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Sleeping Dogs receives adults-only rating in Japan
Sleeping Dogs, the upcoming Hong Kong-based gritty action title from Square Enix received a Z rating from the Japanese rating organization CERO (the equivalent of an AO rating from the ESRB). As a result, the game will be modified for Japanese audiences, particularly to penalize players for attacking civilians, according to CVG.Additionally, a sex scene in the game will be softened, and the game won't include a character that signals the start of a street race. Z-rated games in Japan are not displayed on store shelves, so buyers will have to ask for the game by name at retail store counters (much like the Xbox 360 version of No More Heroes: Heroes' Paradise). The practice of adapting a game for Japanese audiences isn't uncommon, as THQ's Homefront shipped without Kim Jong-il images in 2011.Sleeping Dogs received a Mature rating from the ESRB, and is set to launch on August 14 in North America.
Square Enix 'Extreme Edges' is new label for publisher's violent games in Japan
As Square Enix continues to expand globablly, it's starting to publish titles in Japan that aren't traditionally "Square Enix," like Modern Warfare 2 and games from its newly acquired Eidos subsidiary. According to Famitsu (via Andriasang), president Yoichi Wada has announced a new box label to be used by the publisher that will differentiate its "mature" Western games from its usual slate of more innocent fantasy products: "Square Enix Extreme Edges." Wait -- didn't Wada say he wanted Japanese gamers not to discriminate against Western games? The "Extreme Edges" label will be used for Western-made games bearing CERO "D" (17+) or "Z" (18+) ratings, though Square Enix has yet to publish any CERO Z titles. The Z rating is legally age-restricted, and games bearing it are often not displayed in stores. Square Enix, however, will release Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days in Japan on August 26; a game that at least seems "edgy" and "extreme" enough for the new label and probably worthy of the CERO Z rating, as well.
