Rule of Rose ruled out in UK
UK publisher 505 Games has decided to not release the controversial title Rule of Rose, which was due out in Europe today. The horror game, which received a PEGI-16 rating, has been targeted by lawmakers in Europe for its violence, sexual undertones, and the young age of the portrayed characters. EU justice commissioner Franco Frattini was quoted by local papers as saying the game "has shocked me profoundly with its obscene cruelty and brutality."
The Video Standards Council is rather irked by the two papers, Daily Mail and The Times, which published Frattini's words. Speaking to MCV, VSC secretary Laurie Hall has called out the papers for exaggerating and making up many of the cited examples of violence in the titles. Children buried alive underground, in-game sadomasochism, and underage eroticism are purported by The Times and discredited by Hall.
Rome Mayor Walter Veltroni also recently chimed in, expressing his dismay in the game.
The Times describes "among other horrors, a rat being pushed into a girl's face." Oh noes, not a rat! Hall notes that, while the described scene is the most violent in the game, "the rat's actually quite placid towards her and even licks her face." We don't hear any rat advocates coming after The Times for its statements, as it seems to equate the vermin to horrific beasts deserving to be shunned.
The game was released by Atlus in the US.
[Via Game|Life]
