Sega: Aliens vs. Predator not releasing in Germany
Sega has confirmed that it will not release Aliens vs. Predator in Germany. Following a report that suggested the publisher would avoid the German market altogether, we contacted Sega, which explained that the game wouldn't make it to retail in Germany "without significant cuts that would harm the gameplay experience." The publisher maintained that AvP was "developed to be consistent with the existing content in the Aliens and Predator universes," and added that the "gameplay and graphical and narrative style befit the mature themes" of the franchises.
AvP is expected to receive an "18 rating" (or the equivalent) in territories outside of Germany and an M rating in the US. When asked about the status of the title in Australia, Sega told us that there was no word yet from the region. It would certainly be interesting if the German market was ruled out due to the game's violence (and the threat of not receiving a rating by USK, the German ratings board), but Australia and its similarly stringent board prove more accepting of the content. We'll continue to follow up with the publisher.
