Suffers from Restrictive Z-rating in Japan
- September 28, 2006 16:03 PM PST
- Email this!
While sales of Capcom's gory zombie-killer Dead Rising have done remarkably well here in the United States, even with a Mature rating from the ESRB, in Japan where the game was recently released, copies of the games are hard to find, not because they're flying off the shelves but because stores are choosing not to display them.
As a result of recent changes to the rating system for videogames used in Japan, sales of Z-rated games - those that can only be sold to persons 18 years old and above - are being strictly enforced. Prior to the changes, ratings were used merely as guidelines to inform purchasers of the intended audience of a game.
That's a no-no in Japan
Of course, Dead Rising isn't the first game to receive a Z-rating in Japan. It is, however, one of the first to be released after the changes made to the rating system. Even with substantial editing of the content, including the removal of decapitations and dismemberment, Dead Rising's Z-rating has supposedly relegated it to being almost completely ignored by retailers for fear of the repercussions of selling the game to a minor.
While this does not bode well for Capcom in terms of sales, it's also disturbing to think of the precedent this may create concerning self-imposed censorship by retailers and the resulting limits put on violent videogames. So far there has been no comment made by either Capcom or retailers regarding the enforcement of the game's rating.
Interesting, especially considering that I just watched Dead Rising being played by Japanese kids openly on the street in the shopping district of Akihabara, Japan. There must've been a dozen young guys standing around, staring at it...
