Zombie Shooter Dead Rising Staggered by International Censors
Pity the poor zombie.
The living dead just can't seem to get much love these days, at least not on the international scene.
Capcom's newly-released Dead Rising was refused classification - effectively banned - in Germany. And, according to various reports will likely be censored in Japan as well.
Those plucky Brits, however, seem to have no fear of a zombie infestation. At least, that's the word from GamesIndustry.biz, which reports that the British Board of Film Classification has granted Dead Rising an 18-rating, allowing it to go on sale in the UK to buyers 18 and older.
"Dead Rising is considered a fairly straightforward 18," said a BBFC spokesperson. "We take the view that at 18, unless there is something harmful in the game, we have no reason to intervene as far as adults are considered. There is no clear evidence that playing games leads to copycat behaviour. We would only intervene if a game was going further than any other game in terms of interactivity and the 'thrills' it offers a gamer."
"The game is gory, but it's not detailed and the violence is not sadistic, and it's focused against zombies. There's a fantasy element attached, and there's a sense of humour, albeit a macabre one."
GamesIndustry.biz followed up their BBFC story with an interesting editorial discussing the emerging acceptance of interactive media as a legitimate art form on the level of film.
"In acknowledging the humour which drives Dead Rising, the BBFC acknowledges the maturity of the videogaming medium... it acknowledges it as entertainment for adults. In making these viewpoints public, as much as in granting the rating in the first place, it shows us how far the perception of videogames in the British political establishment has come."
-Reporting from San Diego, GP Correspondent and zombie rights activist Andrew Eisen